§ MR. F. W. WILSON (Norfolk, Mid)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that the latest agricultural returns account 919 for only 86 per cent. of the measured area of Great Britain; and if the details can be given in the next Report of the 14 per cent. of land at present unaccounted for as non-agricultural, but which includes the increasing acreage used as garden plots and recreation grounds.
§ *MR. BANBURYThe agricultural returns for 1901 have already been collected. The gradual increase of the non-agricultural area is, of course, due to the increase of buildings, roads, public recreation grounds, allotments under one acre, railways, parade grounds, &c.—and to ascertain the precise area of land used for each of these purposes would involve a long and costly investigation. A Return was issued in 1895 showing the number and extent of holdings of one acre and under—and there has been no great change since then.