§ Mr. NOEL BUXTONasked the Minister of Agriculture the amount of arable land laid down as permanent pasture during the years 1920, 1921, and 1922?
§ Major BARNSTONI have been asked to reply. The classification of agricultural land, as returned by occupiers of agricultural holdings exceeding one acre in extent, shows that the area of arable land in England and Wales in 1920 was 289,000 acres less than in 1919, and in the following two years the reductions were 401,000 acres and 308,000 acres respectively. It is not possible to state how much of these areas is now under grass, since both arable land and grass may be taken over for other than agricultural purposes. The increase in the area of permanent grass between 1919 and 1922 has been 276,000 acres, and in addition there was an increase of 175,000 acres in the area of land returned under the bead of rough grazings.