STARTLING DECREASE IN CROPS. In continuation of the series of reports which are being prepared by the Royal Commission on Agriculture, that , dealing with the county of Cumberland has just been issued. MR. WILSON FOX (assistant commissioner) says that the farms in Cumberland can be divided into four classes: (1) Hill sheep farms; (2) farms up to 100 acres, worked chiefly, or entirely, by the occupier's family; (3) farms from 100 to 300 acres, on which the occupiers depend to some extent on the labour of their own families; (4) farms from 300 to 500 acres, where mixed farming is carried on, and where a larger proportion of the land is devoted to corn crops. There is much in common in the agriculture of the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, that it may be of interest to shortly refer to the system of farming in the latter county, as well as the former. The farms are generally smaller in Westmorland than in Cumberland, and are worked more by the occupier's family than by hired labour. The larger proportion of arable land in Cumberland, and the greater attention paid to corn crops, necessitates the employment of more labour there. In Westmorland the few acres which are cultivated are devoted mainly to the production of straw and turnips for winter consumption. The rotation followed in Cumberland is mainly (1) oats, (2) roots, (3) oats seeded, (4) grass seeds mown, (5) seeds grazed. In Westmorland the rotation is lengthened by keeping the seeds down for a longer period. The four course system is occasionally followed in both counties, namely, in Cumberland on the heavy land, and in Westmorland on the moss lands in the neighbourhood of Levens, Milnthorpe, and Underbarrow. In Westmorland, the stock kept consists chiefly of dairy cows and young heifers to provide a succession of calvers to take the place of the cows, which go off chiefly after their third calving, into the large towns such as Manchester and Liverpool. In the higher or fell districts sheep are kept in large numbers. These run on the open commons in summer and on the enclosed land in winter, and up to lambing time in spring. In Cumberland more devotion is paid to the feeding of cattle and rearing of horses for all purposes. Thus in Cumberland the chief objects are the grazing and feeding of stock, breeding of horses, and the cultivation of a large area of arable land for the growth of corn and seed grass hay for sale; while in Westmorland the chief characteristics may be described as dairying and breeding of cattle in the lower lands, and the breeding and rearing of sheep in the high districts. The total area of the county of Cumberland is 970,161. Of this, 581,949 acres are returned in 1894 as being under cultivation of all kinds of crops, bare fallow and grass. The area under corn crops was 98, 543 acres in 1874, and 89,428 acres in 1894, or a decrease of 9.3 per cent. The decrease in the acreage of wheat and barley during this period is remarkable. In 1874 there were 21,914 acres of wheat, and in 1894, only 4510 acres, showing a decrease of 17,404 acres, or 79.4 per cent. The acreage of barley in this period decreased from 7433 acres to 2573 acres, or 65.3 per cent. According to a return made by MR. W. C. LITTLE I find that the acreage of wheat in Cumberland decreased by 75.2 per cent in the period 1892-94 compared with the period of 1872-1881, and that there was no greater decrease in any other county during this period, except in Westmorland, where it decreased 79.9 per cent. Again, the acreage of barley decreased by 62.8 per cent in the period 1892-94, compared with 1874-1881. There was no greater decrease in any other county during this period, Westmorland being the next in order with a decrease of 60.4 per cent. In the period 1892-94 the wheat area in proportion to cultivated area was only 0.5 per cent. At the present prices of cereals it is a fortunate county which possesses only 7083 acres of wheat and barley. But, as I have shown elsewhere, it is comparatively an easy matter to lay land to grass, for both soil and climate are suitable, and further there is a good deal of land suitable for the growth of turnips, and the acreage of these crops has increased as well as that of clovers and grasses under rotation. Under these circumstances the Cumbelrand men have been enabled to give up growing that which is ruining eastern counties farmers, and to turn their attention more to the raising of stock. But while there has been this large decrease in the area of wheat and barley, a considerable increase has taken place in the area under oats, the damp and humid climate in the valleys being very suitable for this crop on the fertile soils. The acreage of oats in 1874 was 68,281 acres, and in 1894, 81,199, or an increase of 18.9 per cent. According to the return already made by MR. W. C. LITTLE already alluded to, the acreage of oats in proportion to the cultivated area in 1892-94 was 13.7 per cent., the percentage being greater in only two other counties, namely, Hampshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. ===================================================