ABSTRACT
Agriculture in the New Era.—The Industrial Revolution profoundly altered the position of agriculture in the national economy. For centuries, the overwhelming majority of the British people had been employed on the land. Now not only did agriculture become less important than industry; it ultimately became less important than some particular branches of industry. Throughout the nineteenth century, it is true, farming maintained the first place among industry groups, measured by the numbers employed. But after the War, it ranked below metallurgy and only a little above mining and textiles. 1 When, in 1907, the first Census of Production permitted a comparison between the agricultural and the industrial output of the kingdom, the value of the produce raised on British farms was £196,347,000, compared with a gross industrial output of £1,765,366,000. During the later nineteenth century, Britain became definitely a food-importing country. At present, less than 40 per cent. of her food supplies are raised at home, and in the case of an important cereal like wheat, more than four-fifths of her consumption is supplied from abroad. 2
