n which the numbers are
especially large are Devonshire, Kent, Cumberland and the North and
West Ridings of Yorkshire. Cattle are reared in great numbers in
Lincolnshire, Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, Devonshire,
Somersetshire and Cornwall; but the numbers of both cattle and sheep
are in no English county (save Middlesex) to be regarded as
insignificant. Pigs are bred most extensively in Suffolk, Norfolk and
Lincolnshire and in Somersetshire.

Woodlands.

It is often asserted that the scenery of rural England is of its kind
unrivalled. Except in open lands like the Fens, the peculiarly rich
appearance of the country is due to the closely-divided fields with
their high, luxuriant hedges, and especially to the profuse growth of
trees. There is not, however, any large continuous forested tract.
Certain areas still bear the name of forest where there is now none;
the term here possesses an historical significance, in many cases
indicating former royal game-preserves. Great areas of England were
once under forest. The clearing of land for agricultural purposes, the
use of wood for the prosecution of the industries of an increasing
population, and other causes, have led to the gradual disforesting of
large tracts. There are still, however, some small well-defined
woodland areas. The New Forest in Hampshire, the Forest of Dean in
Gloucestershire, and Epping Forest, which is preserved as a public
recreation-ground by the City of London, are the most notable
instances. The counties comprising the greatest proportional amount of
woodland fall into two distinct groups--Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and
Kent, with Berkshire and Buckinghamshire; Monmouth, Herefordshire and
Gloucestershire. Cambridgeshire, lying almost wholly within the area
of the Fens, has the smallest proportional area of woodland of any
English county.

The number of persons engaged in agriculture in England and Wales was
found by the census of 1901 to be 1,192,167; the total showing a
steady decrease (e.g. from 1,352,389 in 1881), which is especially
marked in the case of females. But the decrease lies mainly in the
number of agricultural labourers; the number of farmers is not notably
affected, and the increasing substitution of machinery for manual
labour must be taken into consideration. The average size of holdings
in England may be taken approximately as 66 acres, th