5 FEBRUARY 1870, Page 2

The general result of the Agricultural Statistics just published for

1869 is, that in that year and the previous one, nearly a million more acres were ploughed up for corn, farmers being tempted by the high prices. On the other hand, the number of cattle, sheep, and pigs positively decreased, the cattle by 110,000, the pigs by a million, or thirty-five per cent., an almost inexplic- able reduction. The increase in the cultivation of corn ought to reassure some of our Protectionist friends, as it shows how instantly the farmers respond to any rise in prices, and how easily they change the cultivation. Under anything like real pressure, say a price of eighty shillings a quarter, the production of wheat would be almost doubled.