22 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
radical changes in the agriculture and in the population dis-
tribution of the region. During the period the wheat prices,
after a slight rise in the seventies, dropped rapidly until a
steady or slowly changing price was reached in recent years.
In addition to the changes in the population resulting from
these agricultural conditions, we must also consider the rapidly
increasing urbanisation of the south of the district. At the
beginning of the present century the combined effect of these
factors had become apparent in the localisation of arable farming.
By 1911 the Boulder Clay district of the north-west was still
predominantly cultivated land, and the light soil areas of the
middle and south of the County showed a similar state, although
within all these tracts a general lowering of the percentage of
land devoted to arable farming had occurred since 1866. The
major effect had taken place on the London Clay area, and was
apparent in the predominance of pasture over arable land.
Within this district, however, differences could be discerned.
The Winstree and Thurstable Hundreds and, to some extent,
the tract north-west of the Crouch appear as intermediate
districts with the percentage of land in arable farming almost
equal to that in pasture. It is suggested that, in addition
to a certain amount of geographical inertia resulting from their
marginal nature, the retention of large areas in arable farming
by these districts was the effect of the superficial sands and clays.
The Thurstable Hundred—where this deposit is thickest—was
particularly noticeable as showing a high percentage of arable
farming. During the year under review (1911) the advent of
normal conditions had made evident the delicate adjustment
between soil control and agricultural conditions.
Details of the fields within this south-eastern London Clay
tract, that had fallen out of cultivation by 1911, have been
preserved in a Government report of 1894.23 This report was
drawn up by Mr. Hunter Pringle acting on behalf of a Govern-
ment perturbed at the decline of agriculture between 1880 and
1894. After a brief survey of agricultural conditions in Eastern
Essex the author proceeds to indicate the exact areas that had
fallen out of arable farming in the preceding decade. These
areas are shown in figure 5 which may be compared with the
present Land Utilisation Survey (fig. 6). Mr. Pringle apparently
23 Blue Book. B.P.P., 1894., vol. xvj.