Our Dublin correspondent writes that the slogan "grow more wheat" is said to be responsible for the great increase in the acreage under that crop in the Free State last year, the total being 163,473 acres, or 74.2 per cent. above that of the year 1934.
Figures issued by the Free State Department of Industry and Commerce and also by the Ulster Ministry of Agriculture provide interesting reading.
Whilst the acreage under tillage in the twenty-six counties has gone up by 34,426 acres there has been a decrease of 24,905 acres in Ulster. The other increases in he Free State are: Oats, 614,116 acres (5.3 per cent.); mangels, 84,335 (1.5 per cent.); sugar-beet 57,288 (25.7 per cent.).
The decreases include: Barley, 138,650 acres (2.9 per cent.); potatoes, 335,703 acres (2.1 per cent.); turnips, 151,942 (4.7 per cent.).
Whilst cattle in the Free State decreased by 66,840, Ulster showed a growth of 30,715. Horses were down by 9,225 in the Free State and by 1,728 in Ulster. Poultry also showed decreases of 499,107 and 207,240 respectively. The Free State barley acreage was down by 4,075, whilst Ulster showed an increase of 672 acres under the crop.
The principal feature in the Free State cattle figures are an increase of 22,832 milch-cows and a fall of 100,556 in the number of calves.