AGRICULTURE, LIVE STOC', AND FISHERIES. Three-fourths of the population support them selves by agriculture, though only about S per cent. of the land area is under cultivation. Hay meadows and pastures cover 4 per cent. of the surface, forests 44.2 per cent., and 43.6 per cent. is unproductive. In 1900, 3S3,416 farms were under cultivation, of which about two-thirds were from 5 to 45 acres in extent. The preceding table shows the area (in acres) under the chief crops in 1900 and the yield in bushels).
The largest and most productive area of farm lands is in East and \\ est Gotland and Scania, in the south of the country. in spite of the im provement in farming in recent years, especially through the importation of modern farm n1a clhine•y and implements, the country eannot pro duce wheat and rye enough for horny consump tion, and about 12,000 tons of breadstuffs more than the kingdom produces are brought in every year, chiefly from the Baltic countries. Nearly
half the total grain raised is oats, which is an export crop. The sugar beet thrives in the ex treme south, but the acreage given to it is not sufficient to supply the demand for sugar. Flax, tobacco, and hops are cultivated with mm•li suc cess. At the end of 1900 Sweden had 533,050 horses. 2,582.555 head of cattle, 1,261436 sheep, and 805,805 hogs. Great quantities of butter are exported to Great Britain. The Government has done much to improve agriculture by found ing schools of agriculture and by the appoint ment of peripatetic teachers. The fisheries are im portant. though much inferior to those of Nor way. They do not suffice for the needs of the country. On the other hand, the timber trade is of much greater value than that of Norway.