1 8oo. Hoiife of CommonSy reJ^eFiing Bi'eady Corny ^c. 2 1 1 



wheat flour in Suffolk, with wheat of i is. 8d. per bufhel 

 With regard to rye, I have no particular infornaation. 



Have you any opinion refpetling the confumption of 

 wheat ? 



It is about one quarter per head on the population of 

 the country, among thofe who live upon wlieat ; and this 

 feems the fettled refult of all inquiries on the fubjeft. 



Can you fuggeft any means of economising the expen- 

 diture of wheat ? 



I think the prefent fcarcity fo truly alarming, that no 

 economy whatever, upon the mode of confuming wheat, 

 will anfwer the exigency of the moment. In Suffolk, at- 

 tempts have been made, and are now making in fome pa- 

 riflies, to mix barley and rye v/ith wheat, and to make a 

 browner fort of wheaten bread j but the diftrefs of the 

 poor is great, notwithftanding every effort of this fort. 

 In regard to a ftandard wheaten bread, I cannot fee any 

 confiderable relief that can i-efult from it. It feems to 

 me, that the whole flour of the wheat, reckoning that 

 flour at about 45 lb. in 60 lb. of wheat, is eaten at pre- 

 fent. Something much more effe6lual than this is abfo- 

 lutely neceflary ; and I venture to propofe, as an opinion, 

 that nothing (hort of flopping the confumption of oats by 

 horfes,"Tor importing rice to a very great amount, or ex- 

 tending the ufe of foup almoft generally, will be equal to 

 the demand occafioned by the fcarcity. 



I beg to mention a circumfiance refpecling foup : I 

 made a copper full of foup every day ; and in order to try 

 the effe£l of the leaneft meat that could be procured, I 

 killed ten of the very leaneft fheep there were in a flock 

 of 500 ; and that effe6l was exceeding good. To each 

 copper, containing 30 gallons, I put one fheep of from 

 25 lb. to 30 lb., a peck of potatoes, half a peck of o- 

 nions, a peck of carrots, a peck of turnips, half a peck 

 of peas, and 6 lb. of rice, and it made moft excellent 

 foup, which the poor relifhed exceedingly j and the out- 

 fetters of the parifli, M'ho lived five miles off, came for 

 it very readily ; from which I conclude, that one very 

 great i-efource for the kingdom at prefent, is the efta- 

 blifhment of foup fhops, or perhaps rather to enforce all 

 parochial affiftance whatever to the poor, univerfally, to 

 exclude the confumption of wheat ; which, if general, 

 would do more to alleviate the prefent fcarcity, than all 

 •(^fUz^s of bread that can be devifed. 



PART 



