124 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



have been consumed in that manu- 

 facture, will remain applicable to 

 the subsistence of the people ; but 

 as it may be supposed that eleven 

 bushels of barley are not more than 

 equivalent to one quarter of wheat, 

 this can only be stated at about 

 360,000 quarters. 



Having stated to the house, the 

 best estimate they have been able 

 to form, of the direct supply which 

 may be derived from the sources to 

 which they have here adverted, ( of 

 which the supply from past import- 

 ation, and from the stoppage of the 

 manufactures of spirits and starch, 

 may be considered as actually 

 realized) j'our committee will pro- 

 ceed to take some view of that im- 

 portant and extensive resource 

 which may be furnished by the 

 most economical use and application 

 of the produce of the country. 



The saving to be derived from 

 the introduction of a larger propor- 

 tion of the produce of grain into 

 bread than is at present used, was 

 stated by your committee, in a for- 

 mer report, as equal to an addition 

 of 4-50,000 quarters. This was 

 calculated upon a consumption of 

 nine months in that part of the 

 country which at present consumes 

 either bread made of the fine flour, 

 or of the remaining produce of the 

 grain after the fine fliour has been 

 extracted. As this measure will 

 not talce full effect till the begin- 

 ning of February, the saving must 

 now be calculated upon eight 

 months only. Your committee 

 have not thought the experiments, 

 which it was possible in so short a 

 time to make upon that subject, 

 sufficiently exact to j ustify an altera- 

 tion in the table of assize, and were 

 desirous, for obvious reasons, to af- 

 ford, in the first instance, an en- 



couragement to the bakers, at least 

 equal, if not superior, to the profit 

 they could make in manufacturing 

 bread from fine flour : yet they see 

 no reason for departing from their 

 former opinion, that a larger quan- 

 tity of bread will be produced from 

 coarse meal than from fine flour ; 

 and they have, therefore, continued 

 to estimate the saving upon that 

 principle. By this mode of dressing, 

 a larger quantity of materials for 

 bread will be produced from all 

 other species of grain as well as 

 wheat ; and it is also probable, that 

 in many parts of the country where 

 the wheat has been of good qua- 

 lity and well harvested, the whole 

 meal, including the bran, will be 

 made into bread. Your committee 

 will not, however, attempt to esti- 

 mate the additional saving which 

 may be produced by these circum- 

 stances, and will only state the in- 

 creased supply of food which may 

 be derived from the adoption of the 

 measure above referred to, as equal 

 to about 400,000 quarters. 



It is still more difficult to estimate 

 the advantages to be expected from 

 the economy introduced into the 

 consumption of private families, in 

 consequence of the liigh price of 

 grain, and of liis majesty's procla- 

 mation. Your committee have seen 

 with satisfaction, the zeal and ac- 

 tivity with which the execution of 

 the salutary system therein recom- 

 mended, appears to have been un- 

 dertaken by various classes of the 

 community. Even if the operation 

 of this measure should extend only 

 to persons in some degree of afflu- 

 ence, the diminished consumption 

 of their families could not fail to 

 produce considerable effect. Sup- 

 posing this reduction to take place 

 only in 120,000 families, containing 



