CHAPTER VIII. 



THE NATION'S FOOD SUPPLY. 1 



Early in 1816 the old Board of Agriculture (with which 

 the name of Sir John Sinclair is so intimately associated), 

 considering it "an incumbent duty to the public to take 

 the necessary measures for ascertaining the real state of 

 the kingdom, in whatever most intimately concerned its 

 agricultural resources," sent out a circular letter of inquiry 

 " to every part of England, Wales and Scotland." The 

 replies received presented a doleful picture of agricultural 

 calamity, and among the causes which had contributed to 

 disaster was what a Scottish correspondent termed " an 

 excessive glut of agricultural produce beyond the wants 

 of the country." The imports of wheat and flour in 1815 

 were less than 500,000 cwts., of butter 125,000 cwts., and 

 of cheese 107,000 cwts., while imports of meat were 

 prohibited. The average price of wheat was 65s. yd. in 

 1815, and 78s. 6d. in 1816, and the wholesale price of beef 

 and mutton was from yd. to 8^. per lb. in 1815, and from 

 6d. to yd. per lb. in 1816. 



It would be interesting to speculate as to the terms in 

 which the Scottish pessimist of a century ago would 

 describe the quantity of agricultural produce now annually 

 supplied to meet the wants of the country. 



In these days of popular statistics it may perhaps be 

 thought that anyone who has access to the ordinary 

 sources of information can, with a very trifling arith- 

 metical effort, state at once the total quantity of food 

 consumed by the nation. As a matter of fact, the figure 



1 Read before Section M of the British Association at Dundee, 

 September, 1912. 



A.F. K 



