ON THE PRICES OF FARM PRODUCE. 399 



in doubling its annual value , and in the Middle Ages, when all 

 saccharine matters, as we shall see further on, were excessively 

 dear, and wax was double the proportionate price which it 

 bears now, it is strange that the bee-master was apparently 

 as rare as he is at present. Coupled with information as to 

 the price of wax is that of oil. This, of course, is a foreign 

 produce, and will be treated of when articles of such a character 

 are adverted to further on. 



The reader will find an imperfect table of the price of cider, 

 and some information as to the value of apples. It is probable 

 that this liquor was generally manufactured, though it was 

 probably but rarely brought to market. In the absence of 

 hops, or indeed, as it would seem, of any corrective to the 

 tendency of beer to become sour, this drink was more general 

 than its natural merits could have deserved, and it was not, 

 as now, confined to special localities. Perry is quoted once. 



Wood available for fuel was of very great significance in 

 medieval times. It appears under all sorts of names, and in 

 very various forms. Richer people used charcoal for their 

 fires; and it is probably the case that most of the entries 

 for fagots are relative to some domestic manufactures. Wood- 

 cutting seems, as in modern times, to have been carried on 

 systematically, a portion of a copse or underwood being taken 

 as an annual crop. I have made very few entries of the 

 price of trees, as the contents of such timber are never given, 

 and therefore the information is vague. Sea-borne mineral 

 coal will be found, (carbones marmi,} carried for long distances, 

 and in general, strange as it may seem, employed for smelting. 

 It is probable that the use of this material is far more ancient 

 than is generally imagined. 



Again, there are a few entries of the price of hemp. I have 

 elsewhere stated that in all probability hemp was grown on 

 most estates for the home manufacture of ropes, and even, 

 perhaps, for the coarser kinds of weaving. But very little 

 information is given as to the value of the raw material. 



A few articles of produce which occur in the list of sundries 



