ON THE PRICE OF GRAIN. 245 



not much short, the quality was inferior, and the grain comparatively 

 innutritious. Oats are cheap, as is also oatmeal, the grain being sold 

 at Icklesham and Westfeld by the double quarter or sum. 



1479-80. Wheat is cheaper. The Cambridge accounts are lost, 

 but prices are derived from several localities. Barley and malt stand 

 at prices which are generally analogous to those of wheat. Oats are 

 cheap. Rye corresponds to wheat. Beans and peas are scantily 

 represented, and the rates are probably above the general average. 



1480-1. The Cambridge account of King's Hall has been found, 

 at which the average is 4^. 8f^. Prices are higher in the south and 

 Midland counties ; the price at Heyford being 7.$-. Barley is cheap 

 at Cambridge, but dear in the north, and the same fact applies to 

 malt. Oats are cheap, a large quantity being bought at Finchale at 

 is. 6d., and certain purchases being made at London, and from winter 

 to summer at Ruislip near London, at moderate prices. Rye is 

 unchanged. Beans, peas, and vetches are represented, the first 

 falsely, the other two by only one entry each. 



1481-2. The information is extensive, and the harvest is decidedly 

 defective. At first prices are low, except in certain localities. The 

 Cambridge accounts include those of both Colleges, but the King's 

 College account is defective, containing no entries before March. 

 At Heyford the price is 8s. The highest rate recorded is in the 

 King's Hall account, 12^. $d. The average of this account is 

 8s. io\d., that of King's College 9^. 6^d. That of Sion, at which 

 298 quarters are bought, 9-$-. i^d. At Swaffham 12^. is reached, and 

 the average is 7^. g\d. At Finchale 29 quarters are bought at los. 

 Barley rises proportionately. Malt is also dear, the Cambridge average 

 being 5.9. 4-^., and the 480 quarters at Sion standing at an average 

 of 7-y. 2\d. Oats and oatmeal are also dear. Rye is not so dear as 

 might be expected, but the western prices, from which two entries 

 of rye malt come, do not seem to have participated in the general fall. 

 Beans, peas, and tares are also dear. The probable cause of the 

 dearth was wet in the Midland and eastern counties. 



1482-3. Prices are still higher, especially in eastern England. 

 The King's Hall average is los. 2</., the King's College, which went 

 further afield, is ys. 6d. Prices fell as the prospects of 1483-4 

 improved. The highest rate reached is at Wearmouth, 15.?. Barley 

 and malt are also very dear. The Cambridge averages of King's 

 Hall and King's College are respectively $s. 5^., and $s. q^d. But 

 some malt is bought at Wearmouth at nj. Oats are by no means 

 so dear, nor is oatmeal. Beans and peas are dear. The two years 



