ON THE PRICE OF GRAIN. 



1403 to 1537. The highest price for a bushel of onions is 

 zs. 6d. in 1430, the lowest is 6d. in 1410 and 1474. The 

 average of all the entries is exactly is. \\d. 



Onion seed is bought by the pound. Eleven entries have 

 been found, giving an average of nearly is. Q\d. 



Only four entries have been found of hempseed by the busheL 

 These give an average of is. $\d. It appears to have been 

 extensively and compulsorily cultivated, under the penalty of 

 fine in case of neglect. 



In 1458, King's College, Cambridge, buys a quarter of a 

 pound of ' cabeche' seed at the enormous rate of 4s. I conclude 

 that this was an experiment, and that the source of the seed 

 was the Low Countries. In 1466, the bailiff of Ormesby buys 

 two bushels of buckwheat for his swans at $d. the bushel. 

 This grain was probably imported, and was sent in all like- 

 lihood at a venture. 



Besides the purchase of mustard in seed, for which querns 

 were frequently bought, this condiment was procured by the 

 gallon, apparently ground for consumption. I shall refer to 

 this form of the article when I deal with the vast mass of 

 information which will be referred to under the head of 

 sundries. 



The tables of corn prices also contain other entrres of the 

 products of corn. Oatmeal has already been commented on, 

 but there are divers other names found, as wheatmeal and 

 flour, the price of which as a rule corresponds to unground 

 corn. But there are some terms employed which are rather 

 puzzling. These are chete, gurgettes (found only once), grud- 

 gins, simila, similago (once also), farina, and pollen. 



Chete, gurgettes, grudgins, and simila are found at Cam- 

 bridge and in the King's College accounts only. Similago and 

 pollen are used in Oxford only. The first three of these names 

 appear to mean a coarse meal from which the larger particles 

 of the bran only were taken out. Whatever chete ' may mean 

 in the earlier accounts, it seems clear that at a later period it 

 was almost identical with grudgins. All these products are 



