196 ON THE PRICE OF GRAIN. 



1627-8. Prices are still lower, and continue to fall till the end of 

 the year, when they rise. The Cambridge wheat rent gives an average 

 of 22s. 3! </., while 240 qrs. 6 bshs. bought for the bakehouse, at a cost 

 of 241 i6s. si</., is at 2os. id. The Eton corn rent is at %os. ^d. 

 At Oxford, the New College purchases give an average of 28.$-. 8d., 

 wheat-flour following this price exactly. The wheat rents at Oxford 

 market are at 29^., and the monthly averages of the sales give a 

 result for the year of 2 5 s. \d. The year was no doubt one of great 

 abundance and good quality. Barley is also very cheap. In Mend- 

 ham (Norfolk) the price is only $s. ^d. In the Oxford market, the 

 average for the year is only 13^. 2\d. At Elmswell (Suffolk) three 

 sacks are sold, and I have, with some misgiving, taken the sack at 

 half the quarter, as it ordinarily is. As for malt, the Cambridge rents 

 give an average of i^s.id., Eton one of 19^., Oxford one of 15.?., 

 while the average derived from the market sales throughout the year 

 is rather higher, 15^. 3^. Barley and malt are exceedingly cheap. 

 Oats are also purchased at very low prices, and oatmeal remains for 

 the whole year at last year's price. Considerable quantities of rye are 

 sold at Mendham, the average of this grain being 13.?. %d. Peas are 

 at an average of 14^. nd. at Cambridge. Beans are at i8s. 8d. in 

 Oxford. This place gives a quotation of pulse, by which I do not 

 doubt is meant peas. The year is undoubtedly one of general fertility 

 and cheapness, and the like of it does not recur for twenty-six years. 



1628-9. Prices gradually rise, though not to any considerable 

 amount, the highest rates being Lady Day at Cambridge and the later 

 summer elsewhere. The average Cambridge rent is 30.?. n\d. The 

 bakehouse purchases amount to 234 qrs. 2 bshs., and cost 349 4^. y</., 

 an average of 29.?. g%d. The Eton average is 34^. The New College 

 purchases at Oxford are at 36^. 4^., the price being considerably raised 

 in the last quarter. The corn rents and assise prices are at 33,?. g\d. y this 

 comparatively low average being due to the cheap rates in November. 

 The market average is 33^. 2d. Flour at Oxford closely corresponds 

 with wheat prices. The price of barley rises regularly at Oxford from 

 September to August. Malt is dearer at Cambridge than anywhere 

 else, for it stands at an average of igs. 4%d., while it is at 19^. at 

 Eton, 1 8s. 4d. in the Oxford malt rents, and i>js. 6\d. on the average 

 of the whole year in Oxford market. Oats are not very dear, the average 

 being heightened by some summer purchases at Elmswell; and oatmeal, 

 which begins at the prices of the previous two years, rises con- 

 siderably at the end of this. Beans are dear, and peas, cheap at first, 

 rise at the end of the year as other kinds of grain do. 



