264 ON THE PRICE OF GRAIN. 



as in the Eastern, my object being to compare the result of 

 the corn rents with the maximum market prices of those 

 districts. 



Now I have already commented, in dealing with the several 

 years in Houghton's collections, on the annual averages of the 

 several districts. The general average of wheat for the whole 

 twelve years is 40^. 5i<^., and is fairly close to the average of 

 the last twelve years of my collection, 43^. ^\d. The general 

 average of malt is 24 s. id. in Houghton, in my series 

 24s. 8f </. ; of oats, 135. %d. in Houghton, mine being i$s. 

 of beans, 24?. id. and 28j. \d. ; of peas, 23 s. 6\d. and $is 

 The prices then at the four centres are invariably higher, 

 though in some cases not very markedly above the general 

 average. But the prices in my collections will be seen to 

 correspond much more closely with those gathered from the 

 three districts. In wheat, Houghton's are 42^. $\d., mine 

 43^. 4?^.; in malt, 25^. $\d. and 24^. 8 %d. ; in oats, 15^. \\d. 

 and i$s. 2%d. ; in beans, 2$s. id. and 28^. \d.\ in peas, 25^. id. 

 and $is. o|^., the last contrast being defective in consequence 

 of four years, and in these two of the cheapest failing in my 

 returns. Curiously, the wheat rents at the four centres are 

 2s. higher, and the malt rents is. lower, than in the averages 

 obtained from Houghton. 



The strength which the averages taken from Houghton's 

 collections gives to my own averages is, that they prove 

 them not only to be genuine and accurate, but representative 

 of a larger area than the mere locality would indicate, and I 

 do not regret, considering the results, the enormous labour 

 which I have taken in calculating the averages in Houghton, 

 which represent a total derived from 25,782 entries during the 

 twelve years contained in his collection. The student of 

 local and social history may draw even more inferences from 

 these statistics than I have done. 



The subjoined tables contain the following: 



I. The first table contains the annual averages of wheat, 

 barley, malt, oats, oatmeal, rye, beans, peas, and wheat-flour. 



