THE NATION'S FOOD SUPPLY. 137 



total dried fruits (currants, raisins, figs, etc.) account for 

 nearly one-fourth, and exotic fruits (bananas, oranges 

 and lemons) for nearly one-third. The imports of raw fruit 

 directly competing with home produce may be reckoned 

 at about 5,000,000. Apples represent by far the largest 

 item of our fruit supply, Canada, the United States 

 and Australia sending nearly all the imports. Oranges 

 come easily second, and bananas third in the fruit diet 

 of the nation. 



Of vegetables the farm production in Great Britain is 

 calculated at about 11,000,000, of which potatoes 

 represent over 7,000,000. Imports of vegetables amount 

 to 4,000,000 ; potatoes, onions and tomatoes accounting 

 for seven-eighths of the total. In some years there is a 

 considerable exportation of potatoes, and in 1911 this 

 amounted to 432,000. The Irish production of potatoes 

 is very large, and adding this to the produce of private 

 gardens I am disposed to estimate the total consumption 

 of vegetables at 24,000,000, of which about 17 per cent, 

 comes oversea. 



To complete the items of the nation's food bill we must 

 add 26,000,000 for sugar. The total imports of the 

 beverages, tea, coffee and cocoa, which I propose to 

 include as food, amount to 18,500,000, but the exports 

 amount to over 5,000,000, so that the home consumption 

 is about 13,500,000. 



From this very rapid survey we are now able to sum- 

 marise the nation's food supply in terms of money. 

 Dividing home production from imports, and deducting 

 exports, we get the statement on p. 138 of the value of 

 food consumed in the United Kingdom. 



If we deduct the two last items, for which there is no 

 corresponding home production, it will be observed that 

 the total of imported food is valued at about 13,000,000 

 less than the estimated total of the home produce con- 

 sumed. In other words, the United Kingdom may be 

 said to produce rather more than one-half of its total food 



