RATIO OF IMPORTS TO HOME PRODUCTION 9 



Of wheat and wheat flour the home production 

 amounts to a little more than one-sixth of the total 

 consumption if we consider values, one-fifth when 

 quantities are compared. Thirty-seven per cent, of 

 the whole consumption and nearly one-half of the 

 total imports come from British Possessions — India, 

 Canada, Australia. 



Of the other corn grown in this country — barley, 

 oats, peas and beans — the importations are less than 

 one-half of the home production and they are chiefly 

 from foreign countries. Of potatoes the importa- 

 tions amount to about £2% million yearly, the bulk 

 coming from foreign countries ; but this is only a small 

 fraction in value and a still smaller fraction in quantity 

 of the domestic consumption, which is much larger than 

 the figure set down because that takes account only of 

 the potatoes grown for sale on the field scale and not of 

 the produce of the small holaings, allotments and pri- 

 vate gardens. The same qualification has to be applied 

 to the consideration of the output of vegetables ; the 

 importations to the value of £3.4 millions amount to 

 double the estimated home production, but the latter 

 figure only represents the sales of such market gardeners 

 as are working on a large enough scale to be able to 

 make returns to the Board of Agriculture of the acre- 

 age they have under the various crops. What the 

 actual output for consumption is would be difficult to 

 estimate ; but for the present purpose it is evident 

 that there is a comparatively considerable importation, 



elements of error — e.g., in dealing with potatoes the value of the im- 

 ports is disproportionate to the quantity because a large proportion 

 consists of early potatoes commanding a special price. But allowing 

 for these imperfections in the comparison, the main purport of the 

 table is clear enough. 



