IMPORTS AND EXPORTS 329 



In 1828 it was stated before the House of Lords that English 

 wool had deteriorated considerably during the previous thirty- 

 years, owing chiefly to the farmer increasing the weight of the 

 carcase and the quantity of wool, so that fineness of fleece was 

 injured. The great extension of turnips and the introduction 

 of a large breed of sheep also appeared to have lessened the 

 value of the fleece, yet English wool to-day still commands a 

 high price in comparison with that of other countries, though 

 the price in recent years has declined greatly; in 1871 it 

 was IS. ^\d. a lb., in 1872 u. 9^^., in 1873 ij-. 7^. In 1907 

 Leicester wool was i2\d., Southdown 14^. to i5</., and Lin- 

 coln i2d. a lb. ; Australian at the same date being iid., and 

 New Zealand ii^d. 



The fruit-grower has also had to contend with an enormous 

 foreign supply, which nearly always has a better appearance 

 than that grown in these islands, though the quality is often 

 inferior. In i860 apples were included with other raw fruits 

 in the returns, so that the exact figures are not given, but 

 apparently about 500,000 cwt. came in ; by 1903 this had in- 

 creased to 4,569,546 bushels, and in 1907 3,526,232 bushels 

 arrived. Enormous foreign supplies of grapes, pears, plums, 

 cherries, and even strawberries have also combined to keep the 

 home price down. 



The decrease in the acreage of hops, from its maximum of 

 71,789 acres in 1878 to 44,938 in 1907, was ascribed by the 

 recent Commission to the lessening demand for beer in 

 England, the demand for lighter kinds of beer, and the use of 

 hop substitutes, and not to increase in foreign competition ; 

 which the following figures seem to bear out : 



Imports of Hops. Cwt. 



1861 149,176 



1867 296,117 



1869 322,515 



1870 127,853 



1875 256,444 



1877 (the year before the record acreage planted) . 250,039 



