276 KiiroKT — 1.881. 



tions, it is well to remember that the urban population may be taken at 

 20,000,000 and the rural at 15,000,000. The details as to ages are not 

 yet known, but in a general manner 55 per cent, are adults and 45 per 

 cent, persons under age. 



Abticles of Food. 

 Bread. 



In the expenditure for food, bread liolds the first place, on account of 

 its being shared in by the largest number of people, though in amount it 

 stands second to meat. Mr. Caird, in his valuable work on the landed 

 interest, calculated the quantity and value of wheat of home and foreign 

 growth consumed annually in the United Kingdom as follows : — 



Quantity Value 



Cwts. £ 



HomeGrowtli . . . .55,000,000 . . .32,187,500 



Foreign „ ... .55,000,000 . . 32,187,500 



Cwts. 110,000,000 . . £64,375,000 



Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, in a paper read before the Statistical Society 

 on the 11th May, 1880, gave the consumption of wheat for the average of 

 three years, from 1876 to 1878, as follows : — 



Quantities available 

 for consumption Value 



Qrs. £ 



Home .... 10,198,253 . . . 24,670,579 



Foreign .... 13,700,386 . . . 33,356,761 



Total .... 23,898,639 . . . £58,027,340 



Take 60,000,OOOZ. as the average of the two authorities, and add 25 per 

 cent, for manufacture of bread and distribution, and the cost appears to 

 be about 75,000,000/. In another form, take 110,000,000 cwt. as the 

 consumption, or 12,820,000,000 lbs. ; at 80 lbs. flour per cwt. wheat, 

 they will give 9,856,000,000 lbs. flour. Assume that 280 lbs. flour will 

 give 316,610,000 quartern loaves, at Gd. the quartern loaf the gross 

 expenditui'e would be 77,500,000/., whilst the net expenditure would be 

 60,000,000/. ; the gross expenditure being at the rate of 1'41(/. , and the 

 net at the rate of l"12c?. per day for each individual in the kingdom. 



Potatoes. 



ISText to bi-ead, the potato is most largely used as farinaceous food, 

 especially in Ireland. The home growth of potatoes was estimated by Mr. 

 Caird at 111,000,000 cwts. According to the agricultural statistics for 

 1880, the number of acres under cultivation in the United Kingdom was 

 1,380,578 acres. Estimating the produce at 3 tons per acre, the total 

 produce would be 82,835,000 cwts., and, at 6s. per cwt., the cost would be ' 

 24,850,000/. Add 9,750,000 cwts. imported, at an average price of 5'84a'. 

 per cwt., value 2,847,000/., we have a total of 27,607,000/., and, with 

 20 per cent, for distribution, 33,238,000/., or in the proportion of 0'64c/. 

 as the gross, and 0'51d. as the net expenditure per day for each in- 

 dividual. 



Vegetailes. 



Of the quantity of vegetable and fruit home-produce consumed there 

 is no account, but the amount may be safely taken at half the value of 



