SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—M. 459 
Saturday, September 10, 
Excursion to East Lothian Farms. 
Monday, September 12. 
13. Presidential Address by Mr. C. S. Onwiy on The Study of 
Agricultural Economics. See p. 194. 
14, The Rt. Hon. Lord Buepistoz.—Wheat as the Basis of Britain’s 
Food Supply in Time of War. 
Advantages of Potatoes (supplemented by Pig Meat) over Wheat: 
(1) Great Britain self-contained in its potato requirements, and 
an exporter. Under normal conditions she imports four-fifths of 
her wheat requirements from abroad. (2) The normal production of 
wheat is preponderantly in the Eastern counties of Great Britain (ten 
counties out of eighty-six provide more than half the total output). Potatoes 
grown in every part of the kingdom. (3) Many farmers are unfamiliar with 
wheat production, and have neither implements nor buildings necessary for its 
production and storage. Every farmer, gardener, and allotment-holder knows 
how to grow potatoes. (4) Wheat crop may be wholly lost for human require- 
ments by bad weather or incendiarism. Potatoes, though subject to disease 
(which can be minimised by spraying), are less vulnerable, as the edible tuber 
is beneath the ground. (5) Potatoes provide an immense quantity of starchy 
food, far exceeding wheat in output per acre. Crop can be obtained in shorter 
time and harvested at different periods of spring, summer, and autumn. 
(6) Potatoes are relatively deficient in fat and protein, but these can be supplied, 
by way of supplement, by pig-meat. Production of pigs in war-time should 
be encouraged, and not discouraged, as during late war: their capacity for 
rapid reproduction, large families, high percentage of fat-yield, and great variety 
of food products, render them invaluable meat-providers in a national emergency. 
Grazing varieties deserve special encouragement. (7) Large areas of permanent 
and temporary pasture provide a valuable storehouse of accumulated fertility, 
to be utilised in time of war, when fertilisers are bound to be scarce. No 
crop thrives better in newly-turned pasture than potatoes. (8) Potato flour 
can be converted into wholesome and palatable bread, scones, and cakes. 
(9) Surplus or unsuitable potatoes can be utilised both as stock food and as 
source of motor spirit, commercial starch, etc. (10) The home production of 
breadstuffs in the form of potatoes will reduce to a minimum the cost and 
risks of marine transport. Moreover, their production in every part of the 
kingdom for local needs will largely reduce the strain on internal transport. 
15. Sir Henry Rew.—Agricultural Statistics: Their Collection and 
Use. 
16. Mr. A. W. Asupy.—Standards of Production in Agriculture. 
17. Mr. Pryse Howetu.—Economic Surveys of Agriculture in Wales. 
Tuesday, September 13. 
‘18. Dr. W. E. Exuiorr, M.P., and Mr, Arruur Cricuton.—Rickets 
in Pigs. 
During the past two years a series of feeding and metabolic experiments 
have been conducted on pigs, with the object of determining the cause of a 
disease variously known as ‘rheumatism,’ ‘cramp,’ or ‘ rickets.” The most 
obvious signs of the disease are loss of appetite, lethargy, stiffness of the 
hind quarters, a stilted gait, and, later, loss of power of the legs. In severe 
cases deformities of the limbs and fractures of the ribs are found. The con- 
dition is very prevalent in pigs kept in confinement. The results of the 
hoe 
