270 



Chicory Industry in Great Britain, [aug., 



the land and the handling of the crop. For this reason, how- 

 ever, its cultivation is of special interest when viewed in the 

 light of rural depopulation. 



The soil in the chicory-growing districts near York is a 

 medium loam, the rent of which usually ranges from £2 to £3 

 per acre, though in some cases it is less than £2 per acre. 

 Wages in these districts are high, the usual rates for ordinary 

 labourers regularly engaged being 18s. a week, though occa- 

 sionally as much as 21s. is given. For casual labourers engaged 

 in digging and washing the roots the rates paid are 3s. 6d. 

 to 6s. a day for men and 2s. to 2s. 6d. a day for women and 

 youths. 



The expenditure incurred in the production of the crop varies 

 with the amount of labour and manure employed and with the 

 system of rotation. From estimates furnished by farmers who 

 have grown chicory in Yorkshire, it would appear that the 

 gross cost of cultivation after wheat ranges from £12 8s. to 

 ,£18 per acre, while after potatoes the gross outlay ranges from 

 £g 8s. to £13 5s. per acre. It can, however, be assumed that 

 the average gross cost of cultivation, including rent, rates, and 

 taxes, is about £15 per acre on a corn stubble and about £4 

 less after potatoes, though in the latter case something must 

 be added for the unexhausted manurial value of the farmyard 

 manure applied to the previous potato crop. 



After potatoes there would be a saving of £3 per acre in 

 manures, and the labour bill would be less owing to the land 

 being in better condition than is the case after wheat. 



The roots are now dried at the factory, but it was formerly 

 the practice of the growers to dry the chicory in kilns on 

 their own premises instead of selling the raw roots to 

 drying merchants, but the necessity of conforming to the 

 Excise regulations discouraged growers from utilising the 

 farm-kilns, which were gradually abandoned after 1861. At 

 the present time the quantity of roots produced on separate 

 farms is so small that it would not be profitable for an 

 individual grower to dry his own produce unless he could 

 combine with other growers in the maintenance of a common 

 kiln. 



The closing of the country kilns has undoubtedly led to a 



