482 Changes in Agriculture in Twenty Years, [sept., 





1891- 



900. 



1901- 



10. 



Increase + or Decrease-. 



Actual. 



Per Cent. 







s. 



d. 





^. 



s. d. 





Wheat 



ner or 

 ...pci 41. 



28 



2 



2Q 



10 



+ 1 8 



+ 6'0 



Barley 



... j , 



25 



0 



24 



6 



-0 6 



- 2'0 



Oats 





17 



c 



18 



0 



+ 0 7 



+ 3'° 



Fat Cattle- 













d. 





First 



per 8 lb. 



4 



7 



4 



9 



+ 2 



+ r6 



Second... 







0 





1 1 



— 1 



— 2 ■ 1 



Inferior... 



j, 



2 



7 



2 



Q 



+ 2 



+ 6*q 



Fat Sheep — 















First 





C 



J 



8 



c 



10 



+ 2 



+ 2-9 



Second ... 





C 



J 



0 





0 







Inferior... 





3 



6 



3 



9 



+ 3 



+ 7-1 















a. 





Bacon (Irish) 



per cwt. 



61 



6 



66 



10 



+ 5 4 



+ 87 



Cheese (English Cheddar) 



59 





65 



5 



+ 6 0 



+ ICVI 



Butter 





99 



1 



102 



0 



+ 2 6 



+ 2-5 



Eggs 



per 120 



8 



3 



8 



10 



+ 0 7 



+ 7*1 



Potatoes 



...per ton 



7i 



7 



76 



3 



+ 4 8 



+ 6- 5 



The prices realised by the British farmer for the produce 

 of his land appear to bear in many cases little relation to the 

 quantity which he produces in a particular season. A short 

 home harvest does not necessarily mean high prices, nor does 

 a good crop always mean low ones. Broadly speaking, the 

 influence of the home crop upon the markets depends on the 

 proportion which it bears to the average total supplies, or, in 

 other words, to the imports which compete with it. This is 

 illustrated by a comparison between the annual production 

 of wheat in Great Britain and the average price at which the 

 crop in each year was sold. This shows that though there is 

 in some years an indication that increased home production 

 was followed by a fall of price or reduced production by a rise, 

 the movement is not very close, and very pronounced changes 

 in the production appear to have had a very slight effect upon 

 the price — the home production representing only about 20 per 

 cent, of the whole supply. 



A similar comparison for potatoes, the home production of 

 which represents about 90 per cent, of the total supply, shows 

 the relation between prices and supply to be very marked. 



The oversea supplies of commodities which directly compete 

 with British farm produce have, it may be noted, all been 

 larger in the decade 1 901-10 than in the preceding ten years. 



