Variation in the Price and Supply of Wheat. 
199 
Tlie kingdom, which contains about 31,500,000 English acres, may be 
divided as ioUows, viz. : — 
Acres. 
Arable land 1.5,000,000 
Forest.. 12,500,000 
Meadow and common pasture .. .. 3,000,000 
Koads, rivers, &c 1 , 000 , 000 
31,500,000 
Of the arable land, only one-ninth can he considered as good soil, and 
favourable for the cultivation of wheat. 
A few years since one of the leading agriculturists of the country made a 
calculation of the manner in which the whole of tlie arable land in the country, 
whether occupied by the gentry or peasants, and whether the property of the 
Crown or private individuals, was distributed for crops, with the following 
results, viz. : — 
Acres. 
Land sown in autumn with wheat 840,000 
,, ,, ,, rye 4,160,000 
Land sown in spring with barley 1,250,000 
,, ,, ,, oats 3,350,000 
,, peas 400,000 
Land planted with potatoes 700,000 
,, beet-root 40,000 
,, ,, green crops 80,000 
Fallow 4,180,000 
15,000,000 
The annual value of these crops is stated by the same agriculturist as being, 
on an average, after the deduction of seed, about 9,150,000?., giving the value 
of the produce per acre about lis. English. 
Tlie total average produce of the kingdom is given by this author at about 
11,000,000 quarters of grain of all kinds, and 9,000,000 quarters of potatoes ; 
but as this return gives the produce of grain at little more than one quarter to 
the acre, I do not imagine that much faith can be placed in the figures. 
Unfortunately no agricultural statistics of any kind are published in the 
country as yet; but, according to the official return of 1860, the gross total of 
the grain crop for the year amounted only to 11,410,000 quarters, which 
agrees with the above -quoted figures, but no details are specified from which to 
check the amount. 
May 9th, 1862. — From jirivate sources, I have gathered that the average 
production of wheat per English acre is calculated at 14 bushels, which 
agrees nearly with the return given, and would give the average amount of 
wheat produced in the country at 1,470,000 quarters annually. 
As the result of inquiries from competent persons, as to the improvement 
introduced in the system of agriculture, I may mention that about one-half of 
the landed proprietors have introduced a systematic rotation of crops, the use 
of machinery lor diminishing manual labour in farming operations, and the 
cultivation of clover and other green crops ; whilst the stimulus given to these 
improvements by the late Agricultural Society, as well as to the amelioration 
of the breed of cattle, has had a most beneficial effect. But the peasants, even 
those who hold their land on perpetual leases, have not as yet perceived the 
advantage of the improved system. The use of artificial manures and drainage 
are still little understood in the country, and from the want of capital must 
remain out of the reach of many. 
The small proportion of live stock, and consequently the quantity of manure 
available, is totally oat of proportion to the requirements of the soil, and the 
farmers are thus forced, by the want of this necessary item, to limit themselves 
