2(5 
Agricultural Progress and 
and flour took place in the three last years. The quarters of 
wheat imported in the first ten years of free-trade ranged for 
the most part between three and four millions of quarters 
per annum, averaging 3,737,906 quarters. The flour imported 
averaged 3,650,396 cwts ; but in 1860, 1861, 1862 the average 
imports of wheat rose to 7,421,014 quarters per annum, or double 
the average of the previous ten years ; whilst the imported 
flour reached 6,148.757 cwts., an increase of 68 per cent. This 
sudden rise is easily explained. The three years in question 
were years of unusually deficient crops in these islands. An 
interesting return given by Mr. Morton, in his valuable paper 
on Agricultural Progress, already alluded to, furnishes the means 
of testing the extent of the deficiency in one of our largest corn- 
growing districts. It is an account of the produce of wheat per 
acre on a large Fen farm in Lincolnshire for the last twenty- four 
years ; and shows that, whilst the average produce of the whole 
period was between 38 and 39 bushels per acre, the produce of 
the three years 1859, 1860, 1861 was 26, 24, and 27 bushels 
respectively — i. e., the produce of these three successive years 
was 33 per cent, below the average produce of the farm. These 
were the three harvests which would influence the importations 
of the years 1860, 1861, and 1862, and sufficiently account for 
their unusual amount. In endeavouring to strike a balance be- 
tween the ordinary increase -of importation, consumption, and 
home production, the calculation would be vitiated by including 
these very exceptional seasons, unless it could be extended over 
a long succession of years, which, as Free trade commenced 
in 1849, is evidently impossible. We shall therefore confine 
our comparison to the ten years immediately preceding, and the 
ten immediately succeeding 1849, leaving out that year as not 
belonging entirely to either the Free-trade or ante-Free-trade 
epoch. We shall calculate the wheat-meal as wheat at the rate 
of 2^ bushels for each hundredweight of flour, and we find that 
the comparison stands as follows : — 
QT9. 
Quantity of wheat and flour (calculated as wheat)! 2 870 0G1 
imported in 1839 > ' ' 
Ditto in 1859 4,971,683 
Increase in 1859 over 1839 .. Qrs. 2,101,622 
Average quantity of wheat and flour (calculated as wheat)! 9 iin gg,- 
imported in each of the five years, 1839-1843 .. ' ' 
Ditto 1855-1859 4,573,047 
Average increase Qrs. 2,129,060 
