374 Home Produce, Imports, and Consumption of Wheat. 
lately estimated, does not correctly represent the amount of 
liome-grown wheat available for consumption as flour and bread. 
A certain amount is each year returned to the land as seed. In 
estimating the amount of home-grown wheat available for con- 
sumption, therefore, we have deducted 2\ bushels per acre from 
the estimated total produce. Doubtless less than this is devoted 
to seed, over a large proportion of the area sown in the United 
Kingdom ; but where drill husbandry is not adopted, the quantity 
will be more. It will probably be so, more especially in the 
greater part of Ireland, some portions of Scotland, and in some 
of the northern counties of England. Considering, however, 
that the quantity will average less over a large proportion of the 
chief wheat-growing districts of England, the estimate of 2 J 
bushels will probably not be far from the truth. 
4. Imports. 
For the whole period to which our inquiry relates, we have 
returns either of the net imports of wheat and wheat-flour, or of 
the imports and exports, from which the net imports can be 
calculated, for the United Kingdom collectively, and for Ireland * 
separately. To get the net imports, that is, the imports less 
exports, for Great Britain, we have obviously only to deduct 
those for Ireland from those of the United Kingdom. 
Unfortunately, although we are thus able to determine from 
the beginning the net imports into Great Britain, there are no 
returns for England and Wales, or for Scotland separately, prior 
to 1862. From that date, however, we have returns of both 
imports and exports for England and Wales; and from 1865 
returns of imports into Scotland. From 1862 to 1865 we have 
determined the imports for Scotland by deducting those for Eng- 
land and Wales from those for Great Britain ; and, since that 
date, the returns for Scotland are adopted ; and these deducted 
from those for Great Britain, give the results for England and 
Wales. There is some immaterial discrepancy between the 
results so obtained and the actual returns for England and Wales, 
but the plan was adopted to prevent inconsistency with the 
figures given for Great Britain. 
For the ten years preceding 1862, the date of the first separate 
returns for England and Wales, we are obliged to rely entirely 
upon our own judgment in the apportionment of the aggregate 
imports into Great Britain, to England and Wales, and to Scot- 
land, respectively. We have done it as follows : — For the six years 
commencing 1862, for which we have the separate returns for 
* Excepting for 1854, for -which we have not been able to procure the returns ; 
and we liave therefore adopted for that year the mean of the figures given for 
1853 and 1855 respectively. 
