I^'xtini((fed  Yield  of  Crops  in  Great  Jiritain  in  19(K}.  363 
regcards  quantilj',  but  it  was  more  or  less  below  the  average  throughout  the 
western  and  northern  counties.  On  the  small  area  under  wheat  in  Wales 
and  on  the  still  smaller  area  in  Scotland,  the  j'ield  was  reported  as  slightly 
under  the  average  in  the  one  case,  and  considerably  so  in  the  other. 
Harley. — The  yield  of  barley  was  relatively  more  unsatisfactory  than  that 
of  wheat,  being  four-fifths  of  a bushel  below  the  average,  while  the  quality 
was  prejudicially  affected  by  the  weather  to  an  even  greater  degree.  Here 
again  the  results  in  the  eastern  counties  appear  to  have  been  variable,  but  out 
of  797,000  acres  under  barley  in  this  division  only  about  one-fourth  bore  a 
crop  which  was  estimated  above  the  average.  The  counties  thus  favouiably 
circumstanced  were  Bedford,  Cambridge,  and  Suffolk,  but  even  in  these 
counties  much  of  the  crop  was  reported  as  damp  and  discoloured,  and  fit  only 
for  feeding  purposes.  The  influence  of  the  weather  may  be  traced  in  the  fact 
that  the  districts  from  whence  the  most  favourable  reports  of  the  wheat  crop 
were  received  were  also  those  wherein  the  yield  of  barley  was  most  satisfactory. 
Thus  Cornwall  reports  a barley  crop  considerably  above  its  normal  average, 
while  Devon  and  Dorset  in  the  south-west,  and  Kent  and  Sussex  in  the  south- 
east, seemed  to  have  been  favoured  in  comparison  with  the  northern  and 
western  counties  generally.  In  Northumberland,  where  barley  occupies 
32,000  acres,  the  estimated  yield  was  only  2()J  bushels  per  acre,  as  com- 
pared with  a local  decennial  average  of  3(>i  bushels,  and  in  Wilts.,  where  a 
similar  area  is  grown,  the  deficiency  was  bushels  per  acre.  The  Welsh  crop 
of  barley  was  generally  poor,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Pembroke,  where 
more  barley  is  grown  than  in  the  romaining  Welsh  counties,  seems  to  have 
obtained  over  average  results.  In  Scotland  the  yield  generally  fell  below  the 
average  by  the  same  amount  as  in  England. 
Oats. — Oats  now  occupy  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  area  under  cereals 
in  Great  Britain,  and  the  yield  of  this  crop  in  the  past  }’ear  was  much  more 
abundant  than  that  of  either  wheat  or  barley,  being  39|  bushels  per  acre,  or 
about  one  bushel  in  excess  of  the  decennial  average.  In  England  the  estimated 
yield  was  about  42  bushels  per  acre,  or  two  bushels  above  the  average.  In  five 
counties  an  average  yield  of  over  50  bushels  per  acre  was  indicated,  viz., 
Lincoln,  Norfolk,  Cambridge,  Sussex,  aird  Dorset.  Generally  the  wet  summer 
was  not  so  injurious  to  the  growth  of  this  cereal  as  to  that  of  wheat  and  barley, 
although  the  quality  and  condition  were,  of  course,  seriously  affected.  In  the 
northern  counties  the  crops  were  generally  under  average.  The  position  in 
Wales  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  that  in  England,  the  estimated  yield  being 
2\  bushels  below  the  average,  Pembroke  alone  rising  above  the  mean.  In 
Seotland  an  average  of  3(1^  bushels  per  acre  was  obtained  as  the  result  of 
moderately  bulky  crops  in  the  eastern  counties,  set  off  by  under  average  returns 
from  the  northern  and  we.stern  divisions. 
Jieait.t  amt  Peas. — The  area  under  beans  in  Great  Britain  was  238,861 
acres,  and  the  estimated  yield  was  4'12  bushels  above  the  average.  In  Suffolk 
and  Lincoln,  where  comparatively  large  areas  are  devoted  to  this  crop,  good 
results  weie  obtained,  and  it  was  reported  to  be  the  only  grain  crop  that  did 
well  in  the  latter  county.  Beans  are  but  little  cultivated  in  Scotland,  and  the 
small  area  yielded  crops  1 J bushels  below  the  average.  A similarly  unsatis- 
factory result  was  obtained  in  the  North  of  England  generally.  The  acreage 
under  ])eas,  like  that  of  beans,  is  nearly  all  in  England,  where  the  production 
was  above  the  average,  but  itoor  results  were  recorded  in  Lincoln,  Essex,  and 
Norfolk,  counties  which  comprise  more  than  one-third  of  the  English  area. 
Potaloes. — The  potato  crop  of  the  past  year  was  very  indifferent,  the 
estimated  average  being  only  5' 16  tons  as  against  6-57  tons  in  1902.  In  only 
four  counties  of  England  and  Wales  was  the  crop  reported  as  exceeding  the 
decennial  average.  The  main  crop  in  the  important  potato-growing  county  of 
Lincoln  was  much  diseased,  and  badly  harvested  owing  to  the  wet  condition  of 
the  land.  In  Lancashire  a large  extent  of  land  was  reported  to  be  unproduc- 
tive from  the  same  cause,  the  tubers  rotting  in  the  ground.  One  result  has 
been  to  create  an  active  demand  for  disease-resisting  sorts  for  seed.  In 
