Price of Wheat , over 40 Harvest- Years, 1852-3 to 1891-2. 91 
the selected plots have, as a matter of fact, been proved to be 
very near the truth for series of years, and in most cases for 
individual years also. Illustrations of this will be adduced 
farther on. 
The Results^ for the Forty Years, according to 
THE PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED STANDARDS. 
Appendix-Table I. (p. 132) gives the particulars of the home 
produce, the imports, and the consumption, of wheat in the United 
Kingdom, for the forty harvest-years, 1852-3 to 1891-2, in the 
same form as published in former papers for shorter periods. 
The area under the crop, the estimated average produce per 
acre, the total home produce each year calculated therefrom, 
and the amount available for consumption after deducting the 
quantity required for seed, are, for the first twenty-eight years, the 
same as given in our last paper on the subject in the Journal 
(Yol. XVI., 2nd Series, Part 2, 1880) ; and for the subsequent 
years they are, with some immaterial subsequent corrections, 
the same as given in the annual letter on the wheat crop of the 
country. 
The net imports (imports less exports) have, however, been 
recalculated throughout on one uniform basis. Thus, the same 
source is- now adopted throughout, namely, the “ Trade and 
Navigation Returns,” which formerly had not been used for the 
earlier years; and we have now to thank Mr. Giffen, of the 
Board of Trade, for kindly giving us access to the records. 
Again, for the earlier years, the quantities of wheat returned in 
cwts. were calculated into equivalent quarters, and the quantities 
of “ wheat-meal and flour ” returned in cwts. into their equivalent 
quarters of wheat, by factors not always precisely corresponding 
with what seem to have been the officially adopted relations. 
Now, the wheat imported as wheat, and returned in cwts., has 
been converted into quarters, as we understand had been done 
by the Departments, by multiplying the cwts. by which gives 
quarters of 485^ lb. = 8 bushels of 60f lb. per bushel; and 
the imported “ wheat-meal and Hour,” returned in cwts., has 
been calculated into quarters of wheat (also as we understand 
had as a rule been done by the Departments) by reckoning 34 
cwts. of “ wheat-meal and Hour ” to be equivalent to a quarter 
of wheat. This calculation corresponds to 8077 by weight 
of “ wheat-meal and flour” to 100 of wheat; and it gives the 
result in quarters of wheat of G0§ lb. per bushel. In some of 
the earlier years, however, it is stated in the Returns that 1 cwt. 
of “ wheat-meal and flour ” was taken as equivalent to cwt. of 
