English Markets and Fairs. 
115 
the Board of Agriculture. Consequently, where insufficient or 
unsuitable facilities are given, farmers will be able to appeal 
to the Board of Agriculture to insist on their provision. 
As regards the collection of live-weight prices, the Act 
compels the authorities of certain selected markets to send to 
the Board of Agriculture, in such a form as the Board may 
prescribe, returns showing the number of cattle entering, the 
number and weight of the cattle weighed, and the price of those 
sold. The market authority is given power, for the purpose of 
making a return, to cause any cattle to be weighed. The 
markets from which returns are to be made are : in England — 
Ashford, Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Leeds, Lincoln, Liver- 
pool (Stanley Market), London (Metropolitan Cattle Market), 
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Norwich, Salford, Shrewsbury, Wakefield, 
and York ; in Scotland — Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glas- 
gow, and Perth ; in Ireland — Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. The 
Act further provides that auctioneers, unless exempted by the 
Board of Agriculture, are to erect weighbridges in their sale- 
yards and marts, and all auctioneers having marts in the towns 
from which returns of prices are made are also to make returns 
to the Board of Agriculture. The section of the Act relating 
to auctioneers came into effect on January 1 of this year. 
One other recommendation made by the Royal Commission 
may be said to specially affect agriculture, and therefore calls 
for brief mention in this article. This was the twenty-fifth 
recommendation, which ran : — 
That it is desirable to collect statistics of market prices of commodities, 
through the agency of market owners, as far as may be possible. 
As regards grain and live stock, certain machinery now 
exists for the collection of prices. In reference to the former, 
it may be mentioned that at the beginning of February the 
responsibility for the issue of the weekly corn returns was 
transferred from the Board of Trade to the Board of Agriculture. 
But the twenty-fifth recommendation of the Commission had 
reference to produce other than corn and cattle — such, for 
instance, as cheese, butter, vegetables, meat, fish, &c. The 
statistical and commercial advantages of a reliable record of 
prices are practically the same in reference to every consumable 
commodity. As yet no steps have been taken to give effect 
to this recommendation, and no doubt it is a rather difficult 
problem to solve ; but we may hope that, before long, farmers 
will be placed in a position to know with practical certainty 
what are the real prices current in the markets of the country 
for eveiy thing which they produce, 
H. Henry Rew» 
. I 8 
