154 
Some Minor l Farm Crops. 
his demands from his own stocks and the grower is assured 
of a purchaser for his product. A few plots of seeds are 
also grown by farmers and small holders for sale to merchants 
or on Mark Lane. These generally consist of scarlet runner 
beans, broad beans, and some varieties of peas, the type and 
quality of which can be judged from the seed itself. It is 
obvious that this system could not be used for mangold or 
swede seed, the inherent qualities of which can only be judged 
by a knowledge of the stocks from which it was grown. 
The following are the general contract prices of one firm of 
merchants for 1913-14 : — Mangold seed, 25s. per cwt. ; swede, 
15s. 6c2. per bushel ; green turnip, 14s. per bushel ; peas from 
10s. to 12., and nasturtium from 14s. to 18s. per bushel. Some 
of the small holders were* growing at the following prices in 
1913 : — Parsley, 12s. to 13s. per bushel ; parsnip, 18s. to 11. 
per bushel ; celery, 22. 5s. per cwt. ; wallflowers, 10t2., Is. Id., 
and Is. 6c2. per lb. ; white candytuft, from 5 d. to 8d., and 
coloured, from Is. to Is. 2d. per lb. ; scarlet sweet peas, Is. per 
lb. ; scarlet runner beans, 12s. per bushel, and York cabbage, 
21. 10s. per cwt. The prices are ruled by the stocks in the 
hands of the merchants, which affect to some extent the prices 
on the wholesale market, though on the whole contract prices 
are fairly stable. A slight general rise has taken place during 
the last four years due to the higher prices reached by cereals. 
Some farmers who did not feel comfortable in the seed 
industry returned to cereal farming and thus limited the field 
of production. Some seed corn is also grown in the neigh- 
bourhood, but the price realised only amounts to about 2s. per 
quarter over the ordinary market prices for grain. 
Some idea of the capital and labour employed in this 
system of farming may be gleaned from the fact that the last 
annual balance-sheet and valuation on a farm of 1,000 acres 
revealed a working capital of 13,000Z. On this farm sixty men 
are regularly employed and the average wage sheet is 562. per 
week. On another farm of 1,100 acres the labour bill for 1912 
amounted to nearly 5,0002. Thus the number of men employed 
per 100 acres is far above the average, though the rate of wages 
paid is not high. The farmers show a keen desire to make 
practical use of scientific and mechanical developments of 
agricultural methods, and the nature of the industry demands 
that they should be alert and keen as business managers. 
These qualities and capacities are reflected in the maintenance 
of a large population on the land and the evident prosperity 
of the neighbourhood. 
Arthur W. Ashby, 
13 Plantation Road, 
Oxford. 
