The British Wheat Crop.

Bush Advocate, Volume IX, Issue 796, 24 June 1893, Page 5

The British Wheat Crop.

The very exhaustive paper contributed to the nowis3ue of the Royal Society 'a " Journal" of England on the British wheat crop during the pact forty years, by Sir J. B. Lawea, Burt, and Dr Gilbert, merits more than passing notice. It is a remarkable paper in every respect. As showing the act'ial position of the wheat supply of the United Kingdom, the following tables extracted from the elaborate appendix-tables will be scanned with interest. As will be noticed, the forty years embraced in tho calculation are divided into five periods of eight years each : — AVERAGE ANXUAT, PRODUCTION-.

AVERAGE ANNUAL QUANTITY AVAILA-BLE FOB COXSUMI'TION.

AVERAGE AVAILABLE TOJt ANNUAL CONSUMVTIQy I'ER HEAD.

Theße figures clearly indicate the undisturbed course of th-j wheat trade of tbe United Kingdom. The homo production has continuously diminished at such a rapid rate ns to he almost a third less on the average of the last eight years than it was in the iirst eight-year term of tho forty years. Thcareaunderthe wheat crop, of course, haß decreased in corresponding proportion. The increase in tho imports of wneat, during tho period referred to, has been enormous. The forty years have seen the annual quantity imported from abroad wellnigh quadrupled, or the amount available per head of tho population advanced from 137 to 4-01 bushels, while tbo home produce haß dwindled from 3-S2 to 1 -SS bushels per head of the inhabitants, a state of r atters by no means consoling to home interests.

rcriods. pSduco. Tm roiteJ. Total. Hush. Bush. Bush. 1552-MtolSK>-or>... .V 32 137 5-19 ICBO-Ol tolPlJ7-C8 ... 336 2-21 .Vt!O ISCMO to IWS-715 ... 2-iir 2.72 TrO9 1876-77 to ISC3-84 ... 207 3.76 6 - t3 IS.S4-S5 to IBDI-iVi ■■ 1-frS 4-04 Q-'Jg

Tlotae r T«j-_ f Tei-loas. Proiluco ! tJUovLs Tutal - lcss Seeil.i - m P Olts ' Qrs. (lis. Qra. 1532-53 til 1859-CO .„ 13,103,310 .1,82(1.240 14,323,556 IBUO-Ul to 18IJ7-B8 ... r»,487.(0n !<,"nn,7S3 20,777,282 186S-IW to 1575-7 I) .. 11,534,579 10,3W,1i52 89,759,501 1870-77 to ISSa-94 ... 5,922,03G lC,80(i.l!)l| 25,229,177 l«84-!<3to 1801-H2 . . 5."0f1,174 18.t87.25tl 27.8(5-1,255

_ . , , Yield ncr Total Penods. Area. rroduce . Acres Bush. Urs. 1852-53 to ISffil-GO .. 4,(W2,1(it) 2SS 11,534.230 lSi;o-6l to ISO 7-118 ... H.7.->3,01l 2SS 13,623,031 IStiS-U'J to 1875-7ti ... S,7BS,t:t2 27J 12.900,291 1870-77 to 1883-S4 ... 3,001,310 2. r >i (1,703,979 ISS4-85 to 1891-02 .. 2,!i12.;'2l SOi i.Mr, OS7