§ COLONEL SIR H. VINCENT (Sheffield, Central)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture if he can inform the House how many acres were under wheat in the United Kingdom during the Crimean War, and how many acres are under like cultivation at the present time; and to what extent home-grown wheat sufficed in the former period for the necessities of the then population, and to what extent at the present time?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURENo official information as to the acreage under wheat at the time of the Crimean war is available, but it was probably something like 4,000,000 acres. The acreage last year was 1,939,000. My reply to the second Question is necessarily somewhat conjectural, but according to the best estimate I can obtain the home supply in the years 1854–55 sufficed for the wants of about four-fifths of the population, whereas only one-fifth of the annual consumption is now grown at home. Perhaps I may add that the average price of wheat in 1855 was 74s. 8d. per quarter.
§ COLONEL SIR H. VINCENTCan the right honourable Gentleman say what the price is to-day?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTUREI am afraid I cannot.