Mr. DUNDAS WHITEasked the President of the Board of Agriculture, in view of the Government proposals to guarantee 1565W minimum prices for wheat and oats with a view to increasing the acreage under these crops, if he will state, as regards the United Kingdom for each year since 1870, what were the average prices per imperial quarter of wheat, barley, and oats, respectively; and what were the acreages under wheat, barley, and oats respectively?
§ Mr. PROTHERONo average prices for wheat, barley, and oats are available for the United Kingdom. For England find Wales the average prices for the forty-five years from 1870 to 1914 are given on page 211 of Part III. of Agricultural Statistics, 1914 [Cd. 8112]. The areas of the three crops in the United Kingdom for the thirty years from 1885 to 1914 are given on page 98 of Part I. of the same volume [Cd. 7926], The areas for years before 885, no far as figures are available, are to be found in the earlier volumes of Agricultural Statistics. Corresponding particulars for the years 1915 and 1915 are:
1915— s. d. Wheat 2,335,091 acres, average price 52 10 Barley 1,524,316 acres, average price 37 4 Oats 4,182,296 acres, average price 30 2 1916— Wheat 2,053,568 acres, average price 58 5 Barley 1,653,376 acres, average price 53 6 Oats 4,171,353 acres, average price 33 5