CHAP. XXI.

INCREASE OF WEALTH.

139

corn generally in store, either in the stacks or thebarns of the cultivators, or in the hands of dealersand millers. This may be inferred from the lessvariation in the price of corn in the century inquestion, when compared with the excessive fluc-tuations which are recorded of the preceding ages.In the whole hundred years from 1600 to 1700,the lowest price of wheat on the average of theyear was 19a, lOd. per quarter, and the highestprice Si. 2s. 9d .; whereas in former ages thevariations in its price, within the compass of afew years, was from 8s. to 61., and in one instancefrom Sa. to the enormous price of 19/. 4a. Thegreatest variation in any one year in the seven-teenth century was in 1662, when before harvestthe price was 4>l. and after harvest, 2,1. 5s. ; but inthe preceding century, in the year 1557, wheatwhich before harvest was at 2l. 13a. 4 d. fell afterthat to 5s.

From this contrast of fluctuations two inferencesmay be drawn : first that there had been a greatimprovement in the practice of cultivation, forgood husbandry has a tendency to counteract thevicissitudes of seasons; and secondly that theremust have been a stock at the end of each pro-ductive year, which could be retained by capitalists,and would diminish the weight with which a yearof scarcity would otherwise fall on the community.

Not only the surface but the bowels of the earthcontributed to the production of additional com-