+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| |Average Annual|Average Annual|Average Annual|
| Periods. | Acreage. |Yield per acre| Home Produce |
| | | (cwt.). | (cwt.). |
+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| 1888-1897 | 56,370 | 7.76 | 438,215 |
| 1898-1907 | 48,841 | 8.84 | 434,567 |
+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
The wide fluctuations in the home production of hops are worthy of note,
as they exercise a powerful influence upon market prices. The largest
crop between 1885, the first year in which figures relating to
production were collected, and 1907 was that of 776,144 cwt. in 1886,
and the smallest that of 281,291 cwt. in 1888, the former being more
than 2(1/2) times the size of the latter. The crop of 1899, estimated at
661,373 cwt., was so large that prices receded to an extent such as to
leave no margin of profit to the great body of growers, whilst some
planters were able to market the crop only at a loss. The calculated
annual average yields per acre over the years 1885 to 1907 ranged
between 12.76 cwt. in 1899 and 4.81 cwt. in 1888. No other staple crop
of British agriculture undergoes such wide fluctuations in yield as are
here indicated, the size of the crop produced bearing no relation to the
acreage under cultivation. For example, the 71,327 acres in 1885
produced only 509,170 cwt., whereas the 51,843 acres in 1899 produced
661,373 cwt.--19,484 acres less under crop yielded 152,203 cwt. more
produce.
Comparing the quantities of home-grown hops with those of imported hops,
of the total available for consumption about 70% on the average is home
produce and about 30% is imported produce. The imports, however, do not
vary so much as the home produce. Table IV. shows the average quantity
of imports to and exports (home-grown) from Great Britain during the
decades 1877-1886, 1887-1896 and 1897-1906.