BEPORT OF THE SECRETAKY OF AGRICULTURE. 3 



the cotton farmer is not always fully understood. The planter is 

 interested in the price and purchasing power of cotton per pound, 

 but he is more interested in the returns per acre. The ravages of the 

 boll weevil have reduced the production of cotton per acre suffi- 

 ciently to discount to some extent the high prices paid for cotton. 

 Elsewhere in this report reference is made to control measures of 

 this pest. The purchasing power of cotton per acre, which is above 

 the pre-war average, is a better index of the southern planters' eco- 

 nomic condition than the present high price of cotton. Districts in 

 the South with a fair yield are in a splendid condition. On the other 

 hand, districts like southern Georgia, suffering severely from the boll 

 weevil, are in dire straits. 



The prices of dairy products did not suffer so much from the 

 drastic deflation following the post-war period as did other farm 

 products. Butter, cheese, and milk have sold at prices remunerative 

 to farmers. Butter is now higher than the general price level. 

 Cheap feed in western butter districts, and high prices and some 

 curtailment of production in milk districts have enabled the dairy 

 farmer to weather the storm with less adversity than those farmers 

 producing commodities a part of which must be exported. Poultry 

 and eggs have also continued on a fairly profitable basis. 



Besides wool, cotton, chickens, and butter previously mentioned, 

 beans, apples, broomcorn, cabbage, onions, cotton seed, and lambs are 

 higher than the general price level. 



Horses, rye, barley, timothy seed, oats, hogs, wheat, hay, veal 

 calves, beef cattle, milk cows, corn, clover seed, buckwheat, sweet 

 potatoes, flaxseed, and potatoes are still below the general price l^^vel, 

 but many of these products have experienced appreciable advances 

 in price this past year. Flax rose from $1.88 in 1922 to $2.12 in 

 1923. Oats rose from 34.5 cents to 38.6 cents. Hay from $10.58 to 

 $12.42. Milk cows, $51.62 to $56.13. During no month of 1922 did 

 veal calves sell for as much as in September, 1923. 



Corn prices have had a very appreciable advance during the past 

 year. The low receipts at primary markets and the low visible sup 

 ply of corn have resulted in rising prices despite the large farm stocks 

 and heavy production during the three years 1920-1922. Corn prices 

 advanced from 61.6 cents for October, 1922, to 85.7 cents in 1923. If 

 all corn could be sold at this price the corn farmer would find him- 



