BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS. 189 



The study will supply for each of the major agricultural products 

 the series of economic data indicating conditions of supply and 

 demand which anticipate or forecast price movements. In addition 

 a quantitative measure of the accuracy of each series as a forecaster 

 and of all the series considered in a combined relationship will be 

 calculated. 



The practical purpose of the price-analysis work is to give the 

 farmer the benefit of a scientific analysis of his problem, so that he 

 may be able to make the best estimate possible with the facts avail- 

 able. Considerable progress has been made in the analysis of hog 

 and cotton prices, and the study of feeder-cattle prices has been 

 started. The results which have been obtained so far are very 

 encouraging. 



DEVELOPING MORE ACCURATE INDEX NUMBERS OF FARM PRICES. 



This project involves the development of more accurate index 

 numbers of farm prices, market prices, and freight rates. Subindex 

 series for grains, fruits, vegetables, livestock, livestock products, 

 and miscellaneous products are also being constructed. Satisfactory 

 progress has been made on this project. Work was begun on re- 

 constructing index numbers of farm prices. A tentative selection has 

 been made of commodities and groups of commodities to be used. 

 Weights of monthly marketings have been compiled and some com- 

 putations have been made. 



DIVISION OF FARM POPULATION AND RURAL LIFE. 



Dr. C. J. Galpin, In Charge. 



Rural Population Statistics, V. B. Larson ; Population Aspects of Pvural Com- 

 munity Buildings, W. C. Nason ; Farmers' Standard of Living, E. L. 

 Kirkpatrick. 



STANDARDS OF LIVING AMONG FARMERS. 



A study of the standards of living among farmers in Livingston 

 County, New York State, is in press as Department Bulletin 1214. 

 Studies are in progress in four other States, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 

 and Ohio. The field work is completed or nearly completed and tabu- 

 lation commenced. These studies are in cooperation with the Bureau 

 of Home Economics. In cooperation with the Division of Land 

 Economics a tabulation is being completed of the data from 860 fami- 

 lies in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. Arrangements have been 

 made with the States Relations Service for schedules from home 

 demonstration agents in various States, which should give reports 

 from 2,000 families without the customary cost of field work to our 

 division. 



FARM POPULATION STUDIED. 



Our study of eight counties wnll be published by the Bureau of the 

 Census in the form of a monograph on farm population, this mono- 

 graph to contain also such farm-population material as the census 

 has tabulated. This is expected to reach publication by the end of 

 1923. The population data of the 1920 census for 34 villages in 

 Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania have been run into the ma- 

 chine count sheets, and are now ready for final table making. It is 



