718 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Within the past year this Bureau sent the following letter of 

 inquiry to a large number of retail dealers doing business with 

 farmers : 



It ia the desire of this Bureau to obtain comparative prices of various articles of 

 general use, in the years 1899 and 1909, in order to ascertain how much such prices 

 have increased or decreased in various parts of the United States. I shall appreciate 

 it very much if you will quote the prices which prevailed in the two years mentioned 

 for such articles as you can conveniently. Prices for the two years should be for the 

 same grades of articles, so that they may be properly compared. — (Signed by the 

 Chief uf the Bureau of Statistics.) 



This letter was accompanied by a list of about eighty-five articles 

 of general use by farmers. 



Replies to this inquiry were tabulated and averaged, with the 

 following result: 



Comparative prices of articles purchased by farmers in 1909 and 1899. 



Article. 



Coal oil , gallon cents . 



Coflee, pound do... 



Flour, barrel dollars. 



Lard, pound cents. 



Matches, box do... 



Salt, barrel dollars. 



Soap, cake cents. 



Starch, pound do... 



Sugar, pound do . . . 



Tobacco, plug, pound do. . . 



Brooms, each do... 



Dish pans, each do... 



Dinner plates, set do. . . 



Fruit jars, dozen do... 



Kitchen chairs, each do. .. 



Lamps, each do... 



Stoves, each dollars. 



Tin pails, each cents. 



Wooden buckets, each do. . . 



Wooden washtubs, each do . . . 



Gloves, pair do. . . 



Hats, each dollars. 



Jumpers, each cents. 



Overalls, each do . . . 



Raincoats, each dollars. 



R ubber boots, pair do. . . 



Shirts, flannel, each do... 



Shoes, brogan, pair do. . . 



Calico, yard cents. 



Muslin, yard do. . . 



Sheeting, yard do. . . 



Axes, each do... 



Barb wire, 100 pounds dollars . 



Dungforks, each cents. 



Hatchels, each do. .. 



Lanterns, each do... 



Nails, 100 pounds dollars. 



Pitchforks, each cents. 



Pincers, each do... 



Saws, buck, each do... 



Screw hooks, box do . . . 



Screw eyes, box ., do. . . 



Shotguns, each. dollars. 



Steel traps, each cents. 



Shovels, each do... 



Staples, 100 pounds dollars. 



Steel wire, 100 pounds do... 



Wire fence, rod cents. 



Axle grease, box do... 



Buggies, each dollars. 



Buggy whips, each cents. 



Corn cutters, each do. . . 



Churns, each dollars. 



Cream separators, each do. . . 



Grindstones, each do... 



Halters, each cents. 



Harness, single, set dollars. 



Horse blankets, each do. . . 



Hoes, each cents. 



Percent- 

 age, 1909 

 to 1899. 



93.9 

 109.8 

 132.4 

 151.5 

 100.0 

 114.9 

 105.0 

 102.8 

 108.7 

 108.0 

 153.8 

 108.7 

 105.4 

 107.7 

 112.9 

 104.8 

 110.7 

 106.1 

 120.4 

 117.3 

 117.9 

 112.6 

 120.5 

 122.9 

 119.6 

 129.0 

 119.0 

 131.1 

 126.9 

 125.0 

 127.3 

 108.7 

 106.8 

 111.3 

 109.7 

 106.4 

 105.7 

 111.8 

 106.2 

 108.2 

 105.1 

 104.5 



91.9 

 112.2 

 109.7 

 108.5 

 105.3 

 105.6 

 104.2 

 109.2 

 105.8 

 109.2 

 112.6 



91.1 

 109.9 

 112.1 

 119.7 

 112.0 

 115.5 



