1856.] Prices and Profits of Agricultural Products. 119 



seek the channels of agriculture. As a departn>ent of industry, it is 

 becoming more thoroughly educated ; and as it becomes educated, it is 

 more highly respected, until, though still neglected by government, it is 

 honored by our people. And, in this behalf, no one knowing the pre- 

 dominating characteristic of the *' universal Yankee nation," will be 

 unprepared to hear propounded their universal question, ''Will it pat/?" 

 And. in reply to this, let us turn from a consideration of the prices to 

 an examination of the profits of agricultural products; and, in our 

 exhibit of this, we must premise, that we aim only to present an 

 approximation to general results, to which there may be numerous par- 

 ticular exceptions ; which results we reach, however, by the collection 

 and careful analysis of a great number of official tables, whose range of 

 statistics reaches from Maine to California, and from Oregon to Florida. 



In the first place: Our whole territory, of 3,307,000 square miles — 

 almost as large as the whole area covered by all the fifty-nine empires, 

 kingdoms, dukedoms, states and republics of Europe — is almost alto- 

 gether susceptible of cultivation. Of this immensity of fertile lands, 

 only about one-sixth is under any form of cultivation ; hence, a monop- 

 oly of the soil is obviously impossible : and, washed by two oceans, inter- 

 laced with railroads, and channeled by rivers navigable to an extent that 

 would thrice girdle the globe, markets will eagerly wait on tbe advancing 

 footsteps of the producer. Hence, with fertility for producing, and 

 facility for selling, extending everywhere, the voice of agricultural indus- 

 try can never complainingly say, ''There is not room" 



The profits arising from agricultural products are, of course, deter- 

 mined by subtracting the cost of production from the market value of 

 the article produced. Let us look, first, into the profits of wheat grow- 

 ing. By the official tables, it appears that the average value of wheat 

 at Albany, N. Y., for sixty years past, from 1793 to 1853, was $1 25 

 per bushel. But we will take the western States of Kentucky, Ohio and 

 Michigan, as furnishing, perhaps, a fairer basis for our estimate, and the 

 table is found to stand as follows : 



PROFIT. 



Kentucky— Average cost of producing wheat, per bushel, 44 cts.; av. value, 85 cts. 93 per cent- 

 Ohi,>- " " " " " " " 48 " " " 95 " 98 " " 



Michigan— " " " " " " " 45 " " " 100 " 122 " " 



Kew York- " " " ' acre, $13 " " $26 " 100 " " 



Thus, the table shows that in the whole range of the four wheat- 

 growing States, the average range of profit in the production of wheat 

 is about 103 per cent. This estimate includes the rent of the land, i. e., 

 the use of the capital. Now, let a merchant he assured of a profit of 

 103 per cent, per annum, and he will be assured that his fortune is 



