New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 33 
recent ones were made. A current discussion of “ changes in farm 
values’ published by the United States Department of Agriculture 
and covering the years 1900 to 1905, makes a very different show- 
ing from those that we have been in the habit of quoting. These 
figures of the Department of Agriculture are estimates and com- 
putations, and I do not know whether they or the census figures 
more accurately represent the exact status of agricultural condi- 
tions. Even for the census year 1900, the differences in values as 
reported by the census and as computed by the Department of 
Agriculture amounted for New York State to nearly $99,000,000 
for the value of land and improvements, including buildings. The 
computations of the Department as between the years 1900 and 
1905 show a gain in similar values for the State of New York of 
more than $180,000,000. In more specific categories, the following 
figures from the same source show that there is a decided increase 
in farm values and therefore presumably in farm efficiency. ‘The 
values of “medium farms” per acre for the years 1900 and 1905 
in New York in the different classes of farming are as follows: 
fo 80) 1905 
Ficivarcdtid verains Paris. 5. ee $40.29 $44.38 
LS (ESOS keene 2283 37.94 
D1) AES ey pee 46.81 58.86 
FUME uae oe ho a a fa a 70.87 84.46 
PieCorl ewe neers. as eh da ee or 5 OQ5G8 81.91 
Re ete Wear OIN fy Le eS ieee oes 38.98 44.00 
The percentage increase of real estate value of such farms in the 
State for the years 1900 to 1905 are represented by the following 
figures, being much the highest percentage increase of any State 
in the group comprising New England, New York, New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania: 
1Q00-1905 
Per ct. 
PMU MLCRRMMA FAUAIIG) 1s Fey ee as aa lSgs oe vale cso oe 18.3 
[ELEN nil See hie el ar a a RTs, aiaseavere 3 10.2 
_IMESUOU Rolle 6 G.cp aici eee ae ee T2u7 
DENA TAVE 1 Say 6 Ges Cig ON aI ne ee 25.7 
LEDFUINILS 8 he AE Sache ee a 19.2 
“ EEGEINIES S: 2 2p 1 Golesi eee 17.0 
orci eee. < 1.6 1h Tr a ee i a ae 12.9 
A common measure of the supposed decline of farming is the 
fact that many farms can now be purchased for less than the build- 
2 
