146 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



in the decline of wages the cost of subsistence declined in quite the same 

 ratio, but for this year the proportion is largely in favor of the laborer, 

 as the cost of subsistence remains nearly at the lowest rate, while the 

 wage has materially advanced. The average price for labor, with board, 

 .is $14.56. An analysis of the figures in the first column shows only 

 three States reporting less than last year, viz, Texas, Minnesota, and 

 California 5 but a glance at the second column, or the wage paid with 

 board, shows a marked increase. It must be borne in mind, however, 

 that in all these States the sparseness of population and absence of the 

 facilities of the older States render it both necessary and convenient to 

 lodge and feed the hired help. The price paid, therefore, with board, is 

 the safest indication of the value of labor in those States. 



As was to be expected the greatest increase has been in those States 

 where agriculture had been the most remunerative since last year. Thus 

 in the West and those States bordering on the Ohio River, which were 

 the most favored, the increase has been the largest. The same applies 

 to the cotton States. With the higher price for cotton, the advance has 

 been universal, and is in some sections as high as 8 or 10 per cent. The 

 demand for labor is good in all sections of the country. In the iTew 

 England and Middle States there is a steady and good demand for re- 

 liable men, and prices for that class have advanced very materially. 

 The larger number of reports from these sections state that the usual 

 custom is to hire with board and for the season. 



In the South Atlantic and Gulf States there is an active demand for 

 all kinds of steady labor. Many correspondents report that the share 

 system, or a division of the product in lieu of wages, was gTOwing more 

 unpopular daily, and that the freedmen are becoming more and more 

 landholders. In Mississippi and Louisiana there are a few reports of 

 scarcity of labor, owing to the exodus to Kansas and the Korth, but in 

 the same localities there is reported a good demand for reliable labor of 

 all kinds. In the Northwestern States the supply of labor is quite equal 

 to the demand. In that section most of the inhabitants are land-owners, 

 and only hire help at harvest time, but skilled labor is reported in good 

 demand. In the Territories and on the Pacific slope the demand is re- 

 ported as good, except in New Mexico and Montana, where a surplus is 

 noticed. In the first-named Territory the surx)lus is attributed to the 

 opening of the railway fi'om Kansas, and in the lay;er to the large num- 

 ber of young and unskilled laborers arriving. 



VALUE OF LAJS^DS. 



In 1867 this department investigated the relative value of lands in the 

 United States, and the results, in part, were published in the annual 

 report of that year. The changes in the values of farm lands and of 

 unimproved lands were carefully noted and compared. The following 

 table shows the result of that comparison, or the changes that had taken 

 place in farming estates from 1860 to 1867. IS'O one will forget that 

 these seven years embraced four years of devastating war, in the de- 

 structive ravages of which a large portion of our country was dircctly 

 involved. 



