720 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



aggregate farm value of the wheat crops during each of the four 

 years of the first period was $393,000,000, while for each year 

 of the latter period it was $249,000,000, a falling off of 36 per 

 cent. In 1895 nearly twice as many horses were required to 

 pay interest or to discharge the principal of a debt as in 1891. 

 Moreover, the average price of middling cotton during the four 

 years 1892-1895 was 26 per cent less than during the preceding 

 decade. The price of sheep and wool averaged fully 30 per cent 

 less during 1894-1895 than during the ten years preceding. 

 Barley sold on the average for 20 per cent less during 1893- 

 1895 than during 1883-1892. The prices of corn, potatoes, and 

 oats during 1895 were less than their average for the decade 

 1885-1894. Of the principal farm products, cattle, hay, and 

 hogs were noteworthy exceptions, averaging higher in price 

 during 1892-1895 than for a decade. The year 1896 (now 

 three-fourths gone) promises a level of prices for farm products 

 considerably lower than 1895. 



This decline in the prices of farm products has not been offset 

 by any corresponding decrease in the cost of production. The 

 four years 1892-1895 were not marked by any revolution in 

 agricultural methods. There were few farm implements employed 

 in 1895 that were not generally in use in 1891; and even if their 

 price during these four years underwent considerable reduction, 

 the interval was too brief for implements already in use to be 

 replaced to such advantage as to lessen materially the cost of 

 production. East-bound freight rates between leading points did 

 not appreciably decline. The cost of farm labor also diminished 

 but slightly. Taxes for state purposes were steadily maintained, 

 tending to increase rather than to diminish. It follows, conse- 

 quently, that this fall in the prices of farm products has tightened 

 the grip of mortgage debt upon the American farmer. 



Even more destructive than falling prices to the labors of the 

 energetic and aspiring husbandman is crop failure. This fact is 

 best illustrated by conditions in portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska, 

 Kansas, Oklahoma, the Indian Territory, and Texas. In parts of 

 Kansas and Nebraska agriculture has been in a marked degree 

 subject to all the uncertainties of a capricious climate. As you 



