335 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 6 



Ordinary prices about Cliarlottesville are as fol- 

 lows: 



A lahoriiiiT neiiro man is hired by the year, for 

 £9 steriinir, liis ilothes and Ibod. 



A good pioiiirh-horserosis £10 to £ ISsterlincr. 



A cow, 303. ; a sheep, Gs. ; a sow, 10s. ; a goose 

 or turkey, 2s., a duni^-liill K)wl, 6d. 



A bushel of wheat, 3s.; of rye, 22^(i.; of Indian 

 corn Is. 6d. 



Beiit' in autumn, and pork in winter, 16s. the 

 100 lbs.; bacon, Gd. !o Sd. the lb. 



Hav, 45s. the ton. 

 j/ugiist 3, 1791. 



Dkar Sir : 



Ayreeably to your request, I have now the plea- 

 sure to send you an extract of my letter to Arthur 

 Young, esq., relative to the prices of the lollowing 

 articles in Pensylvania, viz. * 



Wheat, per bushel, Us. lo 6s. 4d.; rye, 3s-. 9d. to 

 4s.; Indian corn, 2s. Gt/.; oats, Is 8d.; barley, 4s.; 

 clover hay, per ton, £4 10s.; heel' per lOOIbs. 25s.; 

 pork, 27s. dd.; a good working honse, £20; a pair 

 cf good workinix oxen, 900/6s. each, 20/. to 24/.; 

 a milch cow and calf, 5/. lo G/.; store sheep, hy 



the flock, 10s. to 15s ; wool, ; dre;-:sed fla.x, 



; bricks, per thousand, 22s. 6c/.; stonelime, 



per bushel, lid to Is.; cultivated farms of good 

 land, in the old counties, r.ot within twenty miles 

 of Philadelphia, extremely various; the average, 

 at random, perhaps 51. per acre. 



The par of exchange with Great Britain, 166 

 two thirds. 



An English guinea passes current at 35s. 



With respect to taxes, the second object of in- 

 <;uiry, my inlbrmotion is as Ibllows: and I believe 

 it mav be relied on. 



The foregoing, are the taxes on the farms, con- 

 taining the number of acres mentioned in the list 

 in the different counties. The respective sums 

 make the aggregate of the taxes upon each farm 

 in the respective counties. 



It IS here to be observed, that there are farms in 

 the oldest, as well as in the newest counties, set 

 down in the list. If the information appears to 



* This is a letter from Mr. Powel, President of the 

 Agricultural Society of Philadelphia. 



t Last year. 



J Highest in the county. 



§ Higher than usual. 



you in any respect deficient, 1 will endeavor lo 

 procure such as may be more satistiictory; though 

 I think what is iierein contained, must convince 

 iVlr. Y. that our present taxes are very moderaie. 

 If on this, or any other subject, I can be of any 

 use to you, I beg that you will freely lay your 

 command.s on. 



Dear Sir, 



Your affectionate, 



And obliged humble servant, 

 Philadelphia, 

 October 24, 1790. 

 His Excellency, 



The President of the United States. 



Sir: 



Philadelphia, June 18, 1792. 



Your letter of the ISth of January, was receiv- 

 ed about a Ibrtniirhl auo. For the atmals, wb.itdi 

 you have had the goodness to send me, 1 pray 

 you to accept my thanks. No directions having 

 accompanied the second set, and presuming they 

 were intended for the airricultural society of this 

 city, I have, in your name, presented tlunii to that 

 body. 



As far as it is in my power, I will endeavor to 

 solve the doubts which are expressed in your que- 

 ries, contained in the above letter: and first '-labor 

 is so slightly touched on, thai I know not how lo 

 estimate it." 



The information on this, as well as on other 

 points of my last communication, was given in 

 transcripts of the letters I had' received in answer 

 lo certain queries, hastily submitted to some intel- 

 ligent gentlemen of my acquaintance, in the slate 

 of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Il, 

 therelljre, ihearticle of labor was not sufficiently 

 enlarired upon; or, if there appeared too great a 

 diversity in the price of this article; in that of land; 

 and of other things, to be easily reconciled and 

 understood; you must ascribe the inconsistency, or 

 omission, to that cause, and to the habits and \ al- 

 ue which is set on these things in the ditierent 

 slates, and the difl'erent parts of the same slate. 

 South of Pennsylvania, hired labor is not very 

 common, except it he at harvest, and sometimes 

 for cutting <rra.-;s. The wealthier liirmers perform 

 it with their own black servants, whilst the poorer 

 sort are obliged to do it them.selves. That labor 

 in this country is higher than it is in England, I 

 can readily conceive. The ease with which a 

 man can obtain land in fee, beyond the mountains, 

 to which most of ihat class of pleofile repair, ntay 

 be assigned as the primary cause of it. But high 

 wages is not the worst evil attending the hire of 

 white men in this country; for being accustoiTied 

 lo better fiitre than, I believe, the laborers of al- 

 most any other country, adds considerably to the 

 expense of employinff them; whilst blacks, on the 

 contrar3^ are cheaper, the conimon (bod of them 

 (even when well ireatedj being bread m; de of 

 Indian corn, butter-milk, fish (pick!ed hen ngs) 

 frequently, and meal now and then ; vviiu a 

 blanket for bedding In addition to these, ground 

 is often allowed them for gardeninir, and the privi- 

 lege given them to raise dung-hill fowls for their 

 own use. With the farmer who has not more 

 than two or three negi-oes, little difference is made 

 in the manner of living between the master and 

 the man; but far otherwise is the case with those 

 who are owned in great liumbers by the wealthy, 



