( 178 ) 



centered on a legal abstraction called "parity." "Parity" is 

 a term which denotes an equality between an index of prices 

 received and an index of prices paid. During seven years of 

 general deflation, 1933-9, expensive and unsuccessful efforts 



FIGURE 3. EFFECT OF LARGE AND SMALL CROPS AND THE 



PRICE LEVEL ON THE VALUE OF THE WHEAT 



CROP PER ACRE, 1873 TO 1938 



When the price level was high, the value of both large and 

 small wheat crops was about the same, but much larger than the 

 value of either large or small crops during a low-price period. 



8 The solid line represents the index numbers of prices of 

 thirty basic commodities. The words small and large refer to 

 small crops and large crops. 



