40 



OUTLINES OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



for January is .5296 of a bushel of corn to a pound of butter. This 

 year, with 98j-cent corn, the price of butter should be 52.17 cents, 

 as compared with the actual price of 37.5 cents. A loss of 14.67 

 cents is the greatest of any time in the past twelve years. After more 

 than three years of solid loss, it surely seems that we should emerge 

 into Gain Area H. 



"What is the trouble ? Have the dairy enthusiasts induced too 

 many people to milk cows ? If so, the present grief period should 

 thin out the ranks sufficiently so that price conditions will eventually 

 be more favorable." Do you believe that some such methods of 



Pttcf/vzzer or ror/4 



p/p/c^s avi/r or 



1 



\ &&JZO 



#&&o 



? 



#&5/\ 



&20 



I 



Fig. 3 



studying the farm business statistically may be developed to the point 

 where farmers can make their efforts as suppliers fit profitably into 

 the demand schedules of consumers? Are other lines of business 

 using such methods of forecasting their future policies ? 



6. Do you not ordinarily expect that a small supply will be accom- 

 panied by a high price and large supply by low price ? How then do 

 you explain the fact that "an examination of the market quotations 

 for the bulk of beef cattle sales at Chicago by days of the week indi- 

 cates that quotations rule highest on the days of largest receipts "? 

 Average figures for a two-year period are shown in the accompanying 

 chart (Fig. 3). 



