CHAPTER III. 



The Fall of Prices. 



The most potent factor in bringing about the present 

 situation Has been the heavy and continuous fall in 

 the prices of corn, and the fluctuating and recurrent 

 fall in the prices of other staple articles of agricultural 

 produce. The other causes of weakness and failure 

 would have kept agriculture back even if prices had not 

 fallen, but those causes severally and collectively could 

 not have had such disastrous results had it not been that 

 prices have been tending to sink to the level or below 

 the level of the cost of production. 



Sir Robert Giffen holds that up to 1891 the general 

 change in agricultural prices ranged to about a fall of 

 25 per cent., that in many manufactured articles there 

 has been a greater fall, and that the fall in agricultural 

 produce has not been greater than the fall in general 

 prices, except in the one article of wheat. But the 

 heavy fall of agricultural prices is felt more keenly be- 

 cause readjustments are slower. 



Sir Robert's estimate rests on the figures of 1891. 

 The evidence of many witnesses would make the general 

 average fall of agricultural prices considerably greater, 

 and when the period of 1892 to 1894 is taken, including 

 months in which the lowest recorded prices of wheat and 

 barley, and some of the most exceptionally low prices of 

 stock occurred, it would be safe to estimate the general 

 fall at not less than 40 per cent since about 1872-74. 



The fall in agricultural prices is illustrated by Sir R. 

 Gififen's tables. 



Thus the money value of the total amounts ofagricul- 



