AMERICAN FARMER'S ECONOMIC POWER. 43 



land to more western lands, we meet the same cry — the 

 decline of agriculture. The report on the financial 

 affairs of the farmers of Nebraska (1887-88) shows that 

 of 215 farmers, over 50 per cent, stated that they were 

 losing money. 



Under the head of " Mortgaged Farms " we will deal 

 further with the relative condition of the Western farmer. 

 But, while touching the subject, we may say that the 

 relative capital power of the Western farmer is waning, 

 as is that of the Eastern, though not so apparent in its 

 rapidity. 



From an article on " Commercial Union," to be found 

 in Mr. Goldwin Smith's " Hand-Book of Reciprocity," 

 written by Mr. Thomas Shaw, Secretary of the Perma- 

 nent Central Farmer's Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, we 

 extract the following : " In 1882 the farmers of Ontario 

 were worth $882,624,610, in 1886 they were worth $989,- 

 497,911. The advance of these four years has been 

 $106,873,301, or an advance on the average capital in- 

 vested for the four years, $948,302,805, or .028 per cent. 

 The manufacturers of the Dominion made an advance 

 of 42 per cent, less the running expenses, exclusive of 

 wages, in the years of 1880 and 1881." 



The Bulletin from the Bureau of Industries for Ontario 

 published in August, 1889, reports the value of farm 

 property to have increased during the past year from 

 $981,368,094 to $982,210,664, an increase of about one 

 tenth per cent. ; probably not more than the increase in 

 the amount of farm mortgages. 



The Worthy Master of the Dominion Grange, in an ad- 

 dress at Toronto, in the autumn of 1886, contended that 

 the wealthy amongst the farmers were comparatively 

 few, and that *' as matters exist the farmer can never 



