44 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



the return to the farmer. The total value of 

 a crop can never be estimated by multiplying 

 its quantity by its market price at any given 

 time, because the crops of the year are harvested 

 at one period, but are consumed over 12 months. 

 The live stock are counted but once a year 

 while the consumption extends over the entire 

 year and the question of average prices is 

 involved, which never can be known until after 

 the year has passed. 



Overproduction was not the cause of the de- 

 cline in farm prices, nor was the opportunity 

 for foreign markets a serious consideration. 



What of the farmers' income before and dur- 

 ing the war? After a comprehensive survey of 

 the facts the Commission of Agricultural In- 

 quiry concluded that profits made by the farmer 

 during the war were only slightly greater than 

 those of 1913 and were swept away by the de- 

 cline in prices of 1920 and 1921. It must be 

 noted that when the Commission reached this 

 conclusion the decline had not yet ceased and 

 even greater losses were experienced by farmers 

 during the latter months of 1921. While the 

 Commission found that agriculture has pro- 

 duced normally about 18 per cent of the national 

 income, the return received by the farmer for 



