857] Machinery and Labor 59 



Base /88o 1890 /goo 



Average value of all farm property $ ,3,515 = 100 . . 138.2 . . 185.8 

 Average value of farms (land and 



improvements) 2,835 = 100 . . 138.6 . . 189.0 



Average value of implements and 



machines 136 = 100 . . m.o. . 152.9 



Farmers, planters and overseers . . 828,800 = 100 . . . . 127.4 



Agricultural laborers 352,565 = 100 . . . . 173.6 



WAGES UNDER HAND AND UNDER MACHINE METHODS 



DAILY WAGES WAGES OF SKIVED AND UNSKILLED WORKMEN 



Touching the matter of daily wages for the same 

 work under hand and under machine methods of pro- 

 duction, the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Depart- 

 ment of Labor is, probably, the best source of informa- 

 tion. That report shows, in typical cases, the rates of 

 wages paid for the different kinds of work required in 

 the production of twenty-seven different farm crops by 

 hand and by machine methods. The data in twenty- 

 six cases are available for our present purpose. 



It appears by that report that the lowest wage cus- 

 tomarily paid, in the season of 1829-30, to any work- 

 man engaged in the production of wheat, by hand 

 method, was 50 cents ; the highest 75 cents. In 1895- 

 96, the lowest daily wage reported for workmen en- 

 gaged in the production of wheat, by machine method, 

 was $1.50; the highest, $4.50. The average rate of 

 wages for this work, in 1829-30, was 57 cents; in 

 1895-96, it was $2-47. 1 Collecting similar data from 

 each of the twenty-six sets of usable returns, we have 

 the following : 



1 The average here used is a weighted average, secured by dividing 

 the total amount of wages paid by the total number of days work 

 performed at the different rates of wages. 



