THE PRICE OF WHEAT 171 
magnitude. The graph showing the decennial averages 
registers a rising tendency, but the upward movement is 
so small as to be almost insignificant. During the early 
‘*sixties’’ very high prices prevailed, the index number 
being 254 in 1864. In these years gold was being 
produced at a rapidly increasing rate, and agriculture 
was stagnant on account of the rush to gold-mining. 
The exports of wheat, which had in the middle ‘‘fifties’’ 
reached almost 100,000 bushels, fell to 12,000 bushels in 
1860, while in 1863 and 1864 no exports were made at 
all, there being an importation of 294,000 bushels and 
164,000 bushels respectively. After 1867 the gold 
production gradually declined, but rose rapidly in 1871, 
and maintained a high annual average until 1874. 
Corresponding to this there was a decrease in price in 
the late ‘‘sixties,’’ with rising prices again in the early 
years of the following decade. Thus the influence 
exerted by the gold discoveries was considerable. The 
reasons for this are two-fold. In the first place increased 
output of gold means an increase in the circulating 
media, while, secondly, a gold rush is usually accom- 
panied by economic disturbances. The latter factor 
operated with very considerable importance because of 
the efflux of labour from farming to the gold mines and 
the consequent stagnation in agriculture. 
The high prices of the years 1860-6, due to these two 
causes, were instrumental in rendering the period one 
of stationary or almost falling prices, but the rise of 
the early ‘‘seventies’’ was just sufficient to counteract 
this tendency. The most marked feature of the period 
was the great fluctuations from year to year. In 1863 
the price index number was 163, and it rose suddenly 
in the following year to 254, falling again in two years 
to 150. The following year witnessed a further fall to 
101, while another great rise to 178 occurred in 1868, 
followed once more by a sudden fall to 124 the year 
