FARMERS EARNINGS IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA 
which cause the yield and quality of his crops and the quality of his 
pasturage to vary. The following discussion will show how the 
conditions the year of the survey caused farm earnings to vary from 
those of other years, and also caused variations in the relative return 
on the different enterprises. 
Fig. 4.— Dairy cows have been kept on this farm for many decaaes. 
CROP YIELDS AND PRICES 
This house was built in 1760 
Crop yields in this region are relatively uniform from year to year. 
In the nine years, 1915 to 1923, the highest average wheat yield for 
the county was 24.5 bushels, and the lowest 17, with an average of 
21.1 The yields of other important crops were relatively stable over 
this period, the only notable failure being the hay crop of 1923, 
whicn was two-thirds of normal. During the same time prices, 
on the contrary, were undergoing violent fluctuations, because of 
the European war, the following inflation, and the succeeding de- 
flation and readjustments. The effect of the variations in both 
yields and prices are reflected in the acre value of different crops, 
given in Table 1. 
Table 1. — Value per acre of Chester County crops, 1889 to 1923 
Year 
Value per acre 
Corn 
Wheat 
Oats 
Rye 
Hay 
Potatoes 
1889... 
Dollars 
19. 92 
20.91 
26.53 
57.64 
40.74 
32.16 
Dollars 
17.60 
11.09 
24.96 
36.23 
24.84 
21.38 
Dollars 
7.65 
10.64 
17.45 
26.07 
20.35 
17.51 
Dollars 
7.44 
8.82 
14.08 
28.29 
19.99 
16.85 
Dollars 
13.91 
13.69 
17.68 
i 34. 62 
25.69 
24.85 
Dollars 
37.54 
1899 
38.14 
1909 
46.09 
1915-1919 
1920-1923. 
1922 
107. 03 
90.42 
61.38 
Year 
Acre-values, in per cent of 1909 values 
1889. 
Per cent 
75 
79 
100 
217 
154 
121 
Per cent 
71 
44 
100 
145 
100 
86 
Per cent 
44 
61 
100 
149 
117 
100 
Per cent 
53 
63 
100 
201 
142 
120 
Per cent 
79 
77 
100 
196 
145 
111 
Per cent 
81 
1899. 
83 
1909. 
100 
1915-1919 
232 
1920-1923 
1922 
196 
133 
> 1917-1919 only. 
From the Census of Agriculture, 1889 to 1909, and from the Pennsylvania State Department of Agri- 
culture 1915 to 1923. 
