396 Prices of Commodities during last Seven Tears ( 1886 - 92 ). 
English wheat harvest. The eleven years 1867-77 have been taken 
as the standard period for the prices of commodities, and it was 
found that their average is in the aggregate equivalent to the average 
of the twenty-five years 1853-77. After 1852 the new gold dis- 
coveries appeared to have an effect on prices ; the highest year was 
1873, when the index number reached 111, and during all these 
twenty-five years the annual average never sank below 90. 
Table II . — Summary of Index Numbers. Groups of 
Articles 1867-77 = ioo 
Vege- 
Ani- 
Year 
table 
Food 
(Corn, 
mal 
Food 
(Meat, 
Mate- 
rials 
Grand 
Total 
Sil- 
ver 1 
Wheat 
Har- 
vest 1 
&c.) 
&c.) 
1846 
106 
81 
85 
89 
97-5 
deficient 
1847 
129 
88 
86 
95 
98T | 
above 
average 
1848 
92 
83 
73 
78 
97'8 ( 
very 
deficient 
1849 
79 
71 
73 
74 
98-2 
123 
1850 
74 
67 
78 
77 
98-7 
102 
1851 
73 
68 
76 
75 
99-9 
no 
1852 
80 
69 
81 
78 
99-9 
79 
1853 
IOO 
82 
97 
95 
101-2 
7i 
1854 
120 
87 
104 
102 
101-1 
127 
1855 
120 
87 
101 
101 
100-7 
96 
1856 
109 
88 
102 
101 
101-0 
96 
1857 
105 
89 
107 
105 
101-5 
124 
1858 
87 
83 
94 
91 
101-0 
116 
1859 
85 
85 
98 
94 
102-0 
92 
1860 
99 
91 
100 
99 
101-4 
78 
1861 
102 
91 
99 
98 
99-9 
92 
1862 
98 
86 
107 
10 1 
100-9 
108 
1863 
87 
85 
115 
103 
101-1 
141 
1864 
79 
89 
119 
105 
100-9 
127 
1865 
84 
97 
108 
101 
100-3 
no 
1866 
95 
96 
107 
1 02 
100-5 
92 
1867 
115 
89 
100 
100 
99-7 
74 
1868 
113 
88 
99 
99 
99-6 
126 
Year 
Vege- 
table 
Food 
(Corn, 
&c.) 
Ani- 
mal 
Food 
(Meat, 
&c.) 
Mate- 
rials 
Grand 
Total 
Sil- 
ver 1 
Wheat 
Har- 
vest 1 
1869 
9 1 
96 
100 
98 
99-6 
102 
1870 
88 
98 
99 
9(3 
99-6 
1 12 
1871 
94 
100 
101 
100 
99-7 
90 
1872 
IOI 
101 
115 
109 
99-2 
92 
1873 
io5 
109 
114 
111 
97-4 
80 
1874 
105 
103 
100 
102 
95*8 
I06 
1875 
93 
108 
93 
96 
93-3 
78 
1876 
92 
108 
91 
95 
86-7 
96 
1877 
IOO 
101 
89 
94 
90-2 
74 
1878 
95 
101 
81 
87 
86-4 
I08 
1879 
87 
94 
78 
83 
84-2 
64 
1880 
89 
101 
84 
88 
85-9 
93 
1881 
84 
101 
80 
85 
85-0 
97 
1882 
84 
104 
80 
84 
84-9 
IOO 
1883 
82 
103 
77 
82 
83-1 
93 
1881 
7 1 
97 
73 
76 
83-3 
103 
1885 
68 
88 
70 
72 
79-9 
108 
1886 
65 
87 
67 
69 
74-6 
93 
1887 
64 
79 
67 
68 
73-3 
no 
1888 
67 
82 
69 
70 
70-4 
96 
1889 
65 
86 
70 
72 
70-2 
103 
1890 
65 
82 
71 
72 
78-4 
106 
1891 
75 
81 
68 
72 
74-1 
108 
1892 
65 
84 
65 
68 
65-4 
91 
i Silver 6o‘84 per oz. = ioo ; wheat harvest in the United Kingdom, 1849-83, 28 bushels per acre s 
100 ; from 1884 , 29 bushels=100. 
For readers not fully acquainted with the construction of Index 
Numbers the following explanation may be useful. The average 
price of the eleven years 1867-77 was called 100 in the case of each 
separate article, and all fluctuations of prices were calculated in 
proportion. For instance, the average price of English wheat during 
1867-77 was 54s. 6 d., whilst in 1892 it was 30s. 3c?., which is equal 
to 56 (if 54s. 6 d. be taken as 100), or 44 per cent, below the average 
point. The index numbers thus obtained represent, therefore, 
simple percentages of the average point. The inquiry is extended 
to 45 descriptions of commodities, viz., 19 articles of food and 26 
materials, minerals, textiles and sundries. 1 The percentages re- 
1 These include, of foods : wheat, flour, barley, oats, maize, potatoes, rice, 
beef, mutton, pork, bacon, butter, sugar, coffee, and tea ; and of other articles : 
iron, copper, tin, lead, coal, cotton, wool, silk, flax, hemp, jute, hides, leather, 
tallow, oil, seeds, petroleum, soda, nitrate of soda, indigo, and timber. 
