New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. ag 
recent ones were made. A current discussion of “ changes in farm 
values” published by the United States Department of Agriculture 
and covering the years 1900 to 1905, makes a very different show- 
ing from those that we have been in the habit of quoting. These 
figures of the Department of Agriculture are estimates and com- 
putations, and I do not know whether they or the census figures 
more accurately represent the exact status of agricultural condi- 
tions. Even for the census year 1900, the differences in values as 
reported by the census and as computed by the Department of 
Agriculture amounted for New York State to nearly $99,000,000 
for the value of land and improvements, including buildings. The 
computations of the Department as between the years 1900 and 
1905 show a gain in similar values for the State of New York of 
more than $180,000,000. In more specific categories, the following 
figures from the same source show that there is a decided increase 
in farm values and therefore presumably in farm efficiency. [he 
values of “medium farms” per acre for the years 1900 and 1905 
in New York in the different classes of farming are as follows: 
see 1905 
TpavmeAlicunOUaltin Alin rar nieces: = $40.29 $44.38 
PAVE StO Oke ee a Aes fale erde oi Doe BQ IOS 37.94 
DOR iia Ue are Meee. ae haat oe 08 aheey ney os 46.81 58.86 
ECU in heme dr rae ae es ance okies Le 70.87 84.46 
WEE MGeLA LES etcetera eg sa) tarde oe ieee od OO30S 81.91 
PSCUETA Feel LAM Sede) cagatorans c ateeisl wate ace 38.98 44.00 
The percentage increase of real estate value of such farms in the 
State for the years 1900 to 1905 are represented by the following 
figures, being much the highest percentage increase of any State 
in the group comprising New England, New York, New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania: 
ete 
PI MeC Vite tare e nea SABO Or era ie ae 18.3 
Pia eae hair. a miaetr sins oe eek 25 Rare ere 2 5 10.2 
ipivec clita (teach wane MeL ps PASS ee i2s 
RD arWee TALINIG eee rote ais siag sie aio LN ee 25.7 
DAR AW Le 09 oN SM Rea Oot ae A Pao ee 19.2 
Reece ic eres, err OL re) vee 17.0 
Genera tmaertia cee erro er oe, < T e eee 12.9 
A common measure of the supposed decline of farming is the 
fact that many farms can now be purchased for less than the build- 
2 
