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Show Wonderful Growth of Country Shown by Agricultural Report Following Is a portion of the official synopsis of tho report of the Honorable James Wilson, secrotary of agriculture, which furnishes striking evidence of tlie growth and prosperity of America and of tho permanent position of importance occupied by tho farmer In tho production of national wealth: Production in 1909. Most prosperous of all years Is the place to which 1909 Is entitled In agriculture, declares the secretary of agriculture In his thirteenth annual Report, made pub-He pub-He today. The valuo of farm products Is so Incomprehensibly large that It has become merely a row of figures. For this year It is $8,700,000,000, a gain of S8G9.000.000 over 1D0S. The value of the products has nearly doubled In ten years. The report says: "Eleven years of agriculture, agri-culture, beginning with a production of 5 1.1 17.000,000 and ending with $S,760.-000.0001 $S,760.-000.0001 A sum of $70,000,000,000 for the period! It has paid off mortgages, it has established banks, It has made better bet-ter homes, it has helped to make the farmer a clllzon of the world, and It has provided him with means for Improving his soil and making It more productive." Farm Production of 1909. The most striking fact In the- world's agriculture Is the value, of the corn crop Tor 1909. which Is about ?1. 720.000,000. It nearly equals the value of the clothing and personal adornments of 7G.OUO.000 people, according to the census of 1900. The gold and silver coin ami bullion of the United States are not of greater value. It has grown up from tho soil and out of the air In 120 Uays ?lo.000.- 000 a day for ono crop, nearly enough for two Dreudnaughls dally for peace or war. This crop exceeds in value the average of tho crops of the five preceding preced-ing years by 3G per cent. Cotton Is now the second crop In value, and this year's cotton crop Is easily the most valuable one to the farmer that has been produced. Willi cotton lint selling sell-ing at 13.7 cents on tho farm November 1 and with cotton seed HClllntr for about 525 per ton, the lint and need of t'nls crop arc worth about 830,000.000 to the farmer. No cotton crop since 1S73 has been sold by farmers for as high a price per pound as this one. Third In value is wheat, worth about $725,000,000 at tho farm, and this largely large-ly exceeds all previous value?. The November No-vember farm price was almost an even dollar a bushel, a price which hns not been equaled since 1SS1. Tis Is tho third wheat crop In point of size, with 725,-000.000 725,-000.000 "bushels. The hay crop is valued at 5GG5 000,-000; 000,-000; oats at $100,000,000; potatoes at 212,-000,000. 212,-000,000. and tobacco nt. nearly $100,000,-000. $100,000,-000. 13cot and cano sugar and molasses IIIICI SJ I up, 1IOJI1 i.uni ami m reach the total of about $95,000,000. The barloy crop Is worth $88,000,000, tlax-ueed tlax-ueed $30,000,000, and 1,000,000,000 pounds of rice $25,000,000. Comparisons With Former Years. Tlie production of all cereals combined Is 4,711,000,000 bushels, an amount considerably con-siderably greater than that for any other year except 190G. It uxeceds tho average aver-age of the preceding five years by O.c per cent. The value of all cereals in 1009 has never been equaled in n previous pre-vious year. It Is almost oxactly $3,000,-000,000. $3,000,-000,000. or 31 per cent, above the ilvc-year ilvc-year average. Compared with the average of tho pro-vlous pro-vlous live years, all principal crops arc greater In quantity this your except cotton, cot-ton, llaxaecu. hops, and cano sugar: but without exception every crop is worth more lo tho farmer than tho live-year average. This Is Ihe year of highest production for potatoes, tobacco, beet sugar, all sugar and rice; next lo tho highest production for corn, oats, and all cereals. Compared with 100S, gains In valuo are found all along the line, tho exceptions being barley, bar-ley, buckwheat, rye and milk. The Increase In-crease for cotton, lint and seed, Is S20S.-000.000; S20S.-000.000; wheat. S107.n00.000; corn, $105.-000,000; $105.-000,000; hn $20,000,000; oats. $22,000,000; tobacco, $1S,000,000, potatoe.M, $15,000,000. Tho Increase In the value of furm products pro-ducts this voar over 190S. $SG9.000.000. Is enough to buy a new equipment of farm machinery for over G.000.OU0 farms. The value of tho cereal crops to tho farmer would pay for all of the machinery, tools, and Implements of tho entire manufacturing manufac-turing Industry. Tho valuo of nil crops, $5,700,000,000, would nia'lco a half payment pay-ment on the valuo of all steam railroads, according to the valuation of 1901. Secretary Wilson concludes his review of the production of 1901) as follows: "The agricultural production of 1909 must add much to the prosperity of farmers. The record Is unoxampled In wealth production pro-duction and tolls of abundance in quantity. quan-tity. Year by year . Ihe farmer Is belter and better prepared to provide the capital capi-tal and make the expenditures needed- to Improvo his agriculture and lo educate his children for farm llfu and work." Secretary Wilson has Just finished u unique Investigation made for the purpose, pur-pose, of this report relating to the Increase In-crease of wholesale prices of beef whon sold at retail. Through employees of the bureau of aiilmnl lnduulry Inquiries wrrn iundo In llfty cities largo, medium, und small In all parts of the country. A schedule was prepared to record the actual experiences of retailers In buying and selling a carcass or half carcass of beef, and among the facts ascertained wore the weight and wholesale cost of a certain piece of beef, usually a half Carcass. Car-cass. Then followed the weight and re-tall re-tall price, of every cut for which a uniform uni-form price was charged by the retail dealer. Thus It became possible not only to compare high-priced and low-priced cuts, but aiso to compute accurately the total retail price per' pound and consumers' consum-ers' cost of the beef piece for which tho wholesule price per pound and cost of the ontlro piece had been reported. Cost to Consumer. For the fifty cities tho total retail cosl charged to consumers abovo tho wholesale cost paid by tho retailers Is 38 per cent. In live cities tho rate of Increase Is 20 per cent or under; In ten cities, 21 to 30 per cent; In twelve cities. 31 to 40 per cent; In twelve cities. 41 to 50 per cent; and In eleven cities, over 50 per cent. The average retail price cxcocdcd tho acragc wholesale price by 31.1 per cent In the North Atlantic Htates; by 3S per cent In the South Atlantic; by 38 per cent in the North Central: 39.1 per cent In tho Western; and tho highest Increase was found In tho South Central states, 51 per cent. A gross profit of 20 per cent was found In New York City and In Philadelphia, 28 per cent In Buffalo, N. Y 3G per cent In Boston, Mass., 17 per cent In Baltimore. Balti-more. Md.. 12 per cent In Washington, D. C, 10 per cent In Chicago. III., 25 per cont In Cincinnati, O . 23 per cent In Omaha, Nob., 2S per cent In Kansas City. Mo.. 27 and 35 per cent In Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.. 40 per cent In Mllwnu-koo. Mllwnu-koo. Wis., and Detroit, Mich., 39 per cent In St. Louis, Mo.. G4 per cent In Mobile, Ala., 39 per cent In San Francisco. 21 per cont In Seattle, and 37 per cent In Denver. Colo. 1 The lower tho grado of hoof the greater great-er tho porcentage of gross prolU. In Boston, for Illustration, tho rate of gross profit Is nearly twice ns great for beef costing S cent? at wholesale ns for beef costing 11 and Hi cents. L,ow-prlced beef is' marked up nearly twlco as much relatively as high-priced beef, In other words, perhaps it Is a safe Inference that the poor people pay nearly twice as much prollt as the well-to-do people pay. Retail Business. Tho retailer's delivery scrvlco Is costly, however, and the retail business Is overdone. over-done. Tho multiplication of small shops is a burden to consumers and no source of riches to the small shopkeepers. When twenty or more small shops divide tho retail business within an area that could bo served by one large shop, the expenses or tne many siiops ror moor, norscs, rent, and oilier things, that are In oxcess of what would bo sufficient for tho ono shop, must go Into tho retail prices of tho meat sold. Furthermore, customers choose tho higher priced cuts of meats. Steaks and roasts are the preferences, and theso must have names that are regarded as respectable. re-spectable. Consequently, one-tlfth of the carcass Is bought at tho highest prlco Dorterhouse steaks at prices as high ns 25 and 30 cents a pound, sirloin at 20 to 25 cents, and rib roasts at 20 cents. The ascending prices of meat suggest Inquiry as to whether tho prices of the fanner's beef cattle" and hogs havo Increased In-creased at the farm In the sumo degroe that meal has to the consumer. For the purpose of making comparisons, tho mean price level of 189G-1900, a period of comparatively com-paratively low prices, Is adopted as a mine line, represented by 100, nnd for each animal and commodity the prlco level Is computed. |