WEIGHT OF A BUSHEL. REVISED TABLE SHOWING THE STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES WHICH HAVE ESTABLISHED BY LAW THE WEIGHT AND POUNDS AVOIRDUPOIS OF A BUSHEL OF DIFFERENT GRAINS AND OTHER COMMODITIES. a Coarso b Ground c Fine, d Sifted. Unsifted. &h Bituminous, and mined in the State. & Cannel, or mined out of the State. ADDITIONAL TO THE FOREGOING TABLE. In addition to the articles named in the foregoing table, the following weights per bushel, of the following articles, are established by law in the States indicated, viz: Coke: Pennsylvania, 40 pounds to the bushel; Ohio, 40 pounds to the bushel; Iowa, 38 pounds to the bushel. Hominy: Massachusetts, 50 pounds to the bushel; Ohio, 60 pounds to the bushel. Peas, ground: Georgia, 25 pounds to the bushel; Kentucky, 24 pounds to the bushel. Parsnips: Connecticut, 45 pounds to the bushel; Wisconsin, 44 pounds to the bushel; Montana, 50 pounds to the bushel. Ruta-bagas: Maine, 60 pounds to the bushel; Connecticut, 60 pounds to the bushel; Wisconsin, 56 pounds to the bushel. Mangel-wurzel: Maine, 60 pounds to the bushel; Connecticut, 60 pounds to tho bushel; Washington Territory, 50 pounds to the bushel. Vegetables not specified: Rhode Island, 50 pounds to the bushel; Washington Territory, 50 pounds to the bushel. Onion top sets: Virginia, 28 pounds to the bushel; Nebraska, 25 pounds to the bushel. Dried fruit-Plums: Michigan, 28 pounds to the bushel. Peaches, peeled: Virginia, 40 pounds to the bushel; Georgia, 38 pounds to the bushel. Burrants, gooseberries, and grapes: Iowa, 40 pounds to the bushel. Other berries: Rhode Island, 32 pounds to the bushel; Michigan, 40 pounds to the bushel; Iowa, 32 pounds to the bushel. Chestnuts: Virginia, 57 pounds to the bushel. Peanuts: Virginia, 22 pounds to the bushel. Seeds-Broom-corn: Iowa, 30 pounds to the bushel; Dakota, 30 pounds to the bushel. Cotton: Georgia, 30 pounds to the bushel; Missouri, 33 pounds to the bushel. Osage Orange: Virginia, 34 pounds to the bushel; Michigan, 33 pounds to the bushel; Iowa, 32 pounds to the bushel; Nebraska, 32 pounds to the bushel. Rape: Wisconsin, 50 pounds to the bushel. Sorghum: Iowa, 30 pounds to the bushel; Nebraska, 30 pounds to tho bushel. Orchard grass: Virginia, 14 pounds to the bushel; Michigan, 14 pounds to the bushel. Redtop: Virginia, 12 pounds to the bushel; Michigan, 14 pounds to the bushel. Band: Iowa, 130 pounds to the bushel. Maine FARM LABOR AND WAGES. The following table of wages, paid for labor in the farming districts of the United States, was compiled from returns made in the month of April, 1880, and is placed in the report of this year. Apparently, it should be in the report of 1880; but as the returns are made in the spring following the date of the report, and before the funds to print the report of that year are available, it is deemed best to place the facts be fore the public at as early a day as possible, and not wait till after the close of the year. The same explanation applies to the table of labor and wages published in the report of 1878, and which was the rate of wages for April, 1879. $21 00 $12 78 $150 $1 12 81 09 $0 75 $1 86 $1 85 $1 ST $2 09 $1 54 New Hampshire.. 21 45 18 31 1 88 1 06 1 26 Vermont 1 45 Pennsylvania. A comparison of the returns in the first two columns of the preceding table with similar returns made last year, gives a clear idea of the change in the value of labor since then. The decline, which had been steadily going on since 1873, till last year, seems to have been arrested, and there is a decided advance in almost every section. The average wage of labor engaged by the year or season, and which represents the steady and reliable force on the farm, was, for the whole country, last year, an average of $20.26 a month, without board. This year it is $21.75, being an increase of 7.25 per cent. Taking into consideration the figures of the second column, being the rate paid with board to the same class of labor, we gain a clear view of the cost of subsisting the laborer, which, for the average of the whole country, in 1880, is $7.17 a month, against $7.14 in 1879. Heretofore, in the decline of wages, the cost of subsistence declined in quite the same ratio, but for this year the proportion is largely in favor of the laborer, as the cost of subsistence remains nearly at the lowest rate, while the wage has materially advanced. The average price for labor, with board, is $14.56. An analysis of the figures in the first column shows only three States reporting less than last year, viz., Texas, Minnesota and California; but a glance at the second column, or the wage paid with board, shows a marked increase. It must be borne in mind, however, that in all these States the sparseness of population and absence of the facilities of the older States render it both necessary and convenient to lodge and feed the hired help. The price paid, therefore, with board, is the safest indication of the value of labor in those States. As was to be expected, the greatest increase has been in those States where Agriculture had been the most remunerative since last year. Thus, in the West, and those States bordering on the Ohio river, which were the most favored, the increase has been the largest. The same applies to the cotton States. With the higher price for cotton, the advance has been universal, and is, in some sections, as high as 8 or 10 per cent. The demand for labor is good in all sections of the country. the New England and Middle States there is a steady and good demand for reliable men, and prices for that class have advanced very materially. The larger number of reports from these sections, state that the usual custom is to hire with board, and for the season. In In the South Atlantic and Gulf States there is an active demand for all kinds of steady labor. Many correspondents report that the share system, or a division of the product in lieu of wages, was growing more unpopular daily, and that the freedmen are becoming more and more landholders. In Mississippi and Louisiana, there are a few reports of scarcity of labor, owing to the exodus to Kansas and the North, but in the same localities there is reported a good demand for reliable labor of all kinds. In the Northwestern States the supply of labor is quite equal to the demand. In that section most of the inhabitants are land-owners, and only hire help at harvest time, but skilled labor is reported in good demand. In the Territories and on the Pacific slope, the demand is reported as good, except in New Mexico and Montana, where a surplus is noticed. in the first-named Territory, the surplus is attributed to the opening of the railway from Kansas, and in the latter, to the large num ber of young and unskilled laborers arriving. |