Then, with the increase in production and general financial stringency came a sharp decrease in price.

Between 1880 and 1890 the price was not much above the cost of production, and after 1890 the price fell still lower.

When middling cotton brought less than seven cents a pound in New York, the small producer got little more than five cents for his bale or two.

The price of wheat and corn was correspondingly low, if the farmer had a surplus to sell at harvest time.

If he bought Western corn or flour in the spring on credit, the price he paid included shrinkage, storage, freight, and the exorbitant profit of the merchant.