New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-21
Though at last he csughtthem fast,
His heart could ne'er enjoy them, o.

We hear that the principal Hotels of our city have
resolved to increase their charge for board and
lodging from 81 so to 50 per day, finding that,
with full houses, they are scarcely making ex-
penses in cor sequence of the high prices of nearly
every article Of household consumpton-Nleats,
Vegetables, Tea, Sugar, &c. The rise is thus
rather nominal than real-a consequence of the en-
HANGED quantity and decreased value of money
since the opening Of the mines of California and
Australia Three dollars to-day will not buy so much
food as two dollars did fifteen years ago. hence
those who live by selling food must furnish poorer
article OF charge higher price than formerly.
Board of every grade is from twenty to fifty per
cent dearer than it was twenty years ago. Fabrics
have probably not advanced in the average-the
successive improvements in machinery cOunteryail-
ing the increased cost of raw materials and labor.
Machinery and Science have done something mean
time for Agriculture, but not SO much as for
acknowledgement being more generally
sought and readily adopted in the latter than in the
former. In spite Of our subsoil plows, diggers,
horse-hoes cutyators, mowers, reapers, threShers,
sc, food for man and beast is probably dearer in
the average in or city to-day than il was at almost
any former tme-the Winter and Spring succeed
ing the short crops and wild specuatiOns of l536
furnishing perhaps the only exception.
OF course we know that Flour, Corn, Coal, or
almost any single article has been higher at some
former period than now; but we think the average
cost of all the elements Of human subsistence was
never higher in our city than it is to-day. And
the tendency is rather upward than downward, in
spite Of open canals and milder season. The hard
Winter has consumed all the Fodder, and drawn
heavily on the stores of Indian Corn, Rye and other
coarse grains, to preserve cattle from absolute star
vation In many sections, the oxen and horses are
too poor and feeble to do the heavy work of the
season efficiently Too little land is being powed,
and that little is often but half plowed The dreary
rains of April and May keep the best lands sOddcn
and unfit for cultivation. Very little seed has yet
been planted and Of that little good part will rot
without terminating. The Winter Wheat is badly
killed BY the alternate frosts and floods of the past
four months and in the average does not look we'll
though thereere promising sections. Grass must
be everywhere coming on finely, but there are too
few cattle and sheep, and many Of these are barely
able TO crawl. On the whole considering how the
mania of land speculation is rayagng the West the
prospect is not good for the harvest Of 1857. Yet
we are importing goods and living generally as
though new bonds new loans could be fabricated
and sold and new railroads built on credit forever.
We shall see.
The relations of prices to each other is a subject
on which an instructive volume might be compiled.
1t is not long since a tun of Flour would have
bought tun or more of Sugar in this city; now
four tuns Of Flour will hardly buy tun of Sugar.
MANY farmer in Ohio or Indiana has paid the pro-
= eeds Of FIVE or six bushels of Wheat for
weekly newspaper, whereas he now pays for a bet
ter paper with the proceeds of a single bushel of
wheat Once Thousand bushels Of Wheat would
not buy Bible; now single bushel in this city
will pay for three or four Bibles In portions of
the West to-day, hundred bushels of Wheat will
buy one hundred and sixty acres Of excellent land;
in this quarter land no better which has only ag-
ricultural value, will command mot grow fifty
bushels of Wheat per acre. Less than nifty years
ago. bushel Of Wheat in New-Englsnd was worth
four or FIVE bushels of Potatoes; to-day it will not
average two bushels Of Potatoes. Hay in Western
New-York that would have been accounted dear last
Fall at 8 per tun has been sold this Spring at $50
per tun andn not to be had at that price,
Sleep that would have been considered we'll sold at
81 per head thirty years ago are now selling at So
to Sc per head Oxen have nearly doubled in price
within very few years. OF course, wages have
risen also, or, if they have not, they should have
risen.
Let US all comprehend, then, that an article is
not necessarily dearer to-day than formerly be-
cause the price is higher 1t may cost twenty-five