Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-01-15
rhe Decline An Food staples.

The Amsriczn Grosa prints In q COM
paoi article . review Of the average
Wholesale prices Of food staples for the
past Is years, which ought 10 be inter
sstinE reading to those housewives who
are prone to ,houEhslessly exclAim that
''iiving coats as muoh now as ii ever did,"
They have forgotten that sugar, tea,
-four. lard, canned goods, pork aud some
other articles OF daily consumption coat
fully twice As muoh In 1870 90 iLey do
now. The American Grocsr regards the
present prices for these goods 30 down 10
hard-pAn and looks upon the nature Of
the decline as showing that 1--WE have
arrived At an era Of permanent low
prices"
In 1870 the wholesale quotations for
the following articles were good refining
(brown) sugar, % "a per 100 pounds !;
crushed sugar, l4s eonIs per pound iAls
Rio coffee, lla TO lza cents, Eold, in bona;
medium quaiity Japan tea, bCl 70 50
cents; carotinA rics,6a to u cen.s msss
pork, s26 81 per barrel; LARD, AIS 81 pei
hundred pounds; tub butter, 81
TO IS cents: cheese, l7s to Is.
cenls; No. mAokersl, s29 IL
$50 per Darrell OOdnah, $3.50 Per hun
dred ponds; wheat $I.29 Per bushsl
"extrA state" fOur Is so per barrel,
corn, 81 Per bushel; canned tomatoes,
&2.l0 per dozen canned corr 10 oApned
peaches $3.50 to "a so; canned oy stsrs,
s1,50. The prices quoted are those
ruling in New York and represent tht
invoioe price Of importers or 1rst- HAND
dealers. II should be understood that
the grade OF -four quoted At s5.bO must
bs,ss is apparent from the price OF wheat,
poor article untitled for family use, the
quotation for the past year for the same
grade being only " 80 TO $40. Bat ii
serves Is an index TO the decline in tina,
article, for better brands may be pre-.
sumed 70 have fallen oorrespondipgly il
price. The difference between the whole.
sale and retail prices Of standard brands
Of really good family -four doos no,
average more than rs oents on the barrel
on certain popular brands the retailer
frequently has 10 be satisfied with prof
Of so cents.
The present wholesale prioss Of thu
articles quoted above are 2: Brown sugar
sb.l9 per hundred weight; crushed sugar
81 csntS per pound; coffee, %; Japan tea
10 70 20; rice, Al to 6; mess pork, s12 q
70 s12,75; lard, 90 80; tub butter, 20 t
49, cheese, 124 to 1915 No. msokerel
s23; goldfish, s4.5Oi wheat, So; hour
$3.50 to s3.1O; corn, SO; canned tomatoes
rs TO 90; canned corn, 80 to 81. 20; came
peaches, $1.35 to ~; canned oysters, 8
to o.. A few articles have touched lowe
prices In the interim; oheeae selling 70
u to Q cents 10 1879; mackertl, sl3 (
sl4 in 1875, and canned oysters, 6o TO Z
cents in 1878. In most Of these slaplsi
however, the decline has been markell
steady and continuous,
Part Of the decline in tea And coffee
attributable to. the removal Of the dut
from these articles in 1872, while th
enormous increase in the production
beet root suRer and GLUCOSE and the ii
PRODUCTION OF the centrifugal machine
the refining OF the raw material Law
been the chief factors in eheEpeling IL,
article. In 1870 it coat over oeats p,
pound to refine suS sr, while a. prsseat II
refining is done At or below cost Of on,
half cent per pouud. The Amsrico
Grocer neRlects 20 say how much Rlucoi
the refner now adds to the barrel
alleged sugar, and there are some 9th,
masters on which more light nigh. hRv
been thrown, but its review is, nevsrth
less, both entertaining and valuable