enough to serve as a safeguard to the reader. A slight break could indicate in this manner a gap of any large number of years which it would not be feasible to denote by allowing space according to scale. In Fig. 48 the years and the figures for the chart are properly shown to the left much as they are shown in Fig. 24 and in Fig. 27.
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New York Times Annalist
Fig. 49. The Size and the Value of the Corn Crop of the United States in 1911 Compared with that of 1912
The object of the chart is to show that, though there were more bushels of corn in 1912, the producer received
less total money than in 1911.
The left-hand illustration is incorrectly made as it shows the earlier year to the right. In the central illustration this error has been corrected and the years are named at the base instead of at the top. The arrangement still fails, however, to bring out the message clearly.
From the right-hand presentation it can be seen instantly that the number of bushels has increased while the total money received has actually decreased. The right-hand presentation is arranged in accordance with the working of the average person's mind and it gains in clearness accordingly
The left-hand group in Fig. 49 was used as an illustration in a business magazine. The purpose of the chart was to show that in 1912 the farmers of the country raised more bushels of corn than in 1911 but received less total money in return. Note that the earlier year is placed at the right instead of at the left, and that the dates are given at the top rather than at the bottom. The middle group of bars corrects the error, but the information is still not as clearly brought out as it should be. The best way to bring out this information is to show that the number of bushels has increased while the number of dollars has decreased, and this is not clear from the middle drawing. In the right-hand presentation it is clearly seen that the bushels went up though the total value came down. The right-hand drawing follows the working of the average person's mind and it gains in clearness accordingly.
As a general rule dates should always be arranged to read from left to right, and columns of figures should be arranged with the column for the earlier date at the left. A common exception is made, however, in the case of financial reports when it is desired to show the most recent year next to the various type-headings relating to
