本文旨在以土地買賣契約上的土地種類、面積與價格研究清代草屯地區的地價及其相關問題。 本文製有統計表十一，透過表加以統計分析，歷史經由量化可以比較、可以排序、對歷史看的更為清楚。在量化下，本文最大之發現為道光朝地價最高，咸豐同治朝地價最低。咸豐同治地價低的原因竟然是國際貿易失衡的影響。因為道光末以後，台糖、臺米外銷失利，以致台糖、臺米價賤，導致地價大跌，竟不到道光朝的三分之一。台灣經濟的國際性格顯現無遺。 在各類土地中，水田能種二季稻，價最高；旱田能種一季稻，價次之；園不能種水稻，價最低。偶有旱田價較水田高的，那是因為其地點近市街，可以成厝地的緣故。

This essay examines the types, areas and prices in the antique contracts of the landed trades in the Tsaotun area in the Ching Dynasty in order to explore the historical factors which affect land value and unveil its related issues. This essay includes eleven statistical tables. Through the quantificational operation, these tables enable analytic, comparative and chronological research among the types, areas and prices of lands in the antique contracts. The most significant discovery, concluded from these tables, is the influence of international trade on the land value in Taiwan. Comparing land value in a chronological sequence, land in the DawGuang Era reaches the highest value; on the other hand, land in the TongJyh and HsianFong Era obtains the lowest value. The situation of the low land value is attributed to the disadvantage of exporting Taiwanese rice and sugar in these two Eras. Because of the difficulty in international trade, which caused a great devaluation of the price of rice and sugar, the land value in these two Eras depreciated below one third of those in the DawGuang Era. Thereby the characteristic of Taiwanese economics, which deeply depends on international trade, is evidently manifested. As to the types of land, irrigable fields obtain the highest value because rice can be cultivated twice a year in these; dry farmlands receive a lower value because rice can only be cultivated once a year; and orchards obtain the lowest value because rice can not be cultivated there. On occasion, some dry farmland can obtain a higher price than the irrigable fields because their locality in the vicinity of a town center enables them to be used as a building site.