AGRICULTURE. In 1900. 72.4 per cent. of the land area was included in farms, and of this 41.3 per cent. (5.775,741 acres) was improved—a large increase over all earlier years. The average size of farms in 1900 (90 acres) was only one sixth as large as the average size in 1850. 1n 1900, 36.7 per cent. of the farms were let for cash rent, and 24.3 per cent. share rent. Consid erably over half of the farms are operated by ne groes, and only 13.2 per cent. of these properties are owned by them. In probably no State is the cotton crop so predominant as in South Carolina. In area it annually exceeds every other crop and is several times as important as any other crop with respect to value. The acreage in 1900 was larger than for any other census year. as was also the number of bales produced (S81,422), the crop being nearly three times as great as in 1850. Of the total area of cotton, 23,902 acres were in the sea-island variety.
Corn, the second crop in importance, made large gains in the decade 1890-1900. During that
period there was also a revival in wheat culture and a decrease in the cultivation of oats, but neither crop is of great importance. Rice is the only other cereal worthy of mention. It has been grown in South Carolina since 1700, and the State took first rank in its cultivation until 1S61. The increasing destructiveness of the freshets since the deforestation of the mountain slopes has greatly hampered the growth of the industry. However, in the decade 1890-1900 it almost regained the ground which it had lost in the preceding ten years. The State is now ex ceeded by Louisiana alone in rice production. The acreage in hay increased 264.3 per cent. in the decade 1890-1900. Considerable attention is given to the raising of peas, and tobacco and sweet potatoes are products of some importance. The area devoted to tobacco in 1900 was 65 times as great as in 1890. The following table shows the acreage of the leading crops: