FARM TENURE. As the country becomes older there is a rapidly increasing and almost universal tendency toward the renting system. though this is much more marked in some regions than in others. In the earlier period of development the man of small means took a claim, but now he is forced to rent. The frontier, as it pushed across the country, has been characterized by the fact that most of its farms were operated by owners. In the table below it will be seen that the highest percentage of owned farms is in the West, but the renting of farms began at once and steadily increased. The increase in tenancy has generally been deprecated as in dicating a decadence in agricultural welfare, hut in the following table it is shown that the increase in the number of tenants has not been at the expense of owners, for the farms operated by owners have also rapidly increased. ]n fact, the increase of these tenants since 1850 has been faster than the increase of the agricultural popu lation. The increase in both the number of owners and the number of tenants has been at the expense of the wage-earning employees.
ers, of whom 4.51,799 were in the South Central division of States. Of the latter number S6,748 owned their farms, and 13.895 farms were op erated by part owners, 917 by and ten ants, 623 by managers. 171,105 by cash tenants, and 178,511 by share tenants. It is noteworthy that in the two Southern divisions of States the negro cash tenants almost equal in number the negro share tenants; while at the same time the white share tenants outnumber the white cash tenants S to 3. Renting is least customary in the North Atlantic States. t See article The first class may he further subdivided as follows: owners, 54.9; part owners, 7.9 per cent.;
owners and tenants, 0.9 per cent.: and managers, I per cent. There is an increased tendency to delegate the managgment of farms. In the south especially, the large number of the owners are absentees. Of the total number of owners of rented farms in 1900, 1.005.479 owned but one farm each, 142,83S owned two farms each, 67,719 owned three and under five farms each, 28.698 owned five and under ten farms each, S966 owned ten and under twenty farms each, 3241 owned twenty farms and over. Of the last group 2332 owners were in the South Central States and 704 in the South Atlantic States. The following table shows the number of owned and rented farms and the tenancy in each class: The percentage of rented farms and the rate of increase of these are greatest in the South. The greater proportionate number of rented farms in that section results from the industrial change incident to the overthrow of slavery. Negroes prefer renting to wage-earning. In 1899 there were 769,52S farms operated by colored farm NEnno IN AMERICA, and section on Cotton in this article.) Rented farms average less in size than the owned farms, and a larger percentage of the rented farms is improved. This is par ticularly true in the South and is most noticeable in share-rent farms. Farms in that section are leased mainly for raising crops.. Farms in the United States are usually rented for short periods, one year at a time being the most com mon. In Great Britain. by contrast, the long term system of tenure prevails.