Mower County transcript., 1903-09-02
. AArIERICAN FARr1 CONDITIONS.

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Average Size ot United States Farms
Greater in 1000 Than III 1900. h
zsl s3s The 9Ei1 average size Of farms for the
country q as q whole was greater in 1900:
than in 1890. This|is Of course, math-
ematical coro ollary Of the fact that the
farm acreage increased. faster than the
~ number of farms. It has already been
pointed out, however, that the additions
to the farm acreage included large
tracts Of unimproyed land in the west
ern states, used as grazing farms.
While this has materially affected the
average size Of farms for the country
as a whole, in the older portions of the.
country there are no Indications of any
general movement toward consolida-
tion Of farms, or, Of any tendency on
the part Of farmers toward the cultiva
ton of larger farms. In the northern
states east Of the Mississippi there was
|no very marked change in the size of
farms: Massachusetts,, Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indi-
ana and Illinois showed a slight>dimi-
mutton in the average farm area, while
the other states in this region showed
a slight. increase. In the southern
states east Of the Mississippi, on the
other hand, the increase in the number
of farms far exceeded the increase in
farm area, and consequently the aver
age size Of farms was materially dimin-
ished. r. IN
| Only one half. of the total farm acre.
age in 1900 was reported as improved,
butithis represents a gain over 1890 of
57,176, ,436 acres. Most Of this increase
in the crop producing area of the
country was contributed by the states
Of the middle west, the greatest >exten-
sion b. ing shown in Minnesota, where
the increase during the decade exceed
| ed 100000 acres. Increases of between
100000 and 5000, 900 acres were report
ed for Iowa, North Dakota, South Da-
kota and Oklahoma. On the other
hand, in many states the area of i'm
proved farm land was smaller in 1900
than in 1890. A decrease is shown in
all the the north Atlantic states, espec-
tally in New England. This is due
princip pally to a change in the kind Of
farming carried on in those states; the
.ksaiising< heat f marx:
1let, having become comparatively IN:
profitable under the influence Of west
ern competition, has been largely su
perseded by dairy farming and market
! gardening. In these pursuits, which
are, of course, stimulated by the prox
Unity Of a large urban population, th'
eastern farmer apparently finds it t
| his advantage to cultivate less lant
than he once did, but to cultivate i
more intensiYely. Accordingly, tn
i less fertile lands, and the meadow land
/ that cannot be moWn with machines
Il p ) >
4 have in many cases been converte'
q into permanent pastures. The increas
| ed average fertility Of the land retaine
under cultivation, the use of the sile
and the. growing tendency to cultivat
s corn and forage crops, instead Of hay
for winter feed, are all factors Whicl
Il contribute to the same end enablin
\ the farmer to raise on 4 a smaller are
u the winter feed for the animals tha
! can be kept during the summer, on th
Z enlarged area Of pasture land From
], the Hon. nv. r. Merriam's 5 N oteworth
4 Results Of the Twelfth Census, : in tn
I September Century '5....S=.z t..s