The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1910-12-30

corning which the census collected
data in 1900 and in 1910 were those
for fertilizer and labor. Minnesota
farms have never used much artificial
fertilizer, and are now expanding less
money for it than ten years ago, the
payments for this class of purchases
declining in ten years from 1921, 900 to
$63,000-a decline of rs per cent.
The expense for labor increased in
ten years from $16,658,000 to $22, 1856,
000-an increase of 33 per cent. AS
there has been no great change in the
number of farms or acres of farm land
in the intervening period, this per
centage measures the increase in the
saverage daily, monthly, or yearly com
pensation paid for farm labor in the
state at the present time as compared
with ten years ago.
| Farms and Farm Land.
| In ten years the number of farms
in Minnesota changed only or per
cent, the increase being from 154 ,65e
to 155,759. The acres in farms in
creased, however, from 26,24S,000 to
u 623, 0O0-a gain OFFS per cent. The
| greater increase in acres than in farms
was due to the gradual consolidation
of farm holdings, and thus a small in
| crease in the average size of farms
That size was ITO acres in 1900 and
lit in 1910. In nearly all the older
! counties of the state there was a de.
crease in the number of farms, while
in the newer sections there was an
| increase.
Of the noteworthy increases, men.
ton may be made of Aitkin county
in which the number of farms increased
from 76S to 1,345, and farm acreage
increased from 1912 to 175,434
Carleton county farms increased from
COS to 1,189, and farm acreage from
1892 to 1912. Cook county farms
| increased from Sc to 146, and farm
| acreage from 1923 to 23,769. Of the
| counties showing decrease in the mum
Der of farms, mention is made of Blue
Earth, whose farms decreased from
1886 to 1887. The decrease was &C
companied by an increase in the size
of farms from 141 to 1853 acres.
Fillmore farms decreased in number
from BAIT to 3,210; and the average
size of farms increased from $50 to
1852 acres. Houston county had 2,13O
farms in 1900 and only 1910 ten years
later. This decrease in the number of
farms gave rise to an increase in the
average size of farms from 156>to III
acres.
The greater part of Minnesota farms
were operated in 1910, as in 1900, by
white farmers. The number of such
I farmers increased from 154,287 to 1885,
497. There were only small number
of farms in either year cultivated by
other than white farmers, and the
number of such farmers decreased in
ten years from 372 to 2S0. The great
er number of these farmers other than
white in Minnesota were Indians. The
number of Indian farmers decreased
in ten years from BAL to 25l; while
the number of farms operated by ne
groes or those of negro descent
changed from 81 in 1900 to 20 in 1910.
A glance at the table will disclose
the changes that ten years have chron-
icled in the number of farms of the
various sizes. There was slight in
crease in the number of farms con-
tanning less than twenty acres; but
these farms constituted but an insig-
nificant part of the farms of the state.
OF the smaller and medium size farms
included in the three classes next
largest in area EARNS containing from
20 to 40 acres, those containing from
SO to SO acres, and those with from
100 to 174 acres), there was a decrease
in the number of each size.
There was marked increase in the
number of the two classes of farms
which contain from ITS to 499 acres
and those containing from 500 to 500
acres. There was an increase Of over
10 per cent in the number of both Of
these classes of farms, and decrease
in the number of large farms-those
containing more than 1000 acres.
This decrease was from 365 in 1900 to
299 in 1910.
Mortgage Debt.
OF the 121,S02 farms operated by
their owners in 1910, 1914, or "a. per
cent, were owned free from mortgage
debt, and 56,058, or 46 per cent, were
owned subject to such debt. No CORE
spending data relating to the subject
were collected at any preceding census
of agriculture. These figures can,
however, be compared with those Of
the twelfth census relating to mort
gagged farm homes. The number of
farm homes owned free from mort
gage debt in 1900 was 66,922, and the
number subject to mortgage was 54,-
1873. The former constituted 55.2 and
the latter 44.S per cent of the owned
farm homes of the state, from which
the data relating to mortgage debt
was secured. AS these figures are
probably a fair index of the situation
ten years ago, they give rise to the
conclusion that ten years have seen
but slight changes in the number of
Minnesota farms that are mortgaged;
but that what change has taken place
is to increase slightly the relative
number of those with mortgage debt.
Smallpox at Eagle Bend.
Wadena. = There is very serious
II