The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-26

tCopyright, 1911, by Frank c. Carpenter) Washington, D. C.. "HE farms of the United States de-
 termlne its market bills. They fix A the prices of our bread and meat, and whether they are increasing or de- creasing in number and size determines pur food supply. In regard to this have just had long time with MT. F. Dana Durand, the director of the cen sus. MT. Durand is now compiling the millions of figures furnished by the cen bus enumerators He has the latest data Is to our national resources, and large part of his most important information relates to farms. I have before me list of questions which his agents have put to every farmer as they worked their way through the country counting the people. These questions are so many that they Would fill a page of this newspaper, and the answers give all sorts of informa- tion
 : As to the farms, they report their size and their value. They show what the buildings are and what the farms cost. q They tell you about every tract that is 4 hortgaged, and also the expense of run hing each farm and the profit therefrom.
 Others of the answers relate to the * live stock of all kinds. The census men have counted the horses cattle and pigs. md the mules, goats and sheep as we'll Uncle Sam has even taken account of the chickens. He can tell you how many fowls we are rearing and how many eggs they produce. He has full details as to he food crops, even to such vegetables As onions. green peas and celery. He has tounted the orchards and even the nuts. fn fact his information is so widespread that cannot mention the classes.
 d Six Million Farms
 There are some things however. that A;'e very important to know. One is that bur farm products are not increasing as | fapidly as our population. We have got fto sell less stuff abroad or draw in our belt buckles a hole or so tighter The people are increasing faster than the humber of farms. In 1900 we had little less than F;00,o0o farms. and we now have d little over 6,0o00O0. The rate of increase has been just about ten per tent, while the Increase in our population has been. only twice that amount. It may be that our farms are raising more but if so our consumption has greatly Increased, for our export of farm prod 4 hcts are rapidly falling. It is certain That we have fewer. farmers from year to year. st-rA ts
 MT. Durand,s figures show that there Is steady growth from the country to the city. In 1890 about thirty-six per rent of our population lived in the cities In 1900 more than forty per cent were hway from the farms. and the city pop- ulation is much higher, As 1t is now bf every hundred men women and chiI- aren in the United States, more than torty-six are living in tte towns, and the percentage is so increasihs that 1t Is Iniy a question of time when halt of. all Uncle Sam $ children will be city dweil- krs. Thiel means that there are more people to eat farm products and fewer people to raise them, 1t must mean higher prices ss
 Furthermpre there is no doubt that the cities are growing at the expense of tho country MT Durard tells me that some pf the chief bread. lands and market garden sof the United States ar steadily Increasing, as far as the number of far mers is concerned. This Is 80 of Iowa,