The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-11-28

SNtI1O J. X " SSA
past five years. These figures are i'm
possible to comprehend. but they in
dictate something OF the progress or
his great billion-dollar nation
Do you wonder that the are
attracted by them? h wages OF the
factories are paid without regard TO
whether it rains or shines, and they
exceed in value the wages paid upon
the farms. The increased cost OF Nv
ing is not taken into account until
after the man has become settled In
the city. And SO the rush goes on.
The increase in the number of fac
tory employees over 1900 is already
more than a million. and We have now
working in manufacturing establish
ments between six n seven million
men and women. This is an increase
of 40 per cent over the numbe en-
ployed ten years ago.
Our Prosperous Farmers.
Nevertheless, farming is paying bet
ter than it has ever paid and. strange
to say, Notwithstanding this loss OF
labor, the crops seem to be as large
or larger than ever before. Our big
gest crops of all time were in 1910.
Mr.. Durand rightly says, however. hat
the census figures OF CROPS cannot be
relied upon as indicative of the exact
growth Of Il agricultural empire.
for the 81 that each census rep
resents but one year. For instance,
the census OF 1910 shows the crops OF
the year in which the census enumera-
tor collected the material Inc that
Only. II It be q fat veal the figures
will be very large. but on h other
hand. II a lean one, they may be con-
siderably smaller. The census OF 1900
might have recorded a year which had
bumper crops, and hat Of 1910 one
when famine was abroad in the land.
Nevertheless, such figures are approx
mately correct.
AS to the number OF farms. these
are not affected by such changes The
census shows that we had in 1906
something like $1,000 600 farms, and
hat just taken shows that we now
have 100000 more. We lave alto
gether over 5000, 600 and the increase
is little more tina 10 per cent. The
figures also show that the size Of the
farms is decreasing. The average
holding Of 1900 was 146 acres, where
as the average farm Of today contains
only 1873 acres. This is affected some
what by the market gardens about the
cities, where the holdings are very
small. They are increasing in num-
Der, and they cut down the average
size OF the farm.
Use More Machines.
Notwithstanding the rush to h
cities and the difficulty OF getting farm
labor the crops are as great or greater
than ever before, and they are bring
ing more money. The increase in the
quantity Of food produced, notwith-
standing the loss OF the labor, comes
from the greater use of farm machin-
cry. This is increasing enormously.
Sixty-eight per cent more farm tools
were employed in 1910 han in 1900,
and that Notwithstanding the increase
in the number OF farms was only 10
per cent. The value Of the additional
~0 oHsnnv -y0 <f>on n ho3F If1
lion dollars. The money invested in
such machines has jumped from TOO
millions to 1900 millions within the
past decade.
Increase in Farm Values.
The census shows that the value Of
the farms per acre has greatly in
creased, and this, strange to say, is
largely the case In those States from
where there has been most emigration
to the city. It is SO in Illinois, In
diana and Iowa, States which have
had a large falling Off in the farm
population.
AS to the increase in the value per
acre of land the United States over.
that has more than doubled within the
past ten years. It has been over 1oS
per cent, meaning a jump from SIS
to $50 e acre. The values in many
parts OF h country have been much
in excess OF the present income pro-
NoNAAAo ~ V1k4@Ax 2Ooho Ok kIlOuE
the farmers were capitalizing their
possibilities Of the future. Farming
is also more popular now than ever
before, and many men are going INTO
It with the idea Of making 1t a profit
business.
Farm Mortgages.
Only a few years ago il was said
that the United States was bianketed
with farm mortgages. / talked with
n director of the census as to this
matter. He says that many Of the
farms are still mortgaged, but that the
present mortgages to a large extent
represent improvements or the pur-
chase Of more land. whereas in the
past they represented the debts in
CURED in going into farming and to
some extent in carrying on the bust
DesS, which was then not SO profitable.
The mortgages as now recorded By the
census deal only with farms operated
by the owners. In 1910 there were in
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