Middletown transcript., 1911-09-02
Average Acreage and Values per Farm

0OutiuuOueiy u6CT6hS6Q LrOm 1871 AUr6
in 1850 to 96 acres 10 1910, over go acres in
so years. The decrease during the last
decade, 14.1 acres was the largest for any
decade during the period, while that Of
the preceding decade, "a acres was the
smallest.
The value per farm of farm equipment
which includes implements and machin.
cry and domestic animals, poultry and
bees, was in 1910 nearly two and half
times as great as it was so years ago and
little less than one and a half times as
great as 10 years ago.
The average value of a Delaware farm
including its equipment, is little more
than S., 800, OF which about.$ 81, 900 repre-
sents the value of land and buildings,
$629 the value OF domestic animals, poul.
try and bees and 1895 the value of imple.
ments and machinery.
Farm Tenure, 1880 to 1910
While farms increased l ,149 in number
during the last decade, the number op.
Grated by owners and managers increased
1,490, as compared with decrease of 34l
in the number operated by tenants.
In 1880 and again in 1910 about AZ out
of each hundred farms were operated by
tenants; in 1890 and 1900 the proportion
was even higher, in 1900 amounting to
somewhat more than one-half. The fuc.
tuations in the number and proportion of
farmers who are tenants arise mainly
from the changes among share, tenants.
The number of cash tenants, including
those for whom the form of tenure was
not reported, has increased slowly since
1880. Share and share.cash tenacy, on
the other hand, increased rather rapidly
for 20 years but decreased considerably
during the last decade.
In 1880 cash tenacy, including "non-
specified" was less than one-s:xth as fre.
quet as share and share-cashst ,nscy, while
in 1910 it was nearly one.quarter as fire.
quent.
The average debt of mortgaged farms
decreased in 20 years from $2,147 to ST.
SIS, or 1913 per cent. The average value
of such farms decreased from 81 1875 to $4,-
355, or 1917 per cent. Thus, the owners
equity increased from 81, 72S to 81, 1897, or
4 per cent. In other words, while there
was decrease in the average value per
farm it was not SO great as the decrease in
the average debt per farm, per tarm. The
mortage Indebtedness constituted A per
cent. of the value of the mortgages farms
IN 1899, i600 ssHa ssHa e5 elj 81 ossiseE eeat. i 1910
Over half of the farms in Delaware are
so and 175 acres in size, and nearly three
fourths are between 20 and ia acres. The
SO to acres' far ms are more than twice
as numerous as in 1900. The 40 to 19
acres' group comprises one and halt as
many farms as in 1900, and the ''20 to 40
acres" group one and u quarter times as,
many. The number of farms in groups
above $50 to SO acres'' has decreased
since 1900 with the exception Of those of
=, 900 acres and oyer.'
Color and Nativity Of Farmersi 1910
Prior to the Thirteenth Census no at
tempt was made in the census of agricul.
ture to secure information concerning the
the nativity of farmers
Nearly nine-tenths of the Delaware
farm operators are native whites an near
ly one-tenth negroes less than one twen-
ty.tifth being foreign born whites. OF the
native white farmers 416 per cent. are
tenants as compared with 1913 per cent. of
the foreign born white farmers and 54.2
per cent. of the negro.
Farm Expenses
Approximately 25 per cent. of the a.
mount expended for labor in 1909 was in
the form of rent and board. During the
decade the total expenditures for labor in.
creased 1919 per cent.
Slightly more than three-ffth of the
farmers hired labor, and the average a.
mount expended by the farmers hiring
was about 1886. At prior censuses no
tabulation was made of the number of
farmers making expenditures for labor.
About one faBmer out of every three re.
ported some expenditure for feed in 1909,
while over out of five reported the pur-
chase of fertilizer. The total lamount as
paid for fertilizer was more than one and
times as great in 1909 as in
1899, the average per farm in 1909 being
nearly 500.
Farm Mortgages, 1890 1910
The Eleventh Census (1S90) was the
fret to collect data relating TO mortgage
debt on farms. The basis of the returns
was the "farm house, occupied by its
owner. The same class of information
was secured BY the population schedules
Of the Twelfth Census 1900). The agri.
cultural schedules of the Thirteenth Gem
sus [1910( secured practically the same in
formation. except that the basis was
'sowned farms'' instead of ''owned Farm
homes difference involving, however,
no appreciable incomparability.
The total number of owned farms, /. g.,
farms owned in whole or in part by the
operator of the farm, is 6, l7S; and of this
number 1854, or 37.2 per cent, are mort
gagged. The proportion of owned farms
which are mortgaged increased very ma
terially from 1890 to 1900, but only slight.
" from 1900 to 1910, the percentage be-
ing 2.94 in 1890, 1856 in 1900, and, as just
stated, 37.2 in 1910.