The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1921-01-21
More Boys and Girls Stay on
The Farms in Diversified
Crop Sections

That more children Of both Landowners
and tenants remain on the farm flo di.
veTsified farming communities of Ten
nessee than those that grow only one
crop, such as cotton, tobacco. etc, ID
shown In the report Of the child vel.
fare survey made during the past year
BY the National Child Labor COMMITTEES
IN cooperation with the Diyison Of Ex'
tension.
In the diversified farming communi-
ties the rural school attendance Is much
better than in the one-crop sections.
The people OF the diversified forming
communities are more prosperous,
therefore can give their children better
advantages in life. says the report.
Workers Of the Division of Agricul,
turai Extension and Home Economics
Of the University of Tennessee have
long been interested in the life of rura
children, the economic conditions un-
der which they are reared. the causes
that underlie these conditions and the
effect certain economic factors have
upon their welfare.
This interest led TO the survey which
was made last year and the principal
economic factors considered were ten.
ancy, landognership, diyersiacation ,oi
crops, livestock and soil fertility. Each
community of the fourteen chosen from
the different parts of the state was
selected because it was outstanding in
respect to at least one Of these factors.
However, 1t was found that all of these
factors were more.or-ess active, and
that one factor influenced another for
instance. 1t was found that tenancy
forces one-crop system.
OF 19l landowner families studied,
the average number of children ct
home on the farm per family was 2. Sc.
and Of LIT tenant families the average
was 265. 1t was found that more Of
the schildren of both landowners and
tenants were at home on the farms In
the diversified farming communities
than In the one-crop communities.
The report shows that tenancy re-
suits In children not attending school
regularly. 10 the one-crop communi-
ties 102 landowners stated that their
children attended school regularly while
81 stated that they did not.
In diversified farming communities
the attendance at school was much
better. It was found that while 27.7
percent Of the children OF landowners
10 one.crop communities did not attend
school regularly onlyi9.4 percent did not
attend. regularly In the diversified
farming communities. Ia the one-crop
communities 66.6 percent of the children
of tenants did not attend school regul-
arly while in the diversified farming
communities $50 did not sttend school
regularly.
Work on the farm was given IS the
principal reason by both owners and
tenants, but more than twice ss many
tenants give this reason in the one-crop
regions than ! in the diversified crop
sections.
Workers of the Division Of Extension
state that this strongly indicates the
great need of more general practice
of diversified farmng!in Tennessee, and
/ is reenforcsd at this time blythe fact
that the one-crop farmers are ''hard
hit" by market slumps. They say
there was never better time to start
diversification of crops than this coming
season. Write to the Division of Ex-
tension for bulletin on crops you are
not familiar with. They are free.
co auersha for The Falcon