Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1921-01-26
Tennessee Farm News
Mar Boys and Girls Stay on the
Farms in Diversified Crop
Sections

Sectlous
That more children Of both land
owners and tenants remain on the
farm in diversified farming commun-
tiles of Tennessee than in those that
grow only one crop, such as cotton
tobacco. etc, is shown in the report
of the child welfare survey made
during the past year by the National
Child Labor Committee in coopera-
tion with the Division Of Extension.
In the diversified farming COM
munities the rural school attendance
is much better than in the one-crop
sections. The people Of the dlversl-
fled farming communities are more
content, the population less shifting
and as a whole they are more pros
porous, therefore can give their chill
dren better advantages in life, says
the report.
Workers Of the Division of Agri-
cultural Extension and Home Econ
omics of the University of Tennessee
have long been interested in the life
of rural children, the economic con-
ditions under which they are reared,
the causes that underlie these con-
ditions and the effect certain econ
mic factors have upon their well
fare.
This interest led to the survey
which was made last year and the
principal economic factors consider
ed were tenancy, landownership, di-
yersification of crops, livestock and
soil fertility. Each community OF
the fourteen choesn from the differ
ent parts of the state was selected
because it was outstanding in respect
at at least one of these factors.
However, it was found that all of
these factors were more or less &C
tive. and that one factor influenced
another-for instance, it was found
that tenacy forces a one-crop sys-
tenn.
Of 191 landowner families stud
led. the average number of children
at home on the farm was 2.66, and
of TT tenant families the average
was 2.65. 1t was found that more
of the children of both landowners
and tenants were at home on the
farms in the diversified farming COM
munities than in the one-crop COM
munities.
The report showed than tenancy
results in children not attending
school regularly. In the one-croI
communities 102 landowners stated
that their children attended school
regularly while "a reported that theil
children did not. In these same com
rannpfnd fhai
they sent their children to school
regularly while 81 stated that they
did not.
In diversified farming communi-
ties the attendance at schools was
much better. 1t was found thai
while PIT per cent of the children
of landowners in one-crop communi'
ties did not attend school regularly
only 9.4 per cent did not attend reg
ularly in the diversified farming com
munities. In the one-crop commun
tiles 66.6 per cent of the children
of tenants did not attend school reg
uluarly while in the diversified farm
ing communities $50 per cent die
not attend school regularly.
Work on the farm was given a.
the prlnclpal reason by DoCh own
ers and tenants, but more than twice
as many tenants gave this reason al
did owners. Over so per cent more
of both classes gave work as the rea
son in the one-crop regions than il
the diversified crop sections.
Workers of the Division of Exten
sion state that this strongly indi
cateS the great need of a more gen
eral practice of diversified farm
ing in Tennessee, and is REINFORCED
at this time by the fact that the one
crop farmers are "hard hit" by mar
ket slumps. They say there wa!
never better time to start diversifi
cation of crops than this coming sea
son. Write to the Division of Elk
tension for bulletins or crops vol
are not familiar with. They are
free.