The farmers help about from farm to farm during the harvesting season. each other during harvesting, thus offering an interesting example of informal coöperation. That the ownership and use of farm machinery are increasing is evident from the fact that the value of implements and machinery per farm in the whole county increased from $236 in 1900 to $359 in 1910. (See Table I.) Most of the farmers plow with horses. In the early days oxen were commonly used. Many of the original settlers drove into the country with oxen; some sold their oxen to settlers who were going farther west. Oxen gradually disappeared, although there were 1,089 reported in the county as late as 1890. One farmer included in this survey still does his farm work with oxen and even hauls his grain to market with them. The reason he gave was that oxen furnish cheaper power than horses. He had moved These Plows are Coming into Common Use in a few years before from the cut-over section of northern Minnesota. In recent years traction engines have been displacing horses in plowing, and gang plows which turn from eight to twelve furrows are in use. Out of the 201 farms visited, 15, or 7.5 per cent, have tractors of their own. Eight of these are steam tractors, and seven are gasoline. Other farmers hire tractors for their plowing. Gasoline tractors are commonly used for plowing, while the steam tractors are mostly used for threshing. As for other machinery, practically all farmers own binders. Those most commonly used in the community are seven- or eight-foot cuts, pulled by four horses. Only a few farmers were found using the big twelve-foot binders, with the power applied behind instead of in front. The users of these big push binders were enthusiastic over the results they were obtaining, one man claiming he could cut as much grain a day alone with six horses as two men with eight horses could harvest using the seven-foot binders. While this proportion possibly would not hold as an average, there can be little doubt that the big machines economize manual labor appreciably. One third of those visited own manure spreaders, and this is a recent development. The number of acres over which manure had been spread during the season 1912-1913 averaged 13.7 for all farms included in the survey. Nineteen per cent of all farmers visited have forges and do a substantial part of their own blacksmithing. Most of the farms have cream separators; whole milk is not taken to the creamery at all. The nationality of this community is predominantly Scandinavian. The census figures show that the population for the whole county in which this community is located was 13,446 in 1910; that 11.7 per cent were nativeborn of native parents; that 60 per cent were native-born of foreign or mixed parentage; and that 28.3 per cent were foreign-born. Of the foreignborn 77.8 per cent were Norwegian, and of the native-born of foreign parentage, 79.3 per cent were Norwegian. Of the other nationalities, Germans were the most numerous. In the following table, which shows the nationalities of heads of families in the region covered by this survey, the figures for each country indicate not only those who were actually born in that country, but also those whose parents were born in that country. In other words, no attempt is made to distinguish between "foreign-born" and "native-born of foreign parents." It is shown by the preceding table that nearly half of the families visited are Norwegian, and that the proportion is the same in both country and village. Germans form over one fourth of the total, and nearly one third of those on farms. Pure Americans form only 13.7 per cent of the total and are more numerous in the village than in the country. These three nationalities form 88.2 per cent of the total. OWNERSHIP AND TENANCY For the county as a whole, according to census reports 20.4 per cent of the farms were operated by tenants in 1910 as compared with only 11.8 per cent in 1900. Of the 201 families covered by the survey, 70, or 34.5 per cent, were renters, a fact which indicates that tenancy is more common in this particular section than in the rest of the county. Of the 133 families who own their farms, 25 operate rented land in addition. Share tenancy prevails, the owner and renter each receiving half of the product of the farm, and dividing the expenses of seed, twine, and threshing. The increase of tenancy in this section is causing alarm among the farmers and townspeople, and the activity of land speculators is perhaps the one thing above all others that is complained of most bitterly. The reason generally assigned for the growth of tenancy is that old settlers who obtained their land for practically nothing have been induced to sell by what seems to them the generous offers of the land men. These land men often make large profits on single transactions. Five dollars an acre is a small profit for them; it more commonly runs up to ten dollars an acre, and sometimes to fifteen or twenty dollars. Many a retired farmer in the village deplores the fact that he ever sold out; and farmers still on the land complain most bitterly of the operations of the land speculators. Some of the owners of rented land live in the neighborhood, exercise a general supervision over their tenants, and keep the farm buildings in good repair. More commonly the owners live at a distance; they consider themselves only temporary owners and consequently follow the short-sighted policy of allowing the buildings to run down and of encouraging their renters to farm for immediate profit rather than for ultimate development and improvement. As leases run for only one year, renters need little encouragement to exploit the lands under the one-crop system. One efficient farmer was found who had rented the same land for eleven years in succession, but the farm had changed hands within the year preceding the investigation and the new owner had already begun to neglect the farm buildings and to insist on a system of cropping that would yield more immediate returns, with the result that this desirable tenant was contemplating a change. SCHOOLS The village has a good high school where courses are given in agriculture, domestic science, and manual training; there is also a normal department. Outside of the village, the territory covered by the survey is included mainly in thirteen school districts, each with a typical country school. There are no consolidated schools in this territory, although the establishment of such a school is being seriously considered in one township. The great distances between farms, involving long-distance hauls, and the lack of interest on the part of farmers who live near the present schools, appear to be factors that stand in the way of the consolidated-school moveMost of the farmers do not like to send their children to town schools. As one expressed it, "The village schools educate the children away from the farm." There is a feeling among some farmers that nine months is too long a period for school to be in session. Others complain that the schools try to teach too many different subjects, and none thoroughly enough; still others are perfectly satisfied with the schools as they are and see no need of any changes. The principal facts with regard to seventeen rural schools in this locality appear in the following table: ment. es teacher do wn janitor rock' **** Yes tionality of tacher. No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. of teacher... 20-25 20-25 20-25 Under Under 20-25 20-25 20 20 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Nor. Ger. Nor. Ger. 20 Over Under Over 20-25 Under 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 25 20 25 20 5.06 2.5 3.8 3.0 7.2 3.0 9.5 4.5 4.0 *** levy (mills).. 10.0 9.0 8.4 4.3 6.0 6.1 5.0 tal tax levy for, bools. $600 $548 $355 $250 $250 $350 $200 ecial state aid. $125 $125 $85 $125 0 $85 ite apportion X X 0 X $300 $150 $265 $200 $380 $235 $415 $255 $215 $125 $125 $85 $125 $65 0 $65 $125 $125 rert $240 $187 $207 $189 $102 $161 $98 X tal funds avail ble $229 $207 $255 $237 $162 $239 $167 $79 $196 $654 $482 $605 $562 $607, $474 $647 $459 $539 *Forty-five dollars for first four months and fifty dollars for second four months. **Several years. |