FARM TENANCY 4 



In England the detrimental effects of farm tenancy that have been 

 mentioned are in a large degree removed by the long periods which 

 tenants occupy the same lands; father, son and grandson occupy the 

 same farm throughout their lifetime, and the land owners are satisfied 

 with a low per cent, of interest on their investment and have no thought 

 of changing their tenants. Under such conditions there is little chance 

 for a farm tenant to become a farm owner, and, in most cases, little 

 desire. 



In the north central states of the United States it is becoming more 

 difficult for the farm tenant to become a land owner; prices of farm 

 real estate have advanced so that it is becoming more and more difficult 

 for the farm hand to own a farm. On the other hand, the present 

 farms are passing from father to son by inheritance, and why should 

 the per cent, of farms operated by owners decrease if one son in each 

 family remained on the homestead, or one daughter in each family 

 married a farmer and took up the management of the homestead? 



Senator Morrill in his speech before congress in behalf of the land 

 grant colleges, in 1858, said that, " The nation which tills the soil so 

 as to leave it worse than they found it is doomed to decay and degrada- 

 tion." When these words were uttered, there seemed to be an endless 

 expanse of public lands that only awaited the pioneer's plow to yield 

 their virgin fertility; these lands have now been practically all taken 

 up, and it is doubly important that the fertility of our soils should be 

 preserved'. The very fact that tenancy of farm lands tends to deplete 

 their fertility is sufficient reason for a general interest in the subject. 

 Much has been written and said about the movement from country 

 to city, and many causes have been assigned for it, but it has been the 

 natural result of the introduction of labor-saving machinery and im- 

 proved means of transportation, and fewer persons are required to carry 

 on agriculture than formerly. However, this does not account for the 

 decline in farm owners, and the problem still remains. 



Legislation can do something to make it easier to own land than 

 at present. The removal of taxes on mortgaged farms, the establish- 

 ment of a better credit system, so that money can be borrowed more 

 readily and more cheaply for the purchase of farm lands than is the 

 case at the present time, would greatly add to the ability of young 

 farmers buying their own farms. 



Education that will teach a more rational system of agriculture and 

 a greater appreciation of the possibilities of the farm and farm life will 

 do much to counteract the tendency of farm boys to leave the farm 

 lands that they have inherited to seek employment in the city. 



