26 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



9 



ABLE TO GIVE GOOD SECURITY. 



The first effort of the inquiry was to ascertain the fraction of the 

 farmers owning their hmd who are able to give good security or 

 indorsed note for a h^ian. In the opinion of tlie correspondents, 77 

 per cent of the farm owners may be so regarded, and the corre- 

 sponding percentage for tenants is 46; that is to say, about three- 

 quarters of the farmers owning their land and nearly one-half of the 

 tenants are able to give good security or indorsed note for a loan. 

 The farm owners and tenants unable to do this were then dropped 

 from further consideration. 



DEFICIENT SUPPLY. 



It was next attempted to ascertain what percentage of the farmers 

 owning their land and able to give good security or indorsed note 

 is unable to obtain needed short-time or accommodation loans and 

 advances because of insufficient opportunities to borrow. It appears 

 that 48 per cent of the correspondents reported that farm owners 

 w^ere able to obtain such loans. The other correspondents reported 

 that 36 per cent of the farm owners in their communities were unable 

 to do so. 



A similar question pertaining to long-time loans brought reports 

 from 47 per cent of the correspondents that farm owners were able 

 to obtain such loans. The remaining correspondents reported that 

 40 per cent of the farm owners were unable to do so. The corre- 

 sponding percentages for tenants are nearly the same. It is easier 

 to obtain short-time loans than long-time ones. 



No attempt was made in the schedule to define long time and short 

 time. This was purposely avoided in order that the correspondents 

 might make their answers correspond to the local variations from the 

 general fact. This general fact was that short-time loans were for 

 periods less than one year, 



CONSERVATIVE AND PROFITABLE USES. 



Correspondents vi^ere requested to state what percentage, in their 

 opinion, of the farmers owning their land and able to give good 

 security or indorsed note would use borrowed money bej^ond the 

 amount, if any, now owed by them, conservatively and profitably. 

 Many of the correspondents answered this question in such a way 

 as to indicate that they did not understand it; but of the answers 

 indicating a correct understanding, 26 per cent reported that no 

 farm owners would so use borrowed money, and the remaining cor- 

 respondents who answered this question reported that 32 per cent of 

 the farm owners would use borrowed money conservatively and 



