REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 27 



profitably. Almost exactly the same percentages are indicated for 

 tenants able to give good security or indorsed note. 



CROP LIENS. 



It is with much interest that the answers concerning crop liens 

 have been aggregated. One question asked Avhat percentage of the 

 farmers owning their land, who raise cotton, place a lien on the 

 growing crop to secure advances or supplies; and this question was 

 followed by a similar one as for 10 years ago. In the combined 

 answers of the three classes of correspondents, 7 per cent reported 

 that no farm owners placed liens on the cotton crop; the remaining 

 correspondents rejDorted that 42 per cent of the farm owners did so, 

 and that 52 per cent of them did so 10 years ago. The decline in the 

 percentage therefore is 10 absolutely, or about 20 per cent relatively. 



Similar questions were asked concerning tenants; and of the 

 answers, 2 per cent stated that no tenants placed liens on the cotton 

 crop, while the remaining answers showed that 74 per cent of the 

 tenants now place a lien on tj^e cotton crop to secure advances or 

 suiDplies, and that 77 per cent of them did so 10 years ago. The 

 decrease is hardly perceptible. 



Pursuing the subject of crop liens, 29 per cent of the reporting 

 correspondents stated that no farmers owning their land, who raised 

 crops other than cotton, placed liens on such crops, and the rest of 

 the correspondents reported that 24 per cent of the farmers did so. 

 A similar question applied to tenants and brought answers from 17 

 per cent of the correspondents that farm tenants did not place liens 

 on crops other than cotton, and the rest of the correspondents re- 

 ported that 40 per cent of the tenants did so. 



Information of similar sort was obtained concerning personal- 

 l^roperty mortgages. Seventeen per cent of the reporting corre- 

 spondents stated that no farm owners placed liens on their live stock, 

 farm machinery, or other personal property of the farm; and the 

 rest of the correspondents reported that 25 per cent of them did so. 

 The corresponding percentages for tenants are that in 7 per cent of 

 the communities no personal-property liens were given by tenants, 

 and that in the other communities from which reports were received 

 43 per cent of the tenants did so. 



WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS. 



In communities where elevators and other warehouses are em- 

 ployed for storing grain, tobacco, cotton, and other products, ware- 

 house receipts may be pledged as security for loans. It was sought 

 to discover the extent of this practice, and 63 per cent of the corre- 

 spondents reported that it did not exist, and the remaining corre- 

 spondents reported that 26 per cent of the farmers holding ware- 

 house receipts used them for the purpose of getting credit. 



