14 The Bulletin 



equipment 



As a rule, the farm equipment is good — that is, it consists of good 

 work stock, improved plows, cultivators, harrows, mowing machines, 

 rakes and other labor-saving implements. The farm buildings in many 

 cases are large and well constructed and suitable for housing the grain 

 and hay and sheltering the live stock. 



IMPORTATION OF FOOD AND FOODSTUFFS 



According to the 1910 census over four million dollars was spent by 

 the people of Mecklenburg County for provisions. Of this amount the 

 farmers themselves spent $1,800,000. The principal imports in the way 

 of foods and feeds into the country are meat, corn, hay, butter, eggs, 

 chickens, and canned goods. A county like Mecklenburg, which has in- 

 herently rich soils capable of being built up to a high state of productive- 

 ness and which is favored with an excellent climate, should grow all of 

 the home supplies and an excess sufficient to meet much of the demands of 

 the city of Charlotte. Instead of importing products, this county should 

 be ranked among the export counties of the State. Large quantities of 

 butter are shipped into Charlotte daily. This product could be pro- 

 duced easily in the county. 



LABOR, SIZE, AND TENURE OF FARMS 



Most of the labor by the day and by the month is supplied by the 

 colored race. In some parts of the county from $20 to $25 per month 

 is paid for farm help, while day laborers during the busy season usually 

 receive from $1 to $1.25 per day. Fifty cents per 100 pounds is paid 

 for the picking of cotton at the beginning of the season, but towards the 

 close from 60 cents to $1 per hundred is demanded. 



A large percentage of the farms in Mecklenburg County are operated 

 directly by the owners, particularly in the Blackjack section. Some of 

 the land is leased for a cash rent, and some for a part of the crop, which 

 is usually one-third to one-fourth of the cotton and grain crops. The 

 share system is in use to some extent, and under this method the land- 

 owner furnishes the land, work stock, feed for stock, implements, and 

 one-half of the fertilizer, and receives one-half of all the crops pro- 

 duced. The land usually grows less productive under the renting system. 



A few farms range in size from 300 to 600 acres, but the greater num- 

 ber of farms in the county contain from 50 to 200 acres, and often there 

 are many smaller holdings of 20 to 40 acres. The average size farm for 

 the county is about 72 acres. 



Land values in Mecklenburg County are greatly influenced by the city 

 of Charlotte, its ready market for produce, and its system of macadam- 

 ized roads. The good roads have facilitated the mai'keting of farm 

 products and have advanced materially the value of rural property. 



