The Bulletin 11 



ville soils give a liiglier color uiul better flavor to all fruits. The Dur- 

 ham soils are well adapted to the production of bright tobacco. 



The farmers of this county are using larger quantities of commercial 

 fertilizer each year. The most common formulas used are 8-2-2 and 

 S-3-3. For cotton applications usually from 200 to 400 pounds per acre 

 are used. Oats generally receive 200 to 300 pounds of 8-4 or 10-4 at 

 sowing time, nitrogen being applied in early spring in the form of ni- 

 trate of soda at the rate of about 100 pounds per acre. Many farmers 

 buy cotton-seed meal, acid phosphate, and kainit or muriate of potash and 

 mix them at home in the proportions suitable for their individual needs. 

 Watermelons regularly receive acreage applications of 8 to 10 loads of 

 stable manure and 400 to 500 pounds of a fertilizer analyzing 8-3-3. 

 Throughout the county the soils are prevailingly light in color, indi- 

 cating a deficiency in organic matter. 



Efficient farm laborers are usually paid about 75 cents to $1 a day. 

 Women receive about 50 cents. Monthly wages range from $15 to $20 

 with board, or else a dwelling-house, firewood, and garden patch. Cot- 

 ton pickers receive from 50 to 75 cents per hundred pounds, the Higher 

 rate prevailing near the close of the season. Most of the laborers are 

 negroes. There is a growing tendency for the farmer to cultivate only as 

 much land as he and his family can successfully care for without the aid 

 of hired labor. 



According to the census, there were 3,793 farms in the county in 1900 

 and 4,856 in 1910, showing an increase of 1,063; but there was only 

 a slight increase in the acreage of cultivated land. 



Before the Civil War farms and plantations contained from 1,000 to 

 4,500 acres, particularly in the western half of the county; but since 

 that period these large tracts have been divided and now only about 

 3V2 per cent of the farms in the county contain more than 260 acres, 

 while 74.3 per cent contain less than 100 acres, the average size for the 

 entire county being 74.1 acres.'^ Small holdings of 20 to 50 acres are 

 most numerous. 



According to the 1910 census, 43 per cent of the farms in Union 

 County are operated by the owners, 56.8 per cent by tenants, and 0.2 

 per cent by managers. Farms are rented either for cash or on shares, 

 the latter being the most common practice. Where the land alone is 

 supplied, the owner receives one-fourth to one-third of the crops pro- 

 duced. Where the owner furnishes the land, work stock, feed for stock, 

 implements, and one-half the fertilizer, he receives one-half of all the 

 crops produced. 



Land values vary greatly, being governed by location and improve- 

 ments. In a narrow strip 3 to 6 miles in width south of Rocky River 

 land can be bought at $8 to $15 an acre. Some parts of this section, 

 which support a good timber growth of red, white, and post oak, heart 

 pine, and hickory, bring higher prices, depending upon the quantity 



>The census tabulates each tenancy as a "farm." 



