186 



Missouri AyricuUtiral Report. 



vesting are inucli the same as have been deseribed under England. The 

 farms vary in size from 60 to 300 acres, aud some are as large as 1,000 

 acres, but the average is about 100 acres. On a good farm of this size 

 are usually kept 24 cows, 7 or 8 two-year-old heifers, 7 or 8 yearling 

 heifers and the same number of calves. Most of the farms are rented. 

 The rent varies according to the productiveness of the land, and averages 

 $7.50 an acre. As a rule, land valuation is not increasing. In some 

 sections land is decreasing in productiveness because less money is 

 spent in keeping \\\) lile drains, and on account of lax methods of farm- 



Curing hay. W^hen dry the cocks are pitched into the small stacks and after about 



three weeks these are taken to the barn. 



ing, one of the reasons for the latter being the lack of laws protecting 

 the tenant farmer from the unscrupulous methods of the landlord. The 

 present laws seem to put a premium on poor farming, for if a tenant 

 improves his farm, making it more productive, he is almost sure to have 



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r^*<^r t^#' '^-'\'^^fi 





Broad, rolling pastures of Scotland. Ayrshire heifers in foreground. 



his rent raised at the expiration of the lease, and this all tenants veiy 

 much dread. As a rule, a tenant stays on the same farm for a long 

 number of years, aud occasionally a line of tenants remain on the same 

 place for one or two centuries. Land has been known to change hands 

 three times, yet the same line of tenants remain on the farm. 



