92 UNITED STATES - AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL 



or that one is even better than the other. There are, however, advantages 

 of each from the standpoint of both landlord and tenant. For instance cash 

 rent is simpler ; there is no room for disagreement as to amount, or as to 

 time of paj'ment. It is supposed that cash payment of rent signifies a more 

 independent position of the tenant. He is free to do as he pleases in many 

 particulars. Under the condition of cash rent the landlord as a rule exer- 

 cises relativel}^ little control over the management of the farm. In fact 

 inability or unwillingness to do so is a prime reason on his part for prefer- 

 ring cash, even though somewhat less in amount than share rent. The prob- 

 lem to the landlord of sales of produce is eliminated in the case of cash pay- 

 ment, and all fear of an unfair division eliminated. 



On the contran,' there are manj^ advantages to both parties in the shar- 

 ing of the income. The tenant runs less risk, since in case of a failure or 

 partial failure of crops, he is permitted to pay a rental proportionate to the 

 income instead of a cash charge much beyond it. Moreover, it requires 

 less capital on the tenai-t's part to start farming on shares since under 

 these circumstances he furnishes but half, or possibly some other fraction, 

 of the live stock, feed, and seed needed. As an offset to these advantages 

 the tenant has less freedom of choice in running the farm, though he has the 

 advantage of the landlord's more mature judgement. Control over the 

 farm and its management is one of the foremost reasons for preferring to let 

 land out on shares instead of for cash. It is the general belief on the part 

 of landlords that on an average the returns are greater in the case of share 

 than of cash rent. This is unquestionably true when prices of produce are 

 above normal, or during a period of rising prices such as has obtained during 

 the past fifteen or twenty years. For twentj^ years after the first tenancy 

 census was taken cash rent gained much more rapidly than share rent and 

 it looked as though it was to become the prevailing S5'stem. Then came the 

 census of 1910, with the information that cash rented farms had increased in 

 number but half as rapidly as those rented for a share. This was so pro- 

 nounced a change as to call for an explanation. While other factors may 

 have entered, the outstanding one seems to be that with the rise in prices 

 of farm produce the share going to the landlord increased rapidly, sa rapidly 

 in fact that it was hard to pull cash rent up to the same level. As a cortse- 

 quence landlords were anxious to change from the cash to the share system. 

 Tenants, although not usually so anxious for the change, would acquiesce 

 rather than run the risk on a much increased cash basis. Even the weather 

 may have played a part, since a prolonged series of wet years made crops un- 

 certain in many districts and caused a change in the minds of tenants in 

 favour of share paj^ment. The most encouraging form of tenancy is where 

 landlord and tenant share in both management and income, becoming as 

 it were partners. 



