23 



cumstances, is without a parallel in the history of the 

 world. 



And here I desire to call your attention to another 

 fact of much significance. It is a very general opinion 

 that a subdivision of land into small farms is highly con- 

 ducive to good cultivatiort, and we hear the remark fre- 

 quently made that the farms in the United States are too 

 large. 



I do not propose to discuss the question "how minute 

 should be the subdivision of the land," or in other words, 

 " what is the best average size of farms," but I wish to 

 say that the evil of farms of too great size in our country 

 is much less than seems to be generally supposed, and is 

 steadily diminishing from year to year as is conclusively 

 shown by our census reports. Thus, of the whole num- 

 ber of farms in 1860 nearly 41 per cent, were farms of 

 less than fifty acres each; of the whole number in 1870, 

 nearly 50 per cent, contained less than fifty acres each. 

 In 1860, 70| per cent, were under one hundred acres. 

 In 1870, 78 per cent. Between 1860 and 1870, the num- 

 ber of farms of three acres and under ten was more than 

 doubled; those of ten acres and under twenty increased 

 from 162,178 to 294,607 ; over 81 per cent. Those of 

 twenty acres and under fifty, from 616,558 to 847,614, 

 equal to 37 per cent, nearly; those of fifty and under one 

 hundred acres from 608,878 to 754,251, 24 per cent, near- 

 ly ; those of one hundred and under five hundred, from 

 487,041 to 565,054 equal to 16 per cent; while those 

 of five hundred acres and under one thousand, decreased 

 from 20,319 to 15,873; and those of one thousand 

 acres and upwards fell off from 5,634 to 3,720. It 

 is thus apparent that the small farms multiply much 

 more rapidly than the large ones, and that the smaller 

 they are, the greater is the ratio of their increase, while 

 the number of the very large ones, instead of increasing, 

 is undergoing a rapid diminution. The economist will 



