FACTORS OF PRODUCTION 



cent, of the female population were so engaged. 

 These were distributed among the different pur- 

 suits as follows: 



1900 1890 1880 



Agricultural pursuits 35.7% 37.7% 44.3% 



Professional service 4.3" 4.1" 3.5" 



Domestic and personal service 19.2" 18.6" 19.7" 



Trade and transportation 16.4 " 14.6 " 10.7 " 



Manufacturing and mechanical pur- 

 suits 24.4 " 25.0 " 21.8 " 



There were 10,438,219 persons engaged in 

 agriculture in 1900. Of these 5,681,257, or 

 fifty-six per cent, were farmers, planters, and 

 overseers; 4,459,346 or forty- four per cent, were 

 agricultural laborers. Of these "agricultural 

 laborers" more than half (2,366,313) were mem- 

 bers of the farmers' families, and less than half 

 (2,047,658) were hired laborers, so there was 

 scarcely more than one hired farm hand, on the 

 average, for every three farmers. This means 

 that in the vast majority of cases the work of the 

 farm is done by the farmer and his family ; there 

 being many large farms on which large numbers 

 of hands are hired, as for example on wheat 

 farms, on sugar plantations, and on the large 

 grain and stock farms where the farmer is little 

 more than a superintendent and does not put his 

 own hand to the plow. Under "agricultural pur- 

 suits" are included, besides the above, the fol- 

 lowing classes : 



Dairy men and dairy women 10,931 



Gardeners, florists, nurserymen, etc 62,418 



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