290 



K LADINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



The average size of farms in the ten cotton states in 1850 

 was 273 acres. The size of cotton plantations, however, is said 

 to have seldom been less than 400 acres. Some of the planta- 

 tions contained over 10,000 acres. There were in these same 

 states in 1860, 3634 farms of more than 1000 acres each; 

 12,187 of more than 500 and less than 1000 acres, and 113,625 

 containing from 100 to 500 acres each. 



In 1850 there were but 74,031 cotton plantations in the United 

 States which produced more than 5 bales each. This divided 

 into the estimated acreage of that year would give us approxi- 

 mately 675 acres as the average amount of arable land devoted to 

 cotton production on each plantation within the 10 cotton states. 



With the large plantations there naturally went large gangs 

 of slaves. There were 347,525 families reported as holding 

 slaves iii 1850, but this number was too large, for, as Helper 

 has pointed out, it included slave hirers. There were 2 persons 

 reported by this census as holding each more than 1000 slaves; 

 9 who held more than 500 and less than a thousand ; 56 holding 

 from 300 to 500; 187 from 200 to 300; and 1479 -from 100 

 to 200. Whether or not these large slave properties were held 

 by the holders of the large landed properties cannot be stated 

 definitely. There is little doubt but that this was the case how- 

 ever, for with few exceptions the slaves were employed almost 

 exclusively in agriculture. 



