PREFACE ix 



Kenan Professor of Sociology, for direction, encourage- 

 ment, and aid in securing case studies of the farmer and 

 his cotton. Dr. E. C. Branson, Kenan Professor of Rural 

 Social Economics, and Miss H. R. Smedes, librarian, 

 aided in the use of the immense amount of materials on 

 southern agriculture and rural life in the files of the 

 Rural Social Economics Library. Miss Katharine Jocher, 

 Assistant Director of the Institute for Research in Social 

 Science, made valuable suggestions, and Miss Nancy 

 Herndon prepared the manuscript. The editorial staff of 

 the University of North Carolina Press has been very kind 

 to an author whose ignorance of form, appearance, and 

 technology has proved amazing even to himself. On the 

 other hand, the writer is compelled to reserve for himself 

 the undivided distinction of having made every mistake to 

 be found in this volume. 



E. B. V. 



CHAPEL HILL, N. C. 



January 19, 1929 



