GENERAL PRINCIPLES 19 



is another sense in which the farmers as a class are, in a very 

 real sense, more independent than any other large class. They 

 arc the most independent in the sense that, in all highly civilized 

 countries, the vast majority of them are their own employers. 

 Perhaps the most important distinction of all between agriculture 

 and other large industries is that agriculture is still, and will 

 probably continue to be, an industry of small units ; whereas 

 other large industries, such as manufacturing, mining, -and 

 transportation, as well as commercial and banking enter- 

 prises, seem to be tending at the present time toward larger 

 and larger establishments. There is, it is true, also a counter- 

 tendency, too frequently overlooked in these other industries ; 

 but, in spite of this, the large establishments, especially in our 

 great cities, seem generally to have the advantage over the 

 smaller ones. But no such tendency is showing itself as yet 

 in agriculture, and it is not likely to unless something at present 

 unforeseeable should occur to give the mammoth farm an advan- 

 tage which it does not now possess over the small farm. Accord- 

 ing to the census of 1910 it appears that the very large farms 

 are diminishing in number. This indicates that they are less 

 productive than those of medium size. This characteristic of 

 agriculture is a matter of great importance, because it means 

 that a large proportion of the men engaged in this industry 

 are their own masters and the heads of independent concerns. 

 In an industry of large-scale production, or where large estab- 

 lishments are the prevailing type, the opposite is true, a very 

 small proportion of those engaged being their own masters or 

 ht:ads of independent concerns. 



According to the census of 1850 there was one farm for 

 14 rural residents, that is, persons not living in cities of 

 more than 8000 inhabitants ; but according to the census of 

 i<)OO there was one farm for every 9 such persons. The 

 difference may be accounted for in part by the larger families 



