7% are tenants. For the colored farmers, the most important difference 

 is that shown by the Hne indicating the proportion who own farms with 

 mortgage^indebtedness; it will be noticed that the per-cent. for the last 

 group (65 years and over) is greater than for any of the preceding groups. 

 The proportion of tenantry here, as with the white farmers decreases as 

 the age increases. 



The inferences from these figures are: that there is a constant tendency 

 for tenant farmers to acquire ownership in land; that this is accomplished 

 by means of borrowed capital, a mortgage being given as security; that 

 a large proportion of the white farmers are able to pay off this indebted- 

 ness; and that the colored farmers secure their land later in life and are 

 less able to free themselves from debt. 



(4) How the Farms are Stocked. Two thousand three hundred and one 

 farms reported domestic animals with a total valuation of ^2,163,518 

 (1910 United States Census, Table No. 5, Appendix, page II). In 1890, 

 all holdings in domestic animals and poultry were valued at ^1,249,790. 

 From 1890-1910, there was a decided increase in the number of horses, 

 dairy cows, and sheep on the farms, but a decrease in the number of 

 beef cattle, swine and poultry. 



There are many fine draft horses in the county. Twenty-five years 

 or more ago a number of Percheron Stallions were imported, and since 

 that time there has been considerable up-grading in all parts of the 

 county, with the result that at present one can see almost any number 

 of splendid, heavy four or six horse teams. Good driving horses are 

 much scarcer, as but little attention has been paid to the breeding of 

 roadsters. 



(b) Output 



(1) General Farming. The crops showing the largest acreage and 

 yield are corn, wheat, hay and forage. (1910 census, Table No. 6, 

 Appendix, page II.) 



The census crop reports for 1890 and 1900 show that there has been 

 an appreciable increase in the production of all staple crops with the 

 exception of hay and forage. 

 ■ The money crops, vary somewhat in the different districts. Wheat 

 and hay are money crops throughout the county. In the Laytonsville, 

 Gaithersburg, and Wheaton districts, and in parts of Olney and Coles- 

 ville, most of the corn raised is fed. Through the remainder of the 

 county, corn is a money crop. In Colesville, Wheaton and Olney, and 

 to a less extent in Laytonsville, potatoes are an important crop. Some 

 rye is raised in Clarksburg, and oats in Damascus. In Poolesville and 

 Damascus, straw is a source of income. In Damascus, the chief money 

 crop is tobacco; in Clarksburg, 20% of the farms, mostly toward the 



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