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BULLETIN OF 



Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. 



THE FARM CENSUS OF 1910. 



By Whitman Osgood, Special Agent, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D. C. 



A Glance at the Questions to be answered. 



The thirteenth decennial census of the United States will be taken 

 beginning April 15, 1910. On that date some 65,000 enumerators 

 will begin the huge task of counting every man, woman and child 

 in the country, and of ascertaining for each individual his color, sex, 

 age, conjugal condition, place of birth, place of birth of parents, 

 number of years in the United States, citizenship, occupation, whether 

 or not employer or employee, and, if employee, whether or not 

 employed at the date of enumeration, and the number of months 

 employed during the preceding calendar year. 



All of this, and certain additional information, is a part of the 

 census of population, and must be ascertained for every one, regard- 

 less of occupation. In addition, Congress has provided for the collec- 

 tion of detailed information regarding the three principal productive 

 industries of the country, — agriculture, manufactures, and mines and 

 quarries. These three great branches of industry represent so large 

 a proportion of the total wealth of the country that their progress 

 from decade to decade is an accurate index to the material develop- 

 ment of the country as a whole. 



The census of 1900 showed that the United States is still primarily 

 an agricultural country. The total value of all farm property on 

 June 1, 1900, was nearly twenty and one-half billions of dollars, — a 

 sum more than twice that of the aggregate capital invested in manu- 

 factures, which was approximately $9,800,000,000. 



The State of Massachusetts is interested to a greater extent, finan- 

 cially, in manufacturing than in agriculture. In 1900 Massachusetts 

 ranked seventh among the States of the Union in population, fourth 

 in the value of its manufactured products, but dropped to thirty-first 

 place in the value of its agricultural products. During the census 

 year the State produced for every man, woman and child within its 



