The Life of the Tenant Classes 83 



la^H is the diversification of crops. Table 11, however, in- 

 dicates that the farms of share tenants are the least diver- 

 sified. There are almost 2 acres in cotton for each acre in 

 corn on the farms of share tenants, slightly less on the farms 

 of cash tenants, and only 1.3 acres in cotton for each acre 

 in corn on the farms of owners. 



This is due to the fact that where the cropping and labor 

 systems exist on the same plantation, the landlord prefers 

 to raise the feed crops with wage labor, confining the share 

 men to cotton as far as possible. This facilitates the par- 

 tition of the two shares, and enables the landlord, who has 

 to furnish feed, to raise it himself, rather than necessitating 

 its purchase from the share tenant. The owner cannot be 

 accused of allowing his land to depreciate faster than the 

 share tenant through lack of diversification. Nor is the 

 renter class open to this accusation to the extent believed 

 by the general public in the South. The exhaustive one 

 crop system of cotton culture has a much firmer hold on 

 the share tenants. 



With regard to the items of maintenance for which less 

 reliable figures a re obtainable, such as fertil izers used, in- 

 ten sive cultivation, maintenance of terraces and drains, it 

 is probable th at the share tenant class, wi th the more intel- 

 ligent supervision of the lan dlord is slightly more efficient. 

 That is, he is always directed in these matters b v a supervis- 

 in g resident landlord. He is the refore compelled to adopt 

 measures for maintaining the fer tili ty of the land to a 

 gr eater extent than either of the other two classes^ In the 

 case of resident landlords, however, cash tenants can also be 

 required by written contract and by supervision to do as 

 much in this respect as share tenants. In fact Brooks noted 

 that in the Upper Piedmont, where absentee landlords are 

 at a minimum, renting is not regarded as a great evil, on ac- 

 count of the fact that written contracts covering the main- 

 tenance of the fertility of the soil are entered into and en- 

 forced by nearby landlords. Also because Negroes, who are 



