PART-TIME FARMING 



125 



'1'abLE 20. DlSTRIBUTlOX OF SIZES OF LANDHOLDINGS. 



Sources of Land Supply for Part-Time Farmers -., 



In order to obtain small landholding.s of the size needed for their 

 purpose, the operators drew upon several different sources of land supply. 

 Some of them purchased their landholdings from part-time farmers who 

 had already established themselves in the community, while others bought 

 their land from regular farmers. Apparently, however, these sources 

 were insufficient to satisfy the demand for small landholdings in the in- 

 vestigated areas, for several real estate dealers and subdivision companies 

 bought large tracts of land which they subdivided into lots of different 

 sizes and offered for sale. A few of these agencies put up inexpensive 

 buildings and offered them for sale together with the land. By enabling 

 the operators to purchase small holdings in the sizes which fitted their 

 needs, and often by extending to them a liberal long-term credit, these 

 agencies proved to be a real factor in fostering the development of part- 

 time farming. Those who purchased their land from real estate agencies, 

 however, ordinarily paid pricey considerably higher than did the operators 

 who purchased equally good land from private owners. 



Value of Purchased Property and Terms of Acquisition 



Almost all operators, as shown in Table 19, were owners of their land- 

 holdings. In fact, the condition of ownership was found to be a funda- 

 mental feature of part-time farming, and most of the operators would 

 neither care nor be able to settle on small landholdings if they could not 

 become owners of their enterprises. 



A number of operators who could not afford to purchase small holdings 

 equipped with buildings suited to their needs, or who could not find them, 

 purchased land and erected the buildings afterward. (Table 21.) 



As shown in Table 22 practically all operators in both areas carried 

 one or more mortgages on their property. The mortgage indebtedness 

 of those who placed only one mortgage on their property was slightly 

 more than half the purchase price in both areas. Where more than one 

 mortgage was assumed, the property was mortgaged to the extent of 

 three-fourths of its purchase price. 



