64 



READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



By this table it appears that the lowest average number of acres 

 of improved land per farm, for the United States as a whole, was 

 reached in 1870; that this average was the. same in 1880; and 

 that while it rose somewhat in 1890, it fell again in 1900 almost 

 to the level for 1870 and 1880. Turning to the several divisions 

 we find that, with but one exception, the movement toward smaller 

 farms continues and is apparent in the returns for 1900. The one 

 exception is, however, all important in this discussion, for it is the 

 North Central division, the one above all others devoted to the use 

 of farm machinery, and in this division it is shown, not only 

 for the period from 1880 but for the whole period from 1850 to 

 1900, that there has been a strong and unvarying increase in the 

 average number of acres of improved land per farm, rising from 

 an average of 61.0 acres in 1850 to 101.2 acres in 1900. 



The average number of acres in crops is a still better index to 

 the extent of farming operations. Unfortunately, this average 

 cannot be given for the whole of the period from 1850 to 1900 ; 

 but for the more important part of that period, namely from 1880 

 to 1900, it can be given with tolerable completeness. 



The first table on page 65 shows the average number of acres 

 in all farm crops, per farm of ten acres and over, in 1880, 1890, 

 and 1900, and agrees, in general, with the corresponding por- 

 tion of the table showing the average number of acres of im- 

 proved land per farm ; but it is to be noted that, according to 

 the table now presented, the average crop area per farm is less 

 for the years 1890 and 1900 than for the year 1880 in only 

 two divisions ; namely, the South Atlantic and South Central. In 

 each of the other divisions, and for the United States as a whole, 

 the average crop acreage per farm, both for 1890 and igoo, is 



