TENANCY IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 505 



were, he would more likely start, in a small way, as the owner of 

 a few acres out of which to make a fruit farm of his own. 



Good examples of the low proportion of tenancy among fruit 

 growers are found in New Jersey, where tenancy, in spite of a 

 relatively high price of land, is decidedly low, being in some 

 instances under half the average rate for the state. In the state of 

 New York there is some confusion of evidence, since of the ten 

 counties leading in fruit production five lie within and five with- 

 out the main grain-growing district. For those within this district 

 the low rate of tenancy for fruit farms is covered up by the high 

 rate for the grain-producing farms, very thoroughly covered on 

 account of the greater number of farms of the latter type. In 

 the five fruit-growing counties outside the grain district the per- 

 centage of tenancy is in every instance well below the general 

 average for the state. In the other states of the group the fruit- 

 growing areas are not sufficiently separate from the general- 

 farming areas to admit of separate analysis based on the general 

 statistics. Within these states, however, the proportion of fruit 

 grown by tenants is, as elsewhere, low. 



Another special type of farming of much importance in the 

 North Atlantic states is that of growing vegetables. Unlike fruit 

 farming, much of this is in the hands of tenants. In the first 

 place, many such farms are in the vicinity of cities, on land high 

 in price, often high because of possible uses other than agricultu- 

 ral. Land used for growing vegetables must be so thoroughly 

 tilled that the danger of deterioration is small. The frequent mov- 

 ing of tenants on and off farms of this character is not so serious 

 a drawback as it is in many other instances. The buildings are of 

 a simple character, and not unusually great in value. The crops 

 are almost without exception annuals. The equipment needed for 

 running the farm is not elaborate. Under these conditions the ten- 

 ant may even come and go within the year, raise a good crop, and 

 yet suffer but the minimum loss due to the difficulties of moving 

 and adjusting himself to a new environment. Of the number of 

 farms in 1900 on which vegetables were the main source of income 

 the tenants held about 14 per cent more than their proportional 

 share. Yet, as in the case of fruit, the proportion of vegetables 



