TENANCY IN THE WESTERN STATES 539 



The percentage of tenancy in the Western States in 19 10 was 

 less than that in 1900, when 16.6 per cent of the farms were in 

 the hands of tenants. The decrease is apparently due to two main 

 causes. In the first place, the great number of new farms taken 

 from the public domain has increased the number of owned farms 

 and contributed but little to the number of tenant farms. On the 

 other hand, the development of special lines of agriculture, partic- 

 ularly the growing of fruit, has resulted in an increase in the num- 

 ber of small farms in the hands of owners. Aside from these two 

 main causes there are important changes in respect to some of the 

 leading kinds of farming, such as wheat growing ; accompanying 

 these movements there has been a considerable change in the per- 

 centage of tenant farms. In the main the tenant farms are about 

 the same in size as are the owned farms, although among the 

 owned farms is found a great majority of those upon which fruit 

 is the chief crop. This would seem to point towards a smaller 

 size ; but the tendency is largely offset by the fact that amongst 

 the owned farms are found also the greater proportion of live-stock 

 farms, which are on an average very large. It is then the farms 

 intermediate between these largest and smallest ones, namely, 

 the farms on which the most of the general farming is done, 

 such as the growing of the cereals, which show the greater 

 number of tenants. 



The land highest in price is not that which for the most part 

 constitutes the tenant farms ; the situation being thus unlike that 

 in the North Central states. On the contrary, inasmuch as the 

 land highest in price is that used for fruit growing and this 

 industry is mainly in the hands of owners, a large percentage of 

 ownership instead of tenancy appears on this highest-priced land. 



In California, within the counties in which land is worth $60 

 or more per acre, the percentage of tenancy is 20. i , while in the 

 counties in which it is worth from $30 to $60 per acre, the per- 

 centage of tenancy is 22.5, and in those under $30 per acre, 19.8 

 per cent. The situation, with reference to the high-priced land, 

 is unlike that in any one of the states of the Middle West. Like- 

 wise, in the state of Washington in the counties in which the 

 average value of land is $60 or more per acre the percentage of 



