METHODS OF STUDYING AGRICULTURAL QUESTIONS 427 



The census reports give the data on which to base historical 

 studies of the changes which are taking place in the type of 

 farming and in the status of the farmer, as well as a basis for 

 comparative study at a given time. 



The first agricultural census was taken in 1840. This first 

 census of agriculture was a crop and livestock census. In 1850, 

 general farm data were added and other improvements have been 

 added each decade since. 



In 1880, tenure statistics were added. Thus the basis for 

 studying changes in the type of farming extends over a period 

 of seventy years and the data for studying changes in the status 

 of the farmer are available for thirty years. 



Too little use has been made of these valuable materials in the 

 past. Two methods which the writer has found useful in the 

 utilization of these statistics may be mentioned : 



The system of mapping already illustrated providing a chart 

 with close gradation of variation in density for each fact pre- 

 sented in the census, puts the materials in form for ready com- 

 parisons both historical and geographical. Not only does the 

 series of maps show the changes in the localization of each line of 

 production through a series of years, and show how the territory 

 is divided between the various lines of production at a given 

 time, but indicates also the way in which the different lines of 

 production are combined in a given district, thus showing the 

 type of farming in each district. 



The tabular method can also be used to advantage in compar- 

 ing types of farming. A table indicating the proportion of the 

 improved land in farms devoted to each crop shows the ultiliza- 

 tion of the land. The character of the crops, and the relation 

 between the numbers of livestock kept and the amount of feed- 

 able products produced gives a clue to the way in which the 

 products are utilized, whether sold in their original form as a 

 product of the field, or used as a basis of the livestock industry. 

 While a series of maps based upon quantities of product can be 

 made to cover the seventy years, maps showing crop acreage, 

 which is a better basis for determining the utilization of the 

 land, cannot be made for the decennials prior to 1880. 



