OTHER FACTORS IN DIFFERENT REGIONS 279 



30 mature hogs, and 110 poultry per farm. A total of 

 40 animal units are kept. 



Most of the farms in this region were 80 or 160 acres 

 when the country was first settled. The farms of less 

 than 100 acres are rapidly disappearing, and the 160-acre 

 farms are decreasing but are still the most numerous size. 

 Farms of 175 to 500 acres are increasing. 



TABLE 55. SIZE OF FARMS, SHELBY COUNTY, IOWA 



Since 1880, the number of farms of 20-99 acres has de- 

 creased from 1001 to 441. During the same time, the 

 larger farms increased from 931 to 1679. The farms of 

 less than 20 acres are mostly homes of retired farmers or 

 of persons who hire out to farmers or do other kinds of 

 work. Few of them are real farms. Few of the farmers 

 on farms of 50 acres depend entirely on the farm for their 

 living. Many of them work for neighbors. 



The average farm in 1910 contained 167 acres, of which 

 159 acres were improved land. This is over three times 

 the area of improved land in the county in New Jersey. 



