FARM MACHINERY 



67 



machinery leads to, or is at any rate accompanied by, an increase 

 in the size of farms. This increase is most marked in the states 

 of the North Central division. 



Some Consequences Resulting from the Use of Farm Machinery 

 in the Region most devoted to its Use 



It has been shown that the cereal and hay crops are those in 

 the production of which machine power plays the greatest part. 

 It now becomes needful to know the relative importance of the 

 cereal and hay crops in the different divisions of the country. 

 The following table shows for the United States and for the 

 several geographical divisions the total number of acres in all 

 crops ; the total number of acres in cereals and hay ; and the per 

 cent which the total acreage in the cereals and hay bears to the 

 total crop acreage, as reported by the census of 1900. 



Total Crop 

 Acreage 1 



United States . . . . 

 North Atlantic division 

 South Atlantic division 

 Xorth Central division . 

 South Central division . 

 Western division . . . 



289,734,591 

 24,683,365 

 29,194,661 



163,000,561 



5 6 , 2 33>H3 



16,622,861 



Total Acreage in 

 Cereals and Hay 



246,674,289 

 21,876,493 

 19,125,863 



155,000.940 

 35,405,091 

 15,265,902 



85.I 



88.6 



65-5 

 95.1 

 62.9 

 91.8 



For the purpose of further narrowing the field of investigation, 

 it may be assumed also, as a matter of common knowledge, that, 

 although machinery is much used in the production of hay, the 

 work of hay production constitutes relatively but a small portion 

 of the total work requisite for the production of both cereals and 

 hay. It is, therefore, the cereal-producing regions to which we 

 must look for the most marked effects of the use of farm machinery. 



The table on next page, taken from the report of the Twelfth 

 Census, 2 indicates the distribution of the cereal crops and the 



1 Twelfth Census, Agriculture, Vol. II, p. 62. 



2 Ibid. 



