TENANCY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL STATES 509 



to the irrigated gardens of the valleys. There is land worn out 

 from the standpoint of present methods of farming, and land so 

 rich that those farming it believe it will last forever. There are 

 farms (so-called) of a quarter of a million acres, worth a dollar an 

 acre ; and farms of three acres worth three thousand dollars an 

 acre. Moreover, in the Western country many farms are just being 

 taken from the government in the form of homestead, Carey Act 

 entries, desert claims, and the like ; great numbers are being sold 

 on every conceivable plan of cooperative development and deferred 

 payment, these latter being orchard enterprises as a rule. It is 

 apparent that these conditions are not comparable either with the 

 South, the East, or the Middle West. It is no less apparent that 

 the different units here are not comparable one with another. 

 The conditions are so unstable and uncertain that it is difficult to 

 describe the present situation, let alone discover the trend events 

 are taking. It may, however, be noted by way of further intro- 

 duction that there is a comparatively low percentage of tenancy 

 in the East and in the Far West ; the highest percentage in the 

 South ; and, in the North, a high percentage in the Middle West, 

 or, in terms of the census, the North Central division of states. 



The North Central division is a large block of country. It 

 comprises twelve states, the smallest being Indiana, the largest, 

 Minnesota. Taken together, they have an area of over three- 

 quarters of a million square miles, or 22 per cent of the area 

 of continental United States. They have a population of almost 

 thirty millions, or about a third of the total. From the agricul- 

 tural point of view this section has striking features. Here are 

 over one-third of all the farms and farm land of the country, 

 valued at more than the remaining two-thirds. In connection 

 with these farms are found nearly half of the cattle, 45 per cent 

 of the horses, and, in value, almost half of the agricultural imple- 

 ments and machinery. Within this section there is grown two- 

 thirds of the wheat crop of the whole country. Also seven-tenths 

 of the corn crop, eight-tenths of the oats crop, and six-tenths of the 

 hay and forage crop are grown in this division. In short, the great 

 bulk of the breadstuffs and the meat, and no inconsiderable part 

 of the dairy products and the fruit, come from these states. 



