RENTED FARMS. 59 



lands of Ohio, 20 per cent, of the farms were rented, or 

 one in every five. 



In Canada a fraction less than 12^ per cent, of the 

 lands were rented in 1880, or one in about every eight — 

 owners and occupiers numbering 403,491, and tenants as 

 occupiers, 57,245. 



In the Maritime Provinces one in every fourteen farms 

 was occupied by tenants, and in Ontario one in every 

 six. 



In addition to the discovery recently made by the New 

 York State assessors, that, in fourteen counties visited 

 farm land is declining in value while city property is in- 

 creasing, sufficient information was gained on the ques- 

 tion of rented farms to warrant the State assessor in 

 forming the opinion that, " in a few years there will be 

 few left but tenant farmers." 



When we consider that about 25 per cent, of the small 

 farms of the United States are already in the hands of 

 capitalists, and the occupiers are mere tenants, and that 

 this condition is on the increase, and add to this that 

 capitalists have mortgages on at least 20 per cent, of the 

 remainder, and further, that small farms are disappear- 

 ing, we may well say that the typical industry of rural 

 America is fast becoming a thing of the past. 



