14 



BULLETIN" 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



lint cotton. However, 13 of the farm owners rented land in addition 

 to the land owned, and 19 rented out parts of their farms, leaving 67 

 straight owner-operators. For these areas rented out a stated cotton 

 rent or " standing " rent was the usual form of payment. No in- 

 stances were found of entire farms rented for a share of the crop, 

 though it is a common practice for single fields to Be rented for a 

 share of the crop grown, that crop usually being watermelons. 



On 33 farms that were rented in whole or in part, and for which 

 the rent paid, was cash or " standing " rent, it was possible to calculate 



ITEMS 



hSz 



Z»o: 

 u z < 



(T UJ "- 

 (L 0- X 



=> x, u 



(J LJ CL 



I | l-«l 



<ri- c <l 

 nib. ?,x 



a. o o*j 



CURRENT EXPENSES PER FARM 

 $3 00 6 00 300 »I2 QO 



TOTAL- CURRENT EXPENSES 



LABOR (EXCEPT OPERATOR) 



COMMERICAL FERTILIZER 



FEED PURCHASED 



REPAIRS 



GINNING, BAGGING &TIES 



TAXES 



MISCELLANEOUS 



$1416 



807 



264 



€9 



^^fej^^ m^^^^ I 



I CROPPER LABOR 



^2 WAGE LABOR (H FAMILY LABOR 



Fig. 10. — Items of current expenses. 



the landlord's net return. After deducting taxes, depreciation on 

 buildings and all other expenses, the landlord's net profit was found 

 to be 8.25 per cent of the market price of the land. 



Since so few tenant farms were found and it was desired to have 

 all the farms on a common basis for comparison, all the farms 

 rented in whole or in part were reduced to an owner-operator basis. 

 This was done by adding the landlord's investment, receipts, and 

 expenses to those of the operator, thus treating the operator as an 

 owner. The parts of the farms that were rented out were eliminated 

 from the farm business by deducting the investment, receipts, and 

 expenses involved. * 



LABOR SYSTEMS. 



WAGE SYSTEM. 



Two distinct systems of hiring labor are found here, as through- 

 out the cotton belt. One is the wage system and the other is the 

 share cropper, or cropper, system. Usually the laborers hired by 

 the month are contracted for in January for a period extending to 

 the beginning of cotton picking. The usual monthly wage varies 

 from $10 to $15 per month, with or without rations; besides which 



