CONTRACTS USED IN RENTING PAEMS ON SHARES. 7 



It is frequently stipulated in the lease that straw shall not be 

 burned or removed from the farm. In some cases, however, it is 

 specified that the land owner shall receive one-half or three-fourths 

 of the straw. 



In the few instances in which the division of sweet clover is men- 

 tioned in the lease contract this crop is divided for the most part 

 half-and-half. 



Cotton. — As already indicated, cotton is commonly raised on tenant 

 farms under one or the other of two systems known as share cropping 

 and share renting, cash renting being a less common method. Under 

 the share cropping system the cotton crop is divided half and half. 

 Some variations are noted in the customs which prevail in different 

 States in regard to the share croppers. In Alabama the landlord 

 commonly furnishes all machinery and work stock and one-half of 

 the fertilizer ; less frequently he furnishes all of the work stock and 

 fertilizer, while the tenant furnishes all machinery and feed. The 

 landlord commonly provides all seed and pays for one-half of the 

 ginning. In Georgia the landlord usually provides all working 

 capital and pays all expenses except for ginning and fertilizer, which 

 are shared equally. The same arrangement prevails in Louisiana, 

 but the tenant may also get one-half of the corn or pay cash rent 

 for corn land, as is frequently the case in other cotton States. In 

 Mississippi the tenant ordinarily supplies all labor and one-half the 

 fertilizer, while the landlord provides cabin, garden, tools, mules, 

 feed, seed, and fuel. The tenant may also pay cash rent for all land 

 not planted in cotton. Occasionally in North Carolina the landlord 

 furnishes all of the fertilizer. The landlord may furnish one-half 

 or all of the fertilizer and one-half of the seed. Similar arrange- 

 ments are customary in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and 

 Texas. Share croppers are essentially laborers under a system which 

 gives them a personal interest in securing good yields. 



Under the method of share renting the tenant commonly furnishes 

 mules, feed, tools, seed, and labor, while the landlord supplies land, 

 cabin, garden, and fuel. For the most part the expenses for fer- 

 tilizer, ginning, and bagging are paid by each party in proportion 

 to his share of the crop. The landlord receives one-fourth or one- 

 third of the cotton, according to local conditions and fertility of the 

 soil. The understood conditions for share renting are practically 

 the same in all of the cotton States. A law was passed in Texas 

 prescribing that the landlord shall not receive more than one-third 

 of the grain and one-fourth of the cotton for land leased under these 

 conditions. 



Under the cash renting system the tenant pays all expenses and 

 the rent is paid in a specified number of bales of cotton. In Alabama 



