48 BULLETIN 1068, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



There is little difference in the amounts spent for groceries by the 

 different classes of accumulators, but there is a large difference in 

 the value of food raised on the farm, the poorest cropper accumu- 

 lators receiving an average of $135 worth of food from the farm as 

 compared with $493 worth received by the best owner accumulators. 

 Edibles raised on the farm apparently do not reduce family grocery 

 bills appreciably, but they do raise the family dietary standards. 



The extent of this increase in dietary standards from edibles 

 raised on the farm is not adequately shown by a comparison of values, 

 for the most important difference is due to the quality of the food 

 rather than to its value in dollars, and it is not at all unlikety that 

 the lower dietary standards of the poorest accumulators cause much 

 of the larger amount of sickness found among them and indirectly 

 influences accumulations. (See data on health in Table 27.) The 

 somewhat high per cent of sickness reported among all classes of 

 owners is no doubt due to the advanced age of several operators in 

 this tenure class. 



Advocates of diversification have claimed, with good reason, that 

 increased diversification would remedy the credit situation, making 

 it less imperative for the operator to resort to short-time credit for 

 running expenses. The data on this point show that the proportion 

 who used short-time credit in 1919 was greater with the poorest 

 accumulators than with the best accumulators by 4 per cent for 

 croppers, 22 per cent for share tenants, and 29 per cent for owners. 

 Although these differences are not entirely attributable to differences 

 in degree of diversification, the marked association of the greatest 

 diversification with the least short-time credit used indicates that 

 diversification lessens the need for short-time credit for consumption 

 purposes among the two poorer groups of accumulators in all tenure 

 classes. 



RELATION BETWEEN THE SHIFTING OF OPERATORS FROM FARM TO FARM AND THE 

 ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH. 



Tenants in the black land have little to attach them to a given farm 

 from one year to another. Almost all farm enterprises are completed 

 annually, the relatively unimportant enterprise of raising stock 

 being the only one that lasts from one year to another. Even this 

 enterprise as conducted in the black land can be transferred from 

 one farm to another with little difficulty. Because of these condi- 

 tions tenants move very often for little or no reason. 



Similarly, landlords can change tenants with practically no incon- 

 venience or financial loss. Tenants are often asked to move without 

 knowing in what particular they have failed, or have displeased 



