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



The enrollment of tenants' children, both sons and daughters, 

 shows a decidedly low stage during October, November, and De- 

 cember. This period is cotton-picking time, and tenants' children, 

 as will be seen from a comparison of the data, stay out of school for 

 cotton picking to a greater extent than do the children of owners. 

 This low enrollment of tenants' children during cotton picking is 

 due to the fact that tenants, as a rule, feel that they can not afford 

 to hire their cotton picked, and to the fact that the landlords expect, 

 and sometimes demand, that renters' children be put into the cotton 

 fields in order to rush picking as much as possible. 



Aside from the cotton-picking season, it will be noted that the 

 enrollment of tenants' children is considerably less than the en- 

 rollment of owners' children during each of the other school months. 

 This is in large measure the result of the fact that children of ten- 

 ants who move into the school district are not enrolled in the first 

 part of the school term, while those moving out are not enrolled 

 during the latter part of the term. The situation of tenants' chil- 

 dren in this regard is, therefore, not so bad as the percentages indi- 

 cate. Nevertheless, the change of schools, teachers, and classmates 

 in the middle of the year is bound to retard the educational ad- 

 vance of these children. 



The daily attendance of the pupils enrolled during each month is 

 much higher in the case of the children of owners than it is in the 

 case of tenants' children. The record is lowest for all four classes 

 of children during cotton-picking time, but is lower for tenants' 

 children than for owners' children during this period. 



During each month from November to March, from 14 to 20 per 

 cent of all tenants' children who are in school during the year either 

 enter school or drop out (Part III of Table 33). 



The changes in membership of the classes in the schoolroom from 

 month to month are much greater than the figures indicate, for these 

 figures are based on the total enrollment for the year instead of 

 the enrollment for the month. The change in the make-up of the 

 enrollment of tenants' children is from two to three times as great 

 for practically all months as it is for owners' children. 



As a result of this shifting and fluctuating school enrollment and 

 irregular attendance on the part of tenants' children, the showing 

 which these children make in grade attainments and in promotions 

 is poorer than the showing made by owners' children. 



Referring to Table 34, showing percentages of promotions, it will 

 be seen that there was a ,much smaller per cent of promotions 

 among tenants' children than among owners' children. Of all 



