STUDY OF FARMING JN SUMTER COUNTY, GEORGIA. 31 



their stock and garden products for their family. Wage hands and 

 share croppers generally depend upon the farm operator to supply 

 them with these latter products. 



The expense for fertilizer is of much concern to these farmers, as 

 this item embraces one-fourth or more of the farm expenses. The 

 share croppers are held responsible for their share of this expense 

 for fertilizer shown under share-cropper fertilizer. On both the 

 white-tenant and colored-tenant farms, the percentage of total farm 

 expenditures for fertilizer is higher than on the owner farms. This 

 does not mean that these men use more or better fertilizer than the 

 owners, but that the greater number of them buy in small quantities 

 and ready mixed. The owners in many cases buy fertilizing mate- 

 rials and do the mixing at home, and many of them buy in large 

 quantities. The cash expense for cotton ginning runs much higher 

 on the farms operated by white tenants and all colored operators. 

 This is due mainly to the fact that nearly all the cotton gins are on 

 the white-owner farms. The interest and depreciation charges upon 

 these gins are not considered in these expenses. 



The proportion of expenses required for taxes is, on the average, 

 about 3 per cent, varying somewhat in the different tenures. The 

 item of interest paid upon money borrowed for the payment of the 

 year's operating expenses is only a small item when compared with 

 the expenses of the farm as a whole. This expense is a little higher 

 upon the white-tenant farms and on all the farms operated by col- 

 ored farmers, but is below 3 per cent of the total in all classes. The 

 expense for the hire of mules is an item of much concern to some of 

 these tenants, both white and colored. Five of the white tenants 

 and 23 of the colored tenants hired mules. The charge for the use 

 of these mules during the year is very reasonable, being, with few 

 exceptions, $25 per mule. These mules were usually owned by the 

 landlord. The expense for rent of land was 7.9 per cent upon the 

 white-owner-additional farms and 14.2 per cent on the colored- 

 owner-additional farms. Labor and fertilizer constitute three- 

 fourths of the expenses on these farms. 



RELATION OF TENURE TO THE PERCENTAGE OF RECEIPTS REQUIRED FOR 

 OPERATING EXPENSES. 



In Table X is shown the average receipts and expenses and the 

 percentage of receipts required for cash expenses in the different 

 classes of tenure. This table shows why the chance of heavy loss is 

 so great in straight cotton farming. The fact that this crop occu- 

 pies such a large portion of the crop area and involves such a heavy 

 outlay of money for production makes heavy loss certain when yield 

 or price is low. With the cash expenses 60 per cent of the receipts 



