60 



Indiana University Studies 



Incident to all problems in agricnlture is the related problem 

 of farm tenure and ownership. The number of rented farms in 

 various States is quite alarming^. In 1890 in Indiana 74.6 per 

 cent of all farms were operated by the o^^niers and managers, while 

 in 1910 this percentage decreased to an even 70 per cent, and the 

 percentage of tenant-operated farms had increased to 30 per cent. 

 The increase in tenant-operated farms constitutes a serious' social 

 problem. 



§5. Character and Tenure of Farm Ownership 



The character and tenure of farm ownership is shown by 

 Table 20. 



TABLE 20. CHARACTER OF FARM TENURE AND OWNERSHIP, 



1890 TO 1910 





1910. 



1900. 



1890. 



Num- 

 ber. 



Per 

 Cent . 



Num- 

 ber. 



Per 

 Cent . 



Num- 

 ber. 



Per 

 Cent . 



Farms operated by owners and 

 managers 



150,798 



70.0 



158,449 



71.4 



147,885 



74.6 



Farms operated by tenants 



64,687 



30.0 



63,448 



28.6 



50,282 



25.4 



Summarizing the tendencies in agriculture in Indiana during 

 the last three decades, it is seen that the percentage of total num- 

 ber of workers engaged in agriculture has been prog-ressively 

 lower since 1880; that there is an actual decrease in the number 

 of farms and amount of farm land, but that in spite of these facts, 

 the value of farm products and farm property has increased 

 enormously. 



In the words of the census, "Indiana has passed out of the 

 class of States that are adding materially to their total farm 



acreage, having less land in farms in 1910 than in 1900 



There w^as an increase of 154,000, or 7.3 per cent, in population 

 in this State, but a decrease of 319,800 acres, or 1.5 per cent of 

 the acreage of farm land. Since the relative decrease in the num- 

 ber of farms was greater than in farm land, the average size of 

 the farms increased, the increase amounting to 1.4 per cent acres."* 



^United States Census, ]910, Vol. 6, p. 461. 



