FARM OWNERSHIP AND TENANCY IN TEXAS. 7 
ship, but to break up their holdings and rent them, because of the 
large returns from crop growing as compared with grazing. 
The inflow of immigrants during the decade from 1870 to 1880 
greatly influenced the agriculture of the region, reducing stock rais- 
ing to a secondary place in farm enterprises, decreasing the average 
size of the farm to about one-fifth of the average for 1860, and de- 
veloping tenancy until 41.8 per cent of all farms were operated by 
tenants in 1880 (see Tables 1 and 2). 
The size of the farm continued to decrease during the two decades 
following 1880, although this decrease was much less than the de- 
crease prior to that date. Cotton growing had reached and con- 
tinued to hold a dominant place among farm enterprises, though 
checked in its development by the extremely low prices prevailing 
during the decade from 1890 to 1900. 
Table 3. 
-Changes in the average size of farms and in system of farming since 
1860, for black land farms. 1 
Census year. 
Acres 
in farms. 
Im- 
proved 
acres in 
farms. 
Acres 
in crops. 
Per cent 
of crop 
acres in 
cotton. 
Units 
of live 
stock on 
farms. 2 
1860 
563.3 
225.7 
133.1 
114.4 
91.8 
96.2 
90.6 
65.8 
47.0 
62.1 
78.4 
59.1 
66.0 
69.2 
( 3 ) 
( 3 ) 
45! 1 
49.7 
54.5 
59.3 
( 3 ) 
( 3 ) 
40.9 
48.7 
47.8 
61.7 
59.7 
121 
1870 
51 
1880 
20 
1890 
18 
1900 
12 
1910 
10 
1920 
9 
1 County changes between 1860 and 1870 affect data somewhat, though not materially. 
2 A live-stock unit as used here is equal to 1 grown horse, 1 grown cow, 7 hogs, or 7 sheep or goats. There 
is some discrepancy in these figures for some dates, since some census figures do not distinguish between 
young and mature slock. Number averaged by all farms. 
3 Figures not available for these dates. 
With better cotton prices prevailing after 1900, cotton growing 
rapidly encroached on all other farm enterprises, until, by 1920, 
59.7 per cent of all crop land was in cotton. In fact, on many farms 
practically all agricultural efforts were expended directly or in- 
directly on cotton growing. During the decade from 1900 to 1910, 
the average size of the farm showed the first increase since 1860, 
although in the decade just past it has again shown a decrease. 7 
It is evident, therefore, that the most rapid growth of tenancy 
has taken place when the greatest increase of operators occurred, 
and that this has been closely associated with the breaking up of 
the stock-raising industry and the larger farms. 
7 The limiting factor to the introduction of improved machinery in cotton growing is 
the picking, no practical picking machine having been developed as yet. The average 
farmer, without the latest improved tilling, planting, and cultivating machines, can grow 
more cotton than he and his family can pick. The unusually large cotton farms of the 
black-land farmer are operated by using improved machinery for growing the crop and by 
importing a picking force of negroes and Mexicans, the former coming from cities anl 
the latter from Mexico and counties near the border. 
