UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1269 
Washington, D. C. T October 18, 1924 
RELATION OF LAND TENURE TO PLANTATION ORGANIZATION 
By C. O. Brannen, Associate agricultural economist, Bureau of Agricultural 
Economics 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Area and extent of the plantation system 2 
Characteristics of the plantation system 8 
Organization and management 11 
Plantation labor 19 
Wage labor... 23 
Cropper labor 29 
Tenant labor 32 
Page 
Relations of laborers and tenants to plantation 
operators and landlords 38 
Renting arrangements 38 
Labor supervision 42 
Labor movements and occupancy 44 
Selection of enterprises, and diversification. 52 
Credit . 60 
Marketing 65 
Conclusions 67 
During the World War and afterwards, plantation farming in the 
South became greatly disturbed owing to shortage of labor. There 
was an unusual shifting of agricultural workers on and off the farm, 
as well as an exodus of laborers from the plantation area. Changes 
were occurring in the various tenure groups on the farm. Other 
problems developed in the plantation system. 
To determine the nature of plantation problems and, as far as 
possible, point out desirable methods of meeting difficulties, a study 
w T as made. Particular attention was given to tenure, and its relation 
to the labor problem. The various plantation districts from Virginia 
to Texas were visited, representative planters and business men 
throughout the South were interviewed, and first-hand information 
and statistical data were collected. 1 
The suggestions and conclusions in the report, in connection with 
other facts obtained, are based upon the experience of plantation 
operators who have been successful in dealing with existing condi- 
tions. All interpretations in this study are presented from an 
economic, rather than a social, point of view. 
In addition to the primary purpose, it is intended to present the 
extent and relative importance of the plantation system in the South, 
and to describe briefly the nature and characteristics of the plantation 
of the present day, with particular reference to the classes of labor 
1 Special acknowledgment is given J. W. Tapp, junior economist, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 
for his assistance in the collection and interpretation of field data. Credit is also due Mrs. Ruth I. 
Prichard for assistance in the management of the tabulations. Dr. L. C. Gray supervised the study, 
which was made possible by the hearty cooperation of the planter-'. 
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