LAND TENURE AND PLANTATION ORGANIZATION 11 
much larger than this, it is operated under a general management with 
two or more management units. For example, one at Scott, Miss., 
operating more than 30,000 acres under a single management, is sub- 
divided into 20 managerial units. In general, considerations of 
economy and efficiency tend to determine the size of the plantation 
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 
A high degree of centralization is necessary for profitable operation 
of the plantation, but the same high degree of centralization as is 
attainable in some other industries is not possible owing to the very 
nature of the farm business. Working units are scattered, particu- 
larly under the tenant system of labor, often rendering timely super- 
vision impossible. Inasmuch as the nature of the business deter- 
mines the type of organization, the salient features of the problem 
of management may be summarized briefly as follows : 
First, labor supervision presents an outstanding difficulty in efficient 
and economical operation. The inferior class of labor usually em- 
ployed on the plantation seldom reaches a high degree of reliability 
for crop management without close supervision. Moreover, the 
management is compeUed to look to the details of each laborer's 
financial dealings, to see that his expenditures do not exceed his 
production. 
The laborer must be advised in practically all the details of his 
work, and be carefully watched, in order to protect team, tools, and 
crop which belong to the plantation operator. Work stock must be 
fed and looked after in order to perform effective work, whether they 
belong to the plantation operator or to the tenant. Laborers and 
tenants must have their hving expenses advanced and the operator or 
manager must be careful to avoid heavy financial losses. 
Second, the difficulty of maintaining an efficient managerial staff 
is the same on the plantation as in any other industrial plant. Farm 
management requires business judgment with respect to economy in 
production and tact in labor supervision. Managers with these 
qualities frequently become plantation owners themselves or pursue 
other business opportunities. 
Third, the shortage of labor or excessive labor cost — owing to 
the disturbance of the late war, migrations to the city, and local 
restlessness — has caused portions of plantations to lie idle and mature 
crops to waste in the fields. Restlessness and instability often result 
in the laborer's leaving the neighborhood, leaving crops at critical 
seasons and supply accounts unpaid. 
Fourth, plantations are constantly facing the difficulty of reorganiz- 
ing farm enterprises to meet such changed conditions as are caused 
by boll weevil and low prices of staple products. This means the 
adaptation of inefficient labor to more highly technical phases of 
agriculture. 
And, finally, financing is a large item in large-scale operation. 
Sudden contraction of credit, or decline in prices, endangers com- 
mercial agriculture more than the self-sufficing type. Shcrt-term 
credit, at times, does not accommodate the needs of the plantation 
interests. 
The question arises as to what methods of management will deal 
most successfully with these problems. Presumably, the practices 
adopted by the better class of plantations are the better, 
