LAND TENURE AND PLANTATION ORGANIZATION 61 
purposes. 47 In a few States — Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and 
Florida — workstock is included legally as a part of advances. In 
Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and usually in Georgia, the 
landlord is legally allowed to require a deed of trust on workstock 
advanced to the tenant on account. While the landlord's statutory 
lien for rent applies in most States only to crops raised by the tenant, 
in Georgia and Florida it applies against all property possessed by 
the tenant. The lien for rent and advances applies to the year in 
which advances are made, except that in Alabama and Mississippi 
the unpaid balance may be carried as a "new advance" for the 
succeeding year. In Alabama, where an unpaid balance is carried 
forward as a new advance, it is assumed that the teams and tools 
stand as security for the debt against themselves, but not for new 
advances. This does not apply in Mississippi, where workstock is 
not considered legally as an advance. 
It has been shown in connection with the definition of the cropper 
that the cropper in most States is not legally classed as a tenant, and 
therefore, in such States, holds no title in the crop except in the 
sense of laborer's lien. The same applies in the case of all share 
tenants in South Carolina and Georgia, where share tenants are 
legally classed as "share croppers." Therefore, croppers and share 
tenants legally classed as croppers — except where real croppers are 
legally classed as tenants, particularly in Mississippi and Tennessee — 
have no basis for credit except to the extent of property owned and 
the confidence of the "furnisher." This situation also applies in the 
case of the cropper, in the States where the cropper is legally classed 
as a tenant, when by special contract with the landlord he waives 
title to his share of the crop, as is frequently done in the Mississippi 
Delta. 
Share tenants — including croppers legally classed as tenants in cer- 
tain States, but excluding share tenants legally classed as croppers — 
hold title to their share of the crop. Cash and standing renters have 
a legal title to all the crop. The part of crop thus possessed may be 
used by the tenant as basis for credit. The tenant has basis of credit, 
therefore, to the extent of property possessed, including his share of 
the crop and to the extent of the confidence of the creditor. 
But since the tenant may produce little or nothing above rent, 
for which the landlord holds a prior lien, it is obvious, unless the 
landlord waives his lien for rent, that no supply merchant is likely 
to take the risk of making advances to these tenant classes. Conse- 
quently, the responsibility for advances to plantation labor, including 
both croppers and tenants, falls upon the landlord, who has a more 
direct interest, and who, by supervision of croppers' and tenants' 
expenditures in terms of possible crop production, can better afford 
to take the risks involved. The credit supplied by the landlord may 
be issued directly by him through the commissary or plantation 
store, by advance of cash, or through the local merchant on the land- 
lord's indorsement. 
Of 237 plantations reporting, 29 per cent used the commissary, 
32 per cent used the plantation general store, and 39 per cent relied 
* 7 Since the repeal a few years ago of the old lien law of South Carolina, the landlord's lien for advances, 
to be a prior lien, must be written and registered. See Nexsen v. Ward, 96 S. Car. 313. This instance, 
however, is exceptional. 
