20 BULLETIN/ 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the exceptional man who finds it more advantageous to remain a ten- 
ant after he is able to become the owner of a good farm, and it is 
fortunate for the Xation that this is so. 
There is another reason why, from the standpoint of national 
economy, tenant farming as a general proposition is not desirable. 
On the farms included in this study, the records show that notwith- 
standing the larger profit of the tenant with small capital, compared 
with the profit of the small owner, the records show also, as has been 
recorded, that the owner farms have less cotton and more feed 
crops, and consequently the agriculture under ownership is better 
balanced and more stable. The records show also that the owner 
farms produce a larger yield per acre. It is seen that ownership 
induces better cultivation, maintains soil fertility, and increases 
substantial values. The lesson to be drawn from the study in this 
respect is that while it is unwise to purchase high-priced land upon 
small payment at a high rate of interest, ownership is to be encour- 
aged when there is a reasonable expectation of accomplishment. 
HIRED AND CROPPER LABOR. 
Owners have two alternatives with respect to labor: They may 
hire labor by the day, month, or contract, or they may employ cropper 
labor. Table VIII shows the relation of the croppers to the owners 
or operators on farms of different sizes. On farms having 80 acres 
or less of crops, averaging 62.5 acres per farm, 9.2 per cent of the 
land is worked by cropper labor. As the farms increase in size, more 
cropper labor is employed until in the group of farms of 121 acres or 
more 22.5 per cent of all land is worked by cropper labor. The aver- 
age amount of land worked by croppers in the region is 18 per cent 
of the total crop area. The acreage of cotton produced by cropper 
labor, however, is 22 per cent of the total. The fact that there is a 
considerable increase in amount of land worked by croppers as size 
of farm increases is accounted for by the fact that the operator is not 
able to give proper oversight to the larger acreage where wage or 
hired labor is employed : further, the responsibility of securing extra 
labor for chopping and picking is transferred to the croppers. 
Table VIII. — Relation of size of farm to percentage of acreage farmed by wage 
and cropper labor (lU f farms, Ellis County, Tex., in 1914). 
Size of crop area. 
Number 
of farms. 
Average 
size crop 
area. 
Per cent 
of total 
crop area 
worked 
by wase 
labor. 
Per cent 
of total 
crop area 
worked by 
cropper 
labor. 
80 a^res or less 
37 
39 
62.5 
100.1 
198.9 
117 5 
90.8 
85.2 
77.5 
82.0 
9.2 
Site 120 acres 
14.8 
121 acres and more 
All farms 
38 
114 
111 
22.5 
• 18.0 
