g BULLETIN 874, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
been ampler it would have been desirable to extend this study in 
other parts of the country. However, it seemed necessary to limit 
the area of investigation to a region sufficiently small to permit a 
reasonably intensive study. Since the activity in land transfers 
seemed to be central in the State of Iowa, the investigation was con- 
fined to a territory comprising about 60 counties in that State. (See 
fig. 1.) 
“Dein concerning actual sales were obtained in 60 counties. It was 
at first planned to obtain initial data from the county records, but it 
was necessary to revise this plan because it was found that a latge num- 
ber of the sales made during the recent period of activitiy were not re- — 
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aiiee See ae aE Y 
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vss 
ee pie oa 
ee CErerre 
AS INWHICH DATA ON SALES WERE OBTAINED 
AS IN WHICH DATA ON FARM INCOMES WERE OBTAINED 
Fig. 1.—Map of Iowa showing region in which this investigation was conducted. 
corded. Consequently it was necessary to obtain data from real estate 
men, bankers, lawyers, and retired farmers who had participated 1 in 
the drawing up of sales contracts. 
The investigators obtained certain general information concerning 
the subjects of investigation by inquiry from well-informed persons 
in each county visited. Data on net rents paid for farms for the year 
1918 were obtained in 49 of the counties visited. 
The Iowa Experiment Station contributed to the investigation 
data on farm earnings and the distribution of farm earnings, obtained 
from regular farm management surveys of 965 farms in adjacent 
townships of Blackhawk, Tama, and Grundy Counties for the year 
1913, and of 832 farms, located in Warren County, for the year 1915. 
