30 BULLETIN 1295, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
Table 12 gives the age classification of 509 of the 583 settlers. The 
age given is that at the time of the survey. ‘The average age was 40 
years. The average period since settlement of this group was 2.7 
years, so that the average age at the time of settlement was 37.3 
years. At the time of the survey two-fifths of the settlers were be- 
tween 30 and 40 years of age, and four-fifths were under 50. Thus . 
a fifth of them were 50 years of age or over, which is past the prime 
of life. | 
Table 18 shows in detail the beginning net worth for 451 of the 
settlers on 11 of the projects. In general, the beginning net worth 
of the settler is higher with age, except for the very oldest, but it is 
not proportionately higher. Those under 30 years average about 
$700; those between 40 and 55 about $1,200; and those between 50 - 
and 60 about $1,600. A man who is worth only $1,600 at 50 years 
of age is not very promising material for land settlement in the cut- 
over regions. In general, the settlers were not a very prosperous lot 
of people at time of settlement. Fifty-seven per-cent of the settlers 
were worth less than $1,000 at the time of settlement. Yet they ex- 
pected to be able to undertake and manage independent farming 
enterprises. 
Taste 13.—Beginning net worth of 451 Wisconsin settlers 
eee Number | Average | Average w2tie Number | Average’ }*Average - 
Beginning net of age of | acres in Beginning net of age of | acresin 
wort settlers | settlers | purchase wort settlers | settlers | purchase 
Sees ee eee 
Less than $0_--....- 10 38. 7 61.4 || $ 
1,600 to $2,000----- 22 42.8 72.6 
S0)to $200.2 52255... 47 40. 6 51.9 || $2,000 to $2,400--__- 24 43. 5 71.0 
$200 to $400___-_-.-- 64 39. 3 52.8 || $2,400 to $3,200-___- 25 44.8 89. 4 
$400 to $600___-...-- 47 35. 0 52. 5 || $3,200 to $4,000_--_- 5 52. 4 2.0 
$600 to $800__-.----- 55 38. 4 57.7 || Over $4,000___...-_- 17 44.5 195. 0 
$800 to $1,000______- 36 38. 8 62. 7 
$1,000 to $1,200_-_-- 39 38. 5 62. 4 Total 22s .302- 451 40.0 67.3 
$1,200 to $1,600_--_-- 60 40. 5 73. 4 
Of the 510 settlers on 14 projects, 45 were single men, 65 were 
without children, and 18 were brothers working in partnership or 
old men working with adult sons. The remaining 382 averaged 
3.4 children per family at the time of the survey. The group of 
foreigners averaged 4.4 children per family. The group made up 
mostly of native-born farmers averaged 1.5 children per family. Of 
the 882 families with children, 172 had 3 or more children, 104 had 
5 or more children, and 14 had 8 or more children. In 150 families, 
all of the children were under 10 years of age, and 34 families had 4 
or more children under 10 years of age. Only 110 had any children, 
either boys or girls, 15 years old or over. Thus, the families of the 
settlers with children were, on the whole, more of a burden than a 
help in the early stages of land settlement. 
A comparison of the different colonies as in Table 14 shows that 
very different policies have been followed in choice of types of set- 
tlers. Eight of the firms have especially sought foreign born and 
four of them especially native born. It is also apparent from the 
figures that a number of the companies are selling eee to “ back- 
to-the-landers,” especially Projects V, VIII, XIII, XIV, and XV; 
and other companies largely to farmers, especially Projects I, II, 
Dhiesand-V-r 
