FARM MANAGEMENT IN CATAWBA COUNTY, N. C. 5 
unknown here. The temperature seldom goes as high as 100° F. or 
as low as zero. 
The elevation, rolling topography, good surface drainage, and 
abundance of spring and well water, together with the mild and in- 
vigorating climate, give this area many advantages as a place of 
residence. 
TYPE OF FARMING AND ANALYSIS OF FARM BUSINESS. 
The farmers of this section practice a general or mixed type of crop 
farming, about two- thirds of all receipts being from crops. In acreage 
the leading crops are wheat, corn, and cotton. About 38 per cent of 
the farm receipts in 1918 were from cotton. 
Fig. 4.— Farmstead of the better type. 
Measured by the receipts derived from various enterprises, the 
type of agriculture during the very earliest- period was live stock, 
which changed ' early in the nineteenth century to grain, with live 
stock as secondary. This continued up to about 1880. At that 
time cotton became the dominating factor in the type of farming, 
which position it still holds. 
. As much grain is grown now as at any time in the history of the 
county, but cotton has made large gains, while the other enterprises 
have very little more than remained stationary. 
The meat-producing branches of live-stock farming have been 
losing in importance for more than 70 years. Catawba County is 
frequently referred to as a dairy county, though very few farmers 
receive sufficient income from dairy products to warrant their being 
