COST OF FENCING IN NORTH CENTRAL STATES. S 
AREAS COVERED BY THE INQUIRY AND FARMING TYPES. 
Data were obtained from the 12 North Central States as shown in 
figure 1. 
In Areas 1, 2, and 3 the type of farming followed is the growing 
of corn, small grain, and forage crops, and the marketing of the 
greater part of these crops by feeding to live stock on the farm. 
The stock kept is maintained principally on pastures during the 
pasture season. Sometimes the pasture field has a regular place in 
the crop rotation and is changed about from season to season. An- 
other practice is to allow the land to remain in pasture for a long 
term of years, in some cases indefinitely ; the term " permanent pas- 
ture " is applied to lands handled in this manner. More fences are 
required on farms 
where the pasture 
forms a part of the 
rotation than on 
farms where perma- 
nent pastures are 
used ; however, on 
most farms much of 
the land is pastured 
after the crops have 
been removed, and in 
some instances the 
live stock are turned 
into the field to har- 
vest the crop. It is Fig. l. — The territory covered by the investigation was di- 
in these areas where vided into four areas, as shown here. These areas are 
referred to by their respective numbers. 
much stock is kept 
that considerable fence is required to utilize the land to the best 
advantage. 
Area 4 typifies a country where extensive farming is followed. 
There are two distinctive types of farming in this area ; one is grain 
growing and the other live-stock farming. The grain farms carry 
little stock other than the horses required to do the farm work, while 
on the live-stock farms a relatively small area is in field crops and 
the stock is carried during the growing season on permanent pas- 
tures. Both of these systems require very little farm fence as com- 
pared to the fence required on farms in areas where an intensive 
system of mixed farming is followed. 
METHOD OF INVESTIGATION. 
The data here presented were obtained by circular letter from 
farmers in the area designated. The data in the tables were com- 
piled from the reports of 5,837 farmers. Great care was taken not 
