98 BULLETIN 650, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING LEASE CONTRACTS. 
A study of leases in actual operation discloses the existence of a 
few interesting general assumptions which are of much value in 
establishing a basis for a rational form of lease contract. Share 
renters on good cotton farms may pay the landlord one-third the 
cotton, but only one-fourth on poor farms. Similar arrangements 
are to be noted in other parts of the United States. The obvious 
assumption underlying this adjustment is that on fertile farms the 
landlord is entitled to a larger share of the crops than on poor 
farms under otherwise similar conditions. The same consideration 
is, of course, apparent in renting land for cash, the cash rent per 
acre varying with the agricultural value of the land. 
In many cases the landlord accepts as rent a smaller share of 
the produce delivered at the railroad station than at the farm. 
For example, on a Kansas grain farm the landlord takes one-third 
of the wheat at the farm or one-fourth at the railroad station at 
the option of the tenant. The assumption in such cases evidently 
is that the farther the farm from market the smaller should be 
the landlord’s share of the crops if the tenant is required to haul 
them to market. This assumption is manifestly in accord with 
justice and common sense. 
On general farms the landlord’s share is often different for dif- 
ferent crops. For example in Colorado the landlord may get one- 
half of the hay,-one-third of the grain, and one-fourth of the sugar 
beets, or one-half of the hay, one-half of the apples, one-third of 
the wheat, one-third of the potatoes, and one-fourth of the sugar 
beets. In Delaware the landlord may get two-fifths of the tomatoes 
and one-half of the grain, or one-fourth of the tomatoes and one- 
half of the grain. In Indiana the landlord may get two-thirds of 
the eggs and one-half of the milk, or one-half of the hay and corn 
and one-third of the wheat and oats, or two-fifths of the wheat and 
one-half of the corn. In Iowa the landlord may get one-half of the 
hay and two-fifths of the corn. In the cotton belt the landlord may 
get one-third of the corn and one-fourth of the cotton. In Michigan 
and Missouri the landlord may get one-half of the hay and one-third 
of the corn. In Nebraska the landlord may get one-half of the hay 
and one-fourth of the corn. In Ohio the landlord may get one-half 
of the hay and corn and three-sevenths of the tobacco, or one-half 
of the hay and corn and two-fifths of the tobacco and apples. In 
all these cases of variation in the shares of different crops on a given 
farm the tenant provided all labor. The specified differences in the 
shares of different crops is an acknowledgement of the fact that 
more labor is required for the production of certain crops than for 
others, and that the shares should in justice be correspondingly modi- 
