30 Nebraska Experiment Station Research Bui. 15 
cupied by farms. Field studies at many points in that part 
of the State lead one to believe that the people living 1 there in 
1909 would have been seriously handicapped in making a 
living had even the poorest one-third of the total land area 
been wholly excluded from agricultural use. A farm manage- 
ment survey made in Kimball County in 1915 indicated that 
the size of farm in the county was nearer two sections of land 
than one section as reported in the census. In all probability 
the number of farms in Kimball County had increased since 
1909, and so it can hardly be true that a farm at that time 
consisted of only one section of land. It was also observed 
during this survey that the area of pasture land not grazed 
over at some time during the year was almost negligible. . 
Table 2 compares the average size of farms taken at 
random in Farm Management surveys with census figures. 
In most cases the average size of farm secured thru surveys 
(1914-1916) is more in harmony with the result obtained by 
dividing the total land area of the county by the number of 
farms it contained in 1909, than with the size of farm given 
in the census. If the survey figures can be relied upon, it 
is safe to state that practically the entire area of land is made 
to contribute in one way or another to the living of farmers 
located upon it. It is a commonly known fact that nearly every j 
western area had, at some time previous to the last census, , 
Table 2. — The size of farm calculated from Nebraska Farm 
Management surveys compared with census figures. 
i 
t 
a 
Farm Management surveys 
Census figures 
County in 
which records 
were taken 
Number 
of 
records 
Crop 
year 
Averag* 
size o r 
farms 
taken a; 
random In 
field surveys 
Total area 
of the 
county 
divided by 
the number 
( 1909) 
Size of 
farm as 
given in 
the census 
( 191X1) 
Western counties 
Kimball 
36 
1916 
1069 A 
1491 A 
644 A 
Box Butte 
35 
1914 
961 
1171 
931 
Dawes ... 
45 
1913 
1143 
114N 
698 
Thomas 
67 
1913 
1369 
1723 
77S 
Eastern counties 
Phelps 
66 
1913 
241 
236 
225 
Seward 
63 
1913 
216 
103 
163 
Thurston 
30 
1913 
220 
227 
109 
0 
si 
a< 
C 
se 
co 
Pr 
fn 
