per head is considered. The farms of tenants were largely devoted to the production of the money crops. This was particularly true of share tenant farms. Yields were superior in the case of farms operated by managers and by cash tenants.

Operating owners have shown little tendency to increase the mortgages on their farms since 1900, and the rate of increase of the equity has greatly exceeded that of the indebtedness.

The farms were mostly in the hands of white farmers, with a decreasing percentage of foreign-born. This decrease may be due to the ability of the foreign-born to pass the ownership of their land to children born in this country.

The owners of rented farms in 1900 were resident in the state in about nineteen cases in twenty, and in three cases out of four were resident in the same county in which the farms were located.

Concentration in the ownership of rented farms is seen in the fact that in 1900, 1.16 per cent of the owners of rented farms were in possession of 7.78 per cent of the rented farms, comprising 7.87 per cent of the acreage and 8.74 per cent of the value of rented farms.

It was shown by the age statistics that young opertors were more generally characterized by tenancy, especially on the share basis, and that young owners were most heavily encumbered. Advancing years tended to replace share with cash tenancy, tenancy with ownership, and encumbrance with freedom from mortgage debt. The latest census data, however, indicate that an influence is at work restraining this movement.

CHAPTER V

THE RELATION OF TENURE TO RURAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN ILLINOIS

The tenure of land in Illinois is closely related to a number of prevailing tendencies having a political and social significance. Not least important of these tendencies is the change in the number of people living on the farms of the state.

THE DECLINE IN RURAL POPULATION

The existing data make it difficult to get accurately at the decline in rural population in Illinois counties. Data are afforded for the incorporated places in the entire state and for the total population of each county. "Unincorporated population," of course, is not to be identified with "farm" population. Some farm operators and laborers live in incorporated places. Some of those dwelling outside of incorporated places follow a line of occupation in cities, some others are engaged in exploiting mineral wealth, such as coal, oil, and gas, and a few conduct country shops and stores. Whether the absolute figures for the unincorporated population approach closely the actual farm population is hard to say. It is probable, however, that the change in the unincorporated population is not greatly different from the change in the actual farm population. The incorporation of places has been more completely accomplished at the later dates, but an inspection of the statistics shows this source of declining unincorporated population to be of slight importance. Moreover, the place held in the unincorporated population by miners and others occupied in non-agricultural pursuits has probably been an increasing one. All things considered, therefore, the change in the number of people dwelling outside of incorporated places may be regarded as a fair index of the change in farm population.

During the twenty years, 1890 to 1910, there was a decline in the unincorporated population of 87 counties and an increase in 15 counties. The decline in the state as a whole was 7.2 per cent. The following table shows this change somewhat more in detail.

THE NUMBER OF COUNTIES IN WHICH THE UNINCORPORATED POPULATION INCREASED AND DECREASED, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS, ILLINOIS, 1890-1910.

It is apparent that during each of the two decades the unincorporated population was declining in most of the counties. In the state as a whole, the decline was 1.6 per cent between 1890 and 1900 and 5.7 per cent between 1900 and 1910. The unincorporated population of the counties of Central Illinois showed the least tendency to increase during either decade of the period. The proportion of counties in which an increase took place between 1890 and 1900 was largest in Southern Illinois, and between 1900 and 1910 was largest in Northern Illinois. In 9 of the 14 counties in which an increase took place in the unincorporated population between 1900 and 1910 an increase had occurred during the preceding decade. Of these 9 counties 5 were within a radius of 50 miles of a large city, 3 were marked by the development of mineral resources, and 3 were river counties in which the farm area was being expanded during the period following 1890. Of the 5 other counties in which the unincorporated population increased between 1900 and 1910, 3 were adjacent to large cities.

The increase in unincorporated population appears, therefore, to have been due in large measure to exceptional conditions, such as proximity to large urban centers, the inclusion of new larm land, and the exploitation of mineral wealth by people who were enumerated as resident outside of incorporated places. Urban centers exert their influence not only by giving a more intensive tone to the agriculture, but also by filling the surrounding country with residents who belong rather to the city than to farm population.

It is important to observe, first, the relation of the population actually engaged in agriculture to the total unincorporated population. The population actually engaged in agriculture increased from 430,134 in 1890 to 444,242 in 1910. In 1900 it stood at 461,014. Though the decline in the number engaged in

agriculture may have helped to account for the decline in unincorporated population after 1900 it could not account for the decline between 1890 and 1900.

The number of people dwelling outside of incorporated places in excess of those actually engaged at farming was 1,206,081 in 1890, 1,149,540 in 1900, and 1,074,022 in 1910, a decrease of 132,059 in the twenty years. While the number actually occupied at farming increased 3.3 per cent during the two decades, the rest of the unincorporated population declined 11.0 per cent. The percentage of the unincorporated population actually engaged in agriculture was 26.4 in 1890, 28.8 in 1900 and 29.4 in 1910. It is suggested, therefore, that a part of the rural decline is due to such causes as reduction in the size of families, removal or disappearance of persons not occupied at any line,1 and the reduction in the relative number occupied at other than agricultural pursuits while resident in the country.

The number actually engaged in farming would be still larger in Illinois but for the fact that improvements in machinery make it possible for an individual to cultivate a large area. The acreage of all farm land per individual actually engaged in farming in Illinois was 71.2 in 1890, 71.4 in 1900 and 73.5 in 1910; or, considering improved acreage only, 60.0 in 1890, 60.3 in 1900, and 63.4 in 1910. There can be no doubt that the land is being farmed with less human labor.

The change in rural population thus appears to be more a symptom and consequence of general economic changes than a causal factor. It is probable, however, that the readjustments in rural population have at least offered occasion for, and often have been causes affecting the prevalence of particular forms of tenure. The movement of owners to the city has doubtless led to a larger portion of the land owned by them being rented, both before and after the title changes to their heirs. The movement of farm families has doubtless been accompanied by the enlargement of areas of operation, if not by the growth of holdings.

The changes in tenure have contributed not so much to reduce the number of unincorporated inhabitants as to change the composition of the rural population.

1The percentages of the total population occupied in Illinois in 1890 was 35.4; in 1900, 37.4; and in 1910, 40.7. See above, p. 35.