CHAPTER VI.

LYONS AND CLYDE, N. Y., SOUTH ITALIAN TRUCK FARMERS.

INTRODUCTION.

The town of Lyons is located in the southeastern portion of Wayne County in the northwestern part of New York. According to the last census (1900) it had a population of 5,824, which included 4,300, the population of Lyons village. The New York Central and Hudson River and West Shore railroads and the Erie Canal afford good transportation and give ready access to all markets.

Six miles east of Lyons, in the same county, is the village of Clyde, which in 1900 had a population of 2,507. It is on the railroad lines mentioned above and the Erie Canal.

About 60 Italian families are engaged in farming in the vicinity of Lyons and Clyde; of these fully 40 own farms, and the rest are tenants. Besides those owning and renting farms, there are at least 40 families owning or renting homes in the two towns who work as farm laborers. There is also a floating population of unmarried men and families not engaged in farming, which will bring the total Italian population, including men, women, and children, up to approximately 1,000, including both first and second generations of foreign lineage.

Immigrant farmers of Lyons and Clyde produce a great diversity of crops, the principal products being hay, corn, oats, buckwheat, willow, apples, strawberries, peas, onions, carrots, potatoes, and celery. The method of cultivation varies widely according to the crop raised. The locality is particularly interesting for the reason that the immigrant can be studied in every branch of agriculture, being engaged in general farming, truck farming, and fruit raising. In the lowlands along the Erie Canal and in the valleys immigrants raise willow and garden truck, while those who operate the hill farms are general farmers and fruit raisers.

The Italian farmer is more successful in truck raising, because he is familiar with the method of raising small crops employed in Italy. Those engaged in general farming in the hills have a poor quality of land, are not particularly experienced in raising staple crops, and only a mediocre success has been attained in raising live stock.

HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT.

The first Italians to settle in Lyons and Clyde came in 1884. They were employed on the railroad, and when the work was completed some of them remained in the vicinity. From time to time during the next few years, the railroads brought in additional Italian laborers, and in each instance a few became permanent residents.

Those remaining in the locality were employed chiefly as railroad section hands, while a few found employment as farm laborers. All Italians brought in by the railroads were from southern Italy, and the settlement at the present time (1909) is composed entirely of these people, not a single family of North Italians being found in the vicinity.

In 1886 and 1887 some families rented small parcels of highly improved land and engaged in farming, the principal crop being garden truck. Little of it was sold, the crop being raised chiefly for the use of the family. The men usually worked on the farm when there was no demand for labor on the railroads; at other times the women and children did most of the work. During the years mentioned it is estimated that 10 families were renting small farms, but none were engaged exclusively in agriculture. During the next few years several families purchased property, and in 1893 there were between 10 and 15 families owning land. The size of the farm usually purchased was from 3 to 10 acres. The crops raised were potatoes, corn, onions, and garden truck.

The first Italian to engage in general farming purchased a farm of 130 acres near Lyons in 1894. Since that date more Italians have become general farmers, have purchased larger farms, and have cultivated a greater acreage. In every instance the larger farms purchased by Italians had been under cultivation, but the land had run down, dwellings and other buildings were in poor repair, and the fences were either gone entirely or were in a tumbled-down condition. The Italian selected that type of land because it could be purchased cheap and on easy payments. The usual terms of purchase are one-third or one-fourth cash, and the balance, which is covered by a mortgage, payable in from three to five years. Some have bought property with no time limit as to payment, and one Italian who purchased a farm in 1894 still owes a balance of $1,500. However, this is an exception to the general rule, for the majority pay their indebtedness long before the mortgage expires.

The usual form of lease is for a share of the crop, the tenure being for one year only. The owner furnishes one-half the seed and fertilizer and has the ground broken and placed in fair condition for planting. The renter supplies all labor in planting, cultivating, and harvesting, and furnishes one-half the seed and fertilizer. In return the tenant receives one-half the crop. Very few, if any, Italians pay a cash rental.

Of the 14 farm owners from whom information was secured by agents of the Commission, it was found that 8 purchased farms which were untillable at the time of purchase, and 6 bought farms of which three-fourths or more of the total acreage was tillable. Some of the untillable farms had never been under cultivation and had to be cleared and drained; some at one time had been farmed, but had been abandoned and were grown up in brush and weeds and had to be recleared before a crop could be planted. The untillable farms averaged 41.18 acres and those tillable 19.83 acres. The price land, and $86 per acre, or $1,713 per farm, for tillable land. The was $52 per acre, or an average of $2,128 per farm, for untillable paid. average cash payment was $550 for untillable and $375 for tillable land.

CHARACTER OF IMMIGRANTS.

As has been explained at the beginning of this chapter, all of the immigrants engaged in farming at Lyons and Clyde are South Italians. They came principally from the provinces of Avellino, Cosenza, and Campobasso. A number of families have come to the locality from their native land, but by far the greater majority lived elsewhere in the United States before coming to Lyons and Clyde. A great many have had previous agricultural experience in Italy. Few of the men were accompanied by their wives and families when they first came to the locality, but usually sent for them after being in the settlement from one to three years. From information secured from 39 immigrant settlers, it was learned that 6 had been in the United States between five and nine years, 8 had a residence of between ten and fourteen years, 11 between fifteen and nineteen years, and 14 had been in this country twenty years or over. This is typical of all settlers, and it will be found that most of them have been in the United States a long period of years. About 90 per cent can speak English and about the same number can read and write. All of the second generation have attended school and most of them have a good common - school education.

Detailed information was secured from 14 South Italian families in Lyons and Clyde. Of these 8 came to the localities direct from Europe and 6 from other parts of New York and from Pennsylvania. Of the heads of these families 11 had been engaged in one form or another of farm work in Italy, and of those who came to the settlements from other parts of the United States 5 had been railroad laborers and 1 a general laborer.

The occupations of these 14 heads of families immediately before they purchased or leased farms in Lyons and Clyde were as follows: Railroad laborers 7, general laborers 4, farm laborer, farmer on shares, and no occupation I each. Six had followed their respective occupations in the United States from three to six years and 4 from six to ten years before buying or leasing land.

EARLY STRUGGLES.

The South Italian immigrants who bought swampy land along the canal had to face many difficulties before they were able to realize any returns from their farms. The land was covered with timber and brush and had to be drained. The process of reclamation necessitated a vast amount of hard work, and while it was going on the heads of families sought outside employment in order to support their families and gave their spare time to getting their own land in condition for cultivation. The wife and children in the meantime were at work on the farm cutting and burning brush, digging out stumps and logs, and making ditches.

Those who bought farms in the hills found the land generally well cleared but neglected and lacking cultivation. Houses, barns, and fences were in need of repair, and the settlers for several years had only the barest necessities of life pending the time when they could get the land into a fair state of cultivation and could repair the buildings and fences.

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It is alleged that no Italians who have purchased farms have ever deserted the settlement, and only in rare instances have any who rented farm land gone to other places. It is also stated that no farms have been sold on account of the failure of owners to pay off mortgages, and that debts for supplies are met promptly upon maturity.

During the past four or five years the settlement has increased in size very slowly, but each year the Italian population is augmented by the addition of one or two new families. During the past year (1909) about five families have come to Lyons and Clyde, two direct from Italy and the rest from other places in New York. The prospects favor a large Italian settlement in the locality in the course of years, as settlers are influencing their relatives and friends to join them and the settlement is constantly becoming better known.

SOIL, CLIMATE, AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The following description of the soil, topography, and climatic conditions in the Lyons region is taken from a report of the United States Bureau of Soils." Italians are farming on three varieties of soil, namely, a stony loam, a silty or clay loam, and muck.

The surface features of the Lyons area are greatly diversified, being composed of a succession of hills and valleys. The elevation ranges from 250 to 700 feet above sea level. The southern and central parts of the area are broken by hills and ridges running north and south. As a rule these terminate in abrupt slopes to the north, while to the south the slope is more gradual. The ridges rise some 100 to 160 feet above the intervening valleys. The northern part of the area possesses a more rolling surface, which inclines northward to the lake. There are, however, some prominent ridges in the northeastern corner of this part of the area.

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The soils in this area are derived from glacial drift, composed, at least in part, of material brought from the country to the north by the great ice sheet which during the ice age covered this part of the American Continent. The depth of this drift over the bed rock ranges from a few feet to about 100 feet. The upland soils of the area contain a large percentage of rounded stones and gravel, and in many places large, erratic bowlders, chiefly granite and retaining signs of glacial action, are scattered through the drift. The valley soils, after considerable modification by stream action, have been redeposited and are free from stones and gravel.

The surface soil of the Miami stony loam is a light-brown sandy loam having a depth of 7 to 10 inches and containing occasional streaks of gravel, the proportion of which ranges from 5 to 40 per cent of the solid mass. The subsoil is a yellowish or brown sandy loam to a depth of 3 feet, containing from 5 to 50 per cent of gravel and stones. In a few instances the clay content increases with the depth of the soil. *

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The Miami stony loam has a very much broken and diversified surface. It occupies the hills, knolls, ridges, and occasionally the gently rolling country. The

Upon this soil is grown to some extent every farm crop known to the area. principal crops are the grasses, corn, oats, wheat, sugar beets, and potatoes, while relatively less important are cabbages, beans, green peas, peppermint, tobacco, and berries. Timothy and clover are the main grass crops and yield from 1 to 23 tons per acre. Corn gives about 25 bushels, wheat 12 bushels, oats 25 bushels, and potatoes about 75 bushels per acre. The yield per acre of sugar beets averages between 8 and 11 * The peas yield from three-fourths to one and one-half tons per acre and are grown for canning purposes. Cabbages average from 4 to 12 tons per acre. Patches of raspberries and blackberries were seen, and these fruits are profitably grown. The growing of tree fruits forms a very important part of the agricultural practice, and many large apple orchards and a few cherry, pear, plum, and peach orchards occur on this soil.

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The Alloway clay is a silty or clay loam of grayish or dark-brown color, 4 to 8 inches deep, underlain by a subsoil of mottled yellow or grayish clay, having a depth of 3

a U. S. Department of Agriculture. Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, 1902. Fourth Report, pp. 144 to 155.