LAND TENURE.

The farms are not large. The foreigner is a home maker. Few have land to lease to others. When more land is bought it is for wood or pasture or because an increasing family is able to cultivate more land in crops.

With very few exceptions the Polish farmer owns the land on which he lives. With one stride he passes from the status of a day laborer to that of landed proprietor, instead of moving up by means of land tenancy as an intermediate step. When once he has invested a few dollars in a piece of land, he holds to the property tenaciously until he gets his money out of it. There are a few men who rent land. Of 50 farmers interviewed, 1 rented all the land he occupied, 160 acres. Five others rented some land, from 10 to 50 acres, but all of the 5 owned land of their own which they occupied at the same time. All who rented at all rented on shares. Two forms of share rent are customary: (1) The landowner furnishes only the land and improvements and receives one-third of all the crops grown as rent. A modification of this form is found where the owner furnishes the potatoes and rye for seed and receives as his rent one-half of the produce of these crops at the thrashing machine, or (of potatoes) in the crates on the field, and one-third of the other crops raised; (2) by a second plan, the landlord furnishes tools, seed, and cows and receives one-half of all the produce, including a share of the returns from the sale of milk and cream. This is not a frequent method, however; indeed, renting seems to be merely a method of supplementing the I owned areas by hiring a near-by piece of land. There seems to be no cash-rental system and no peasant or tenant class. Land has been too cheap, up to date, to make tenancy necessary or profitable, and up to this time sons of farmers have been given the old farms or have purchased them for sums so small that they are having no difficulty in paying for them. No significance is to be attached to the few instances of land rental.

EXPENDITURES FOR LABOR, FERTILIZER, AND FEED STUFFS.

As far as possible every farmer endeavors to get his work done without outside assistance. The farmers "change help" at thrashing time and hire men by the day for potato harvest, but in general not much hired help is required. The hired hands are invariably Poles, frequently new arrivals. Five of the 47 farmers reported no expenses of any sort. Only 6 reported any outlay whatever for farm labor; 3 reported less than $50 per annum each, and only 1 spent as much as $100 for hired help. Ten did not report.

Very little commercial fertilizer is used, but 18 farmers each expended small sums for fertilizer or paris green. Sixteen, or 34 per cent of all, report less than $25 each. Nearly every one of these represents items for paris green only. This is a fixed, regular expense. The 2 who report between $25 and $50, probably bought a little commercial fertilizer.

The chief items of expense are seed, feed, and forage. About onehalf of the farmers buy seed potatoes and some feed for cows or hogs. Eighteen spent $25 or more, 9 bought to the value of $50

and less than $75, while only 2 farmers report between $100 and $200 expended for grain and seed during the year. Ten did not report, and 12 reported no expenditures.

In a general way the expenditures reported increase with the acreage in cultivation, but the correspondence is not very close. Including the 5 who report no expenditures, nearly 59 per cent of all reporting have total expenses of less than $50 and cultivate 44 acres or less each; 11 expend between $50 and $75 each annually and cultivate 50 acres; 3 report expenditures between $75 and $200; 1 reports more than $200 of expenditures and cultivates 138 acres.

IMPROVEMENTS AND METHODS.

The first industry to be carried on in this whole region was lumbering. Pine first, then hemlock, hardwood, and finally the inferior timber was cut off and sawed into lumber. The farm was at first mere adjunct to the lumber camp. Many of the early farmers were first woodsmen or "lumber jacks." The pioneer, skillful with his ar shaped the logs for his cabin and his stable; his first fences wer made of brush, poles, rails, or stumps. Where the ground was we or "boggy" he built a corduroy road of logs and brush. He removed the smaller trees and stumps first and worked around the others until they began to decay, when he was able to remove them wit his cattle. A good many of the first "story and attic" log houses and a larger number of log barns or outhouses remain, especially 62 the more recently opened lands in the northern and northwester sections of the county. The majority of the farmsteads and barn yards are not well arranged nor well kept. The buildings and fences are in poor repair, and the yards are neither neat nor orderly. He pens, chicken houses, and well-arranged cow barns are conspicuous absent.

In Dewey, Carson, Eau Pleine, and parts of Sharon and Hu townships the lack of capital in the form of good buildings of modera type and of up-to-date equipment is more evident than in south Sharon and Stockton, where are seen many brick houses, large basement barns, and other well constructed outbuildings. The difference largely one of larger economic returns from the more bountiful su of the latter townships. The log barn, the well-built log house, lo and undignified, but warm and picturesque when well constructed, is passing, often giving way to a capacious successor of red brick.

The fences, if modern, are built of wire; a few farmers are begi ning to use woven-wire fences of various patterns, but only a few Every field is fenced, because every field becomes a pasture or nex neighbor to a pasture in regular rotation. There are all grades fences, however, of every design, material, and state of decrepitude Occasionally there is an amateur attempt at a stone fence, but most farmers are content to pile their "hardheads" in great heaps in th middle of the tilled fields. The log fence, built some time ago great logs and unsplit poles, laid sometimes in a straight line and sometimes after the fashion of the Virginia rail fence, still abides The Virginia split-rail fence surrounds hundreds of acres, but on here and there is there a new rail. In number of rods the stump fence in the former heavily timbered sections closely follows the bar

wire. This fence, built of great pine or hardwood stumps rolled up side by side, their root bases facing inward and their great network of roots extending at every angle and interlocking, presents a formidable, if not precisely a thrifty or picturesque, appearance. Because they are cheap, efficient, and durable many miles of stump fences are built. Stake-and-rider fences, and occasionally a pine or hemlock board fence, are also found on some farms.

One notes that little attempt has been made to inclose the gardens or lawns with ornamental fencing. There are not many well-kept lawns, well sodded and ornamented with trees, shrubs, and flowers. The lilac and the rosebush are sometimes seen, and frequently the native trees are allowed to remain in the door yard; but, on the whole, the aspect of most Polish homes and yards is not homelike, inviting, nor indicative of thrift. Unpainted houses, dilapidated barns, poorly drained, ill-kept barnyards, sagging gates, and weed-ridden lawns and fence corners are typical marks of Polish farmsteads. This is not peculiar to the Poles, of course; the average western farmer does not spend much time in beautifying his place until his last debt is paid, and he has reached a state of leisure and assured competency. The Poles come more slowly to a realization of the value of beauty, neatness, and comfort.

FERTILIZERS AND FARM PRACTICE.

Practically no attention is paid to commercial fertilizers of any sort. Potatoes draw heavily on the soil and some of the better class of American growers have found a judicious application of commercial fertilizing materials very well worth while, but the majority of all potato growers in the county, and nearly all of the Poles, depend entirely on barnyard manure, made on their own farms or hauled out from the city.

In addition to this, rye, clover, occasionally, and mixed pasture is regularly plowed under for humus and green manure. A more or less regular rotation is practiced, and, in short, all that practical observation has taught is done to maintain the fertility of the land. The settlers plow deep, work the soil into a good tilth, and, in general, keep the ground free from weeds during the growing season. As with all peoples, there are good, bad, and indifferent farmers among them. It may be that a few more belong to the last two classes than one would find in a similar colony of Germans Clan nishness, and the apparent disinclination to mix with the Amers icans, inability to speak the English language, and so come in contact with advanced thought on agriculture and agricultural methods, are responsible for a good deal of backwardness and lack of initiative. The local Polish newspaper is remedying this condition somewhat by timely articles on pertinent topics, and the next generation may be more receptive to innovations in agricultural

methods.

I

Few could converse with much intelligence on any line of agriculture other than potatoes. Experience had given them most of the knowledge they possessed, some information had been gained from contact with American neighbors, and a little had been absorbed at farmers' institutes, but most were doing as they had always done.

The necessity for better stock, the waste and loss incurred in keeping cows that do not give returns equal to the value of feed consumed. the relation of dairying to potato growing, the study of rotations suited to both stock raising and general farming, had evidently not been prominently before them. The stock kept is very poor indeed. hardy of course, but unprofitable for beef, and not up to the mark for milk or cream. These things are not altogether peculiar to the Poles, however. Few good herds are owned by farmers of any race in the section investigated.

The principal differences in method between the American farmer and the Pole in the same neighborhood lie in the latter's reliance on hard work and his substitution of a muscular and family labor for capital, equipment, and brain activity. Intelligence will remedy this condition, and the younger generation in the midst of agricultural literature, research, and institutions will be much better farmers than their fathers. At present very few of the boys are taking advantage of existing opportunities to study improved farming methods, but nevertheless many of the younger men are showing more initiative and have more appreciation of the value of leisure than their parents.

MARKETS AND MARKETING FACILITIES.

The city of Stevens Point is not far from the east-and-west center of the Polish settlement and is the great central market for all kinds of farm produce, but there are several other marketing points. Three railroads penetrate the central and northern townships and four run across the county in different directions. The main line of the Wisconsin Central, Chicago to St. Paul, takes on quantities of Polish produce at Amherst Junction, Custer, Stockton, Stevens Point, and at Junction City, west of the Wisconsin River. The Green Bay and Western runs through the county from east to west, with a branch from Plover to Stevens Point; shipping stations are found every few miles; Amherst Junction, Arnott, Fancher, Plover, and Meehan all have a certain Polish clientage. The Northwestern line runs from Antigo south to Rosholt in the town of Alban, and a second division passes within a few miles of the Polish colony at Heffron, with an outlet to Chicago. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, which passes north and south through the two townships west of the river, takes quantities of raw material from the farmers in Eau Pleine and Carson townships. Of the strictly Polish townships, Dewey, Sharon, and Hull, speaking generally, Fave no railroads. The market for Dewey and Hull is Stevens Point, from 1 to 14 miles distant over wagon roads.

Many of the roads are very sandy unless clay or broken stone has been placed on them, there is a macadamized road about 12 miles long between Polonia and Stevens Point. Another good macadamized road runs into Junction City; a third hard-bottom pike extends through Hull into Dewey Township. Over these highways heavy loads can be hauled, but the crossroads, branch roads, and lanes are often very heavy, owing to the deep loose sand that prevails. This fact makes hauling and marketing very expensive to the man in the outlying districts, and it is a noteworthy fact that those sections

with poor public roads and distant or poor marketing facilities are very slow to improve or advance economically.

The State has taken up the matter of good roads, and counties and towns are fully realizing their importance. The board of trade of Stevens Point is alive to the advantage of good roads and sometimes materially aids in bettering communication between that city and the surrounding country. An instance of the board's activity in this regard may be cited. A Polish farming colony has recently been established at Knowlton, in Marathon County, about 16 miles north of Stevens Point. To get to Stevens Point directly it is necessary to cross the Wisconsin River. There is no bridge, and the township of Knowlton is not able to build one. To divert this Polish trade to Stevens Point the merchants by private subscription raised funds to construct a bridge across the river.

The greater part of the shopping of the entire colony is done at Stevens Point, where there is a real Polish quarter. Sales of produce are made at the Polish market in the open court of the city. The staple products-rye, other small grains, and potatoes, are sold to local shippers at the several local shipping points. Potatoes are frequently stored at fixed rates for the farmers who have no storage facilities by the potato buyers. The stored potatoes are held for such time as the farmer wishes and are then sold to the buyer. As the potatoes are bought by certain standard grades, it is not necessary, usually, to hold the identical stock, though some buyers do this absolutely.

Markets for all farm produce are excellant. Few farmers have undertaken the development of a market for any special product or any special grade of produce. There is an opening for specialized vegetable products.

The cash system of payment at regular intervals for milk and cream has been a great help to dozens of poor farmers, who otherwise had nothing to turn into cash from one potato crop until the next, and despite poor cows and small herds prosperity has followed the

creamery.

Cooperative marketing and associated endeavor in any line has made little progress. The Society of Equity, as it is called, a farmers' organization, has been rather active in the county. The Polish membership has always been small, unprogressive, and apathetic. At the present time there is very little activity. A Polish mutual insurance company has assumed almost all the Polish fire risks in the farming communities. It is controlled by Polish people entirely and is very successful. There are a few purely Polish creamery associations, notably the Sharon Creamery Company and the Lake Thomas Creamery Company.

In Stevens Point there are a large number of Polish firms, and business men declare that every year more business is going over to Poles. There is a brewing company, an automatic cradle company, a large, well-equipped printing plant, a brick and construction company, and others, all distinctly Polish, located at Stevens Point. Not five per cent of the members of the Business Men's Association and few city officials outside of the fourth, or Polish ward, are Poles, but in local politics they have become a considerable power.