TABLE 35.-Economic history and present financial condition of certain typical

ANNUAL FARM INCOME FROM PRODUCTS

'olish families, New Carlisle, Otis, and Rolling Prairie, Ind.—Continued.

OLD (AVERAGE FOR TWO YEARS).

CHAPTER VI.

BEREA, OHIO, POLISH SMALL FARMERS.

INTRODUCTION.

Berea is a small town with probably 3,000 to 3,500 inhabitants. It is located in the southwestern part of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 14 niles from Cleveland, and in addition to the Southwestern Trolley ystem, with passenger and express service, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, Big Four, and Baltimore and Ohio railroads pass hrough the town.

The principal industry is centered about the quarries, where large quantities of sandstone, both for purposes of construction and for rindstones and millstones, are quarried.

There is a large Polish population, both in the town of Berea and on small farms in the immediate vicinity, as a greater part of the mployees in the stone quarries there and at Westview, a small town 2 or 3 miles west, are of this race. A large number of the Poles ›ither own small farms of from 1 to 10 acres, with a house, and work n the quarries, or rent small tracts of improved land. Counting hese as farmers, there are approximately 120 Polish families living n the vicinity of Berea and Westview who operate farms. Less han half of them depend upon farming as a sole means of support. The larger proportion of those engaged in agriculture raise truck crops principally. Fully 80 per cent of those who live on the farms own them outright or have an equity in them. Many possess small racts and rent a few acres adjoining if the area owned is not as nuch as they want to cultivate. This land is usually rented for cash, the amount of rental ordinarily varying with the fertility of the soil.

HISTORY OF THE SETTLEMENT.

The rock quarries have been in operation at Berea for fifty years or more, and Poles have been employed for very nearly, if not quite as long. Nearly all of those who are now on farms have been at some time or are now employed in the rock quarries. The primary reason for the settlement of the Poles in this locality was the opportunity for industrial employment. There has never been any organized effort to get them to the farms, but they have gone of their own volition. This settlement is not important from the standpoint of a purely agricultural community, as but few, compared with the large number engaged in farming, depend solely upon the farms. A majority of the farms were purchased after the vendees had been in the community for several years, and had saved enough from their earnings to make at least a substantial payment if not to pay cash for their purchases. The settlement on the farms has been gradual,

continued over a period of thirty years. There are at present about 120 families, each owning from 5 to 100 acres, and living within a radius of 4 or 5 miles of Berea.

The terms of purchase, as well as the price paid for the land, have been varied. Usually, the greater number paid cash, in some instances raising part of the money by means of mortgages executed to third persons, and in other instances the vendors have taken the mortgage. Different prices have been paid; those buying twenty-five years ago paid less than the more recent purchasers, since land values are constantly advancing. The proximity to market and to town, as well as the improvements in the way of buildings and fertility of the soil, has influenced the price of land. Some of the soil is better adapted to truck crops, and consequently brings better prices. The size of the tract also affects the price, a small tract of 5 to 10 acres selling for much more per acre than a larger area of the same quality of land with the same improvements.

Because of the opportunities for outside employment and because most of the purchasers have bought only small tracts, for which they could soon pay, the immigrants at Berea have suffered few of the pioneer hardships frequently experienced by immigrants in purely agricultural localities. At present, the principal part of the work on most of the farms is done by the women and children, while the head of the family works in the stone quarries. The primary object in buying small tracts is to reduce the living expenses of the family by making it possible to keep a cow and some poultry, as well as to raise vegetables for the family table. In most instances sufficient land was bought in the beginning to raise some surplus produce for the market.

SOIL AND CLIMATE.

Three general types of soil are found in the vicinity of Berea. These are sandy and clay loams, and muck. Generally speaking. the soil is of good quality and very productive when intelligently farmed. To the south, the southwest, and the southeast of the town the country is rolling and the soil is less fertile than in other directions. The clay loam grows good crops of corn, oats, and wheat while most of the soils found in the vicinity, except the muck, produce fine vegetables and potatoes. The muck land, which is very valuable for onion culture when properly drained, commands a higher price than other lands, and of course rents at a higher rate. It is not as well suited, however, for many of the cereals as other land found in this locality.

As for climate, the hottest months at Berea are July and August. when the temperature rarely reaches 98° F. for more than one day in the year, and the normal for these two months is about 70° F. The coldest weather is generally in February, when the temperature rarely goes below zero, and the normal is about 25° F. to 30° F. The normal annual temperature is about 50° F. The greatest precipitation is generally in May, June, and July, when most needed by growing crops; the normal rainfall for the year is about 35 to 40 inches.