of families. In 1920, according to returns published in the Year
Book of Churches by the Federal Council of Churches, there were
2,960 Jewish congregations with a membership of 260,000; 784
Sunday-schools with a membership of 108,534. These figures may
be compared with the report of the Bureau of Census which gives
1,901 congregations and 357,135 members for the year 1916. According
to the American Jewish Year Book for 1920 there were in 1918
3,390,300 Jews as against 1,777,185 in 1907. According to the same
authority nearly one-half, or 48.6%, of the Jews resided in the state
of New York in 1918, and 45% in New York City. It is estimated
that 26% of the total pop. of New York City is Jewish. Between
1907 and 1918 the Jewish pop. of New York state increased from
905,000 to 1,603,923; Pennsylvania, from 150,000 to 322,406; and
Illinois, from 110,000 to 246,637. It was also estimated that the
Jewish pop. constituted about 3.2% of the total pop. of the United
States; in New York it was 15%; in Connecticut and Massachusetts
5% and in Maryland 4.5%. Jewish immigration 1899-1919
numbered 1,551,315, or 10.4% of the total number of immigrants.
Agriculture.—During the decade 1910-20, the number of farms showed a slight gain, 1.4%. In 1920 there were 6,448,343 as compared with 6,361,502 in 1910. A comparison of these numbers with the total pop. shows that in 1910 there was one farm for every 14 of the pop., and in 1920 one farm for every 16. The decrease in the number of farms was particularly marked in states east of the Mississippi; for example, in Connecticut 15.5%; Massachusetts 13.4%; New York 10.5%; Ohio 5.6%; and Illinois 5.8%. In New England the number of farms decreased by 32,238, giving in 1920 one farm for every 47 persons. The total farm acreage increased somewhat more rapidly than the number of farms, from 878,798,325 ac. to 955,883,715 ac., nearly 8.8%. The greater portion of this increase was due to the use of land for dry farming in the arid states of the Rocky Mountain section and also to the enclosure of large areas for grazing. In 1919 there were 507,000,000 ac. under cultivation. One half of the total land area of the United States was in 1920 included in farms, as compared with 46.2% in 1910. Of the 956,000,000 ac. included in farms, 88,000,000 in 1919 was devoted to corn; 73,000,000 to wheat; 73,000,000 to hay; 38,000,000 to oats; and 33,000,000 to cotton. Nearly one-third of the farm area and nearly one-sixth of the total land area is used for the growing of these five products. The average size of farms slightly increased between 1910-20, from 138.1 ac. to 148.2 acres. Notwithstanding the small increase in the number of farms, and of acreage in farms, the value of all farms, lands and buildings increased from $35,000,000,000 in 1910 to $66,000,000,000 in 1920, or 90%. This increase, however, was due largely to the abnormally high prices prevailing in 1920, rather than to new investments and improvement of property. For the same reason the average value of land and buildings per farm for the United States as a whole greatly increased, rising from $5,471 in 1910 to $10,284 in 1920. In 1910 62.1% of farms were owned by their cultivators and in 1920 60.9%. In New England, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, there was a decline in tenancy but there was a marked increase in the Mountain and Pacific states. During the decade 1910-20 native white farmers increased from 4,721,063 to 4,917,386; foreign-born white farmers decreased from 669,556 to 581,068; coloured farmers increased from 920,883 to 949,889. The countries furnishing the greater number of foreign-born farmers were, in 1920, Germany (140,667), Sweden (60,461), Norway (51,999), Canada (48,688), Russia (32,388), Austria (30,172), England (26,614), Denmark (25,565), Italy (18,267), Poland (17,352), Ireland (16,562), Holland (15,589), Finland (14,988), Switzerland (13,051), Mexico (12,142), Scotland (7,605), Hungary (7,122), France (6,119).
The United States is an agricultural country, but the question is frequently asked whether agriculture is keeping pace with the growth of the population. A comparison of the annual crop for the three-year period 1907-9 with that for the period 1917-9 for corn, wheat, and oats gives the following:—
| Average 1917-9 bushels |
Average 1907-9 bushels | |
| Corn | 2,828,000,000 | 2,678,000,000 |
| Wheat | 833,000,000 | 679,000,000 |
| Oats | 1,459,000,000 | 856,000,000 |
A comparison of these figures with the population at the respective dates shows that the per capita product of corn is slightly less, that of wheat and oats greater.
Table 9 shows the estimated annual crop of some of the most important agricultural staples for each of the 10 years, 1910-9.
Table 9. Annual Crops; in millions.
| Corn (bus.) |
Wheat (bus.) |
Oats (bus.) |
Cotton (bales) |
Irish potatoes (bus.) |
Tobacco (lb.) |
Wool (lb.) | |
| 1910 | 2,886 | 635 | 1,186 | 11.6 | 349 | 1,103 | 321 |
| 1911 | 2,531 | 621 | 922 | 15.7 | 293 | 905 | 319 |
| 1912 | 3,125 | 730 | 1,418 | 13.7 | 421 | 963 | 304 |
| 1913 | 2,447 | 763 | 1,122 | 14.2 | 332 | 954 | 296 |
| 1914 | 2,673 | 891 | 1,141 | 16.1 | 410 | 1,035 | 290 |
| 1915 | 2,995 | 1,026 | 1,549 | 11.2 | 360 | 1,062 | 286 |
| 1916 | 2,567 | 636 | 1,252 | 11.4 | 287 | 1,153 | 288 |
| 1917 | 3,065 | 637 | 1,593 | 11.3 | 442 | 1,249 | 282 |
| 1918 | 2,503 | 921 | 1,538 | 12.0 | 412 | 1,439 | 299 |
| 1919 | 2,346 | 945 | 1,055 | 11.3 | 290 | 1,372 | 307 |
The annual production of cotton did not greatly change in the 10 years 1910-9, running about 11,000,000 bales (500 lb.). Domestic consumption, however, slowly increased, leaving a smaller amount for export. During the five-year period, 1910-4, the average annual export was 8,811,000 bales, and in the five years 1915-9, 6,310,000 bales, a decline of 28 per cent. The production of wool also remained fairly constant, approximating 300,000,000 lb. annually. Imports in the years 1915-9 were greater than ever before and the total consumption therefore larger, as exports were insignificant. The average annual consumption, domestic and foreign, 1910-4, was 509,000,000 lb., and 1915-9 690,000,000 lb. Since 1914 the United States has been dependent upon foreign countries for more than one-half its wool consumption as compared with two-fifths, or even only one-third in the earlier years of the century.
Strenuous efforts were made during the World War period, even before the entry of the United States, to increase the production of wheat. In 1916 the average farm value per bus. for the first time since the decade following the Civil War, was above $1. A record crop was produced in 1915, amounting to over a thousand million bushels. The average annual production for the five years 1910-4 was 697,000,000 bus., and in the succeeding five years 1915-9, 822,000,000, giving an average annual increase of 125,000,000; on the basis of an annual per capita consumption of five bus. this provided bread for 25,000,000 people. In the years 1910-4 the average annual export was 125,000,000 bus., and in 1915-9, 240,000,000 bushels.
The domestic beet-sugar industry during the 10 years 1910-9 became firmly established. Until 1907 the volume of beet-sugar production was less than that of cane sugar; in later years it has been far in excess. The production, in millions of pounds, was 1,775 in 1910 (cane 750, beet 1,025); 1,937 in 1915 (cane 493, beet 1,444); and 2,091 in 1919 (cane 569, beet 1,522). The outlying possessions of the United States (Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippine Is.) provide an amount of sugar approximately equal to that produced at home. This, however, does not meet the demands of domestic consumption, and the United States is still dependent upon foreign countries for half its needs. The annual per capita production of sugar was approximately 80 lb. in 1920 as compared with 70 lb. in 1900.
The crops of hay, sweet potatoes, rye, barley, and rice, as estimated by the Department of Agriculture for 1910 and 1919, are seen in Table 10.
Table 10. Hay and other Crops.
| 1919 | 1910 | |||
| Amount | Farm Value | Amount | Farm Value | |
| Hay (short tons) | 91,326,000 | $1,839,967,000 | 60,978,000 | $747,769,000 |
| Sweet potatoes (bus.) | 78,091,000 | 124,844,000 | 59,938,000 | 40,216,000 |
| Rye (bus.) | 88,478,000 | 119,041,000 | 34,897,000 | 24,953,000 |
| Barley (bus.) | 165,719,000 | 200,419,000 | 173,832,000 | 100,426,000 |
| Rice (bus.) | 41,059,000 | 109,613,000 | 24,510,000 | 16,624,000 |
In 1919 the production of apples was 26,174,000 bar., of which one state, Washington, yielded one-fourth (6,440,000 bar.). The peach crop amounted to 50,690,000 bus. valued at a little over $100,000,000. In 1918 1,525,792 ac. were devoted to truck crops.
The number of cattle on farms in 1920 was 66,652,559, as compared with 61,803,866 in 1910. This increase did not keep pace with the growth in population. The number of swine was 59,346,409 as compared with 58,185,676 in 1910, and again the increase was not in proportion to population. The number of sheep as estimated by the Department of Agriculture in 1920 was 48,615,000 as against 52,447,861 in 1910. The wool product in 1919 was 307,459,000 lb. as compared with 321,363,000 lb. in 1910. In 1919 the product of Wyoming was 33,415,000 lb.; Idaho, 22,145,000 lb.; Montana, 17,750,000 lb.; Utah, 15,800,000 lb.; New Mexico, 15,076,000 lb.
The Department of Agriculture in its Year Book of 1918 estimates that 350,000,000 ac., or nearly one-fifth of the land area of the United States, is too rough or hilly for the successful cultivation of crops. It may, however, be adapted to the growth of forests or used for grazing purposes. Nearly one-third of the land area, or 600,000,000 ac., receives insufficient rainfall for the profitable production of
