76 LoN L. Swift CHAPTER IX. Oregon's Farms in 1900. In order to get a view of the agricultural conditions of Ore- gon, the nature and extent of farming in this state will be con- sidered. Our study will deal first with the number and average area of farms, total and improved acreage of farm land, total and average value of farms. The total number of farms in Oregon in 1900 was 35,578, the average area per farm, 283.1 acres, making a total num- ber of 10,071,328 acres, or 15,736.45 square miles of farm land, which is approximately one-sixth of the total area of the state. The improved portion of farm land was 3,328,308 acres, or one-third of the total area of farm land. The total value of the farm land in the state was $172,761,287, being an average value per farm of $4821, a value equal to $17.15 for each and every acre of farm land. A clearer conception of the data on these points may be had by comparing Oregon to each of the four geographical divis- ions : United States, Western Division, California and Wash- ington. TABLE 13. NUMBER, TOTAL AND IMPROVED (WITH PER CENT. IMPROVED) ACREAGE; TOTAL AND AVERAGE VALUE OF FARMS, AND AVERAGE VALUE PER ACRE OF FARM LAND IN THE UNITED STATES, WESTERN DIVISION, CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, AND OREGON, IN 1900. (*) Items. United States Western Division California Washington Oregon Total number of farms 5,705,695 238,641 71,451 32,945 35,578 Average area 147.4 393.5 403.5 258.0 283.1 Total area of farm land 841,201,546 93,796,860 28,828,951 8,499,297 10,071,328 Improved area of farm land . 414,793,191 27,155,681 11,958,832 3,465,960 3,328,308 Per cent, of area improved 49.3 29.0 41.5 40.8 33.0 Total value of farm land.. . . $20,514,001,838 $1,714,593,969 $796,527,955 $144,040,547 $172,761,287 Average value $3,574 $7,059 $10,980 $4,338 $4,821 Average value $24.39 $18.28 $27.63 $16.95 $17.15
- U. S. Census Reports for 1900, Twelfth Census, Vol. V, pp. 688-689 and
692-695.----
