CODEBOOK AND USER'S MANUAL: A SURVEY OF 549 FARMERS IN WISCONSIN, 1895; REPORTED IN THE SEVENTH BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE WISCONSIN BUREAU OF LABOR, CENSUS AND INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS Version 1.1 July 15, 1993 Susan B. Carter Roger L. Ransom Richard Sutch Hongcheng Zhao Historical Labor Statistics Project Institute of Business and Economic Research University of California Berkeley, California 94720 This codebook is a preliminary draft. The data described here and accompanying this version of the codebook is still in a preliminary format and may contain errors. Those wishing to use this data for research purposes should check with the authors for an update. Neither the collectors of the data or those sponsoring the data collection wish to bear responsibility for the use to which others may make of this data. The financial support of the National Science Foundation, the All-UC Group in Economic History, and of the Institute of Business and Economic Research and the Laboratory for Historical Research, both of the University of California, is appreciated. For further description of the Historical Labor Statistics Project, discussion of the social, economic, and political context in which the data were collected, and an assessment of data quality, see Susan B. Carter, Roger L. Ransom, and Richard Sutch, "The Historical Labor Statistics Project at the University of California," Historical Methods 24 (2) (Spring 1991): 52-65 and Susan B. Carter, Roger L. Ransom, and Richard Sutch, "Doing the Wright Thing: Carroll Wright and the State Labor Statistics Movement." Paper Presented at the Conference on Historical Labor Statistics, Lawrence, Kansas, June 1991. Suggested Citation: Susan B. Carter, Roger L. Ransom, Richard Sutch, and Hongcheng Zhao. Codebook and User's Manual: Survey of 549 Farmers in Wisconsin, 1895; Reported in the Seventh Biennial Report of the Wisconsin Bureau of Labor, Census and Industrial Statistics. Berkeley: Institute of Business and Economic Research, 1993. A SURVEY OF 549 FARMERS IN WISCONSIN, 1895 In its Seventh Biennial Report of 1895-1896, the Wisconsin Bureau of Labor, Census and Industrial Statistics published the results of its survey of farmers in that State. The Bureau undertook a survey of farmers because it felt that farming was the most important industry in the economy. It is the farmer who supplies the food and fiber, and upon his prosperity depends the success of manufacturing and mercantile enterprises. When the farmers are prosperous the country is prosperous; when they suffer, the country suffers with them. [1] In light of the importance of farming, it felt that relatively little was known about farmers. The Bureau's stated purpose in conducting the survey was to "add a little to the rather scanty sources of information" regarding the material and social well- being of farmers as well as the "causes by which farming and the farmers are favorably or unfavorably affected." [2] The survey contained a number of questions concerning the personal characteristics of the farmer himself. These included questions on nativity, marital status and family, savings and indebtedness, insurance, and membership in grange, labor and beneficiary organizations. There were also a large number of questions about the farm including area, crops grown, average yield per acre of various crops, the employment and wages of hired help, and the profitability of various activities. The survey was conducted by mail on schedules "developed for this purpose." [3] The response rate was not high. According to the Bureau, "Only a small fraction, hardly 10 percent of the inquiries sent out to farmers throughout the state, were answered." [4] Despite this disappointing showing, the Bureau felt that the individual statements that were submitted, "were evidently prepared with great care." Moreover, the Bureau felt that the schedules that were returned "represent quite fully what may be considered the average social and economic condition of the farmers in Wisconsin, as well as their individual views upon social and economic topics." [5] The Historical Labor Statistics Project has transformed these data into machine-readable form using the procedures and codes outlined in this Codebook. Table 1 lists the questions asked in the survey and the variable names assigned to each response. Tables 2 through 31 present descriptive statistics on the values and distributions of responses to the questions asked including, where necessary, the numeric codes used in entering the data into the computer. Since version 1.0, some of the variable names and variable codes have been changed. Users are reminded to be aware of these changes. The data from this sample of 549 farmers in Wisconsin in 1895 has been archived at the Laboratory for Historical Research at the University of California, Riverside. For additional information regarding the availability of these data please contact: Professor Roger Ransom Department of History University of California Riverside, CA 92521 FAX [909] 787-5299 NOTES [1] Wisconsin Bureau of Labor, Census and Industrial Statistics, Seventh Biennial Report, 1895-1896. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1896: 2. [2] Ibid., 5. [3] Ibid., viii. Dates for the mailing and return of survey forms were not stated in the Report. The Historical Labor Statistics Project has, somewhat arbitrarily, assigned the year 1895 to the survey. [4] Ibid., 2. [5] Ibid. Table 1 Questions Asked of Respondents A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Name Description PAGE Page Number ID Case Number SUB_ID Office Number POB Where Born MS Marital Status FAMSIZE Family Size if Married SCH Children at School SCHMO Number of Months of School Attendance during Year YRSFARM How Many Years a Farmer? ACRE Number of Acres in Farm CULTIV Number of Acres under Cultivation VALACRE Value Per Acre Including Improvements MORTINTR If your Farm is Mortgaged, What Interest do You Pay? STAP1 What is your Staple Product 1? STAP2 What is your Staple Product 2? STAP3 What is your Staple Product 3? STAP4 What is your Staple Product 4? STAP5 What is your Staple Product 5? STAP6 What is your Staple Product 6? YWHEAT What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Wheat? YOATS What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Corn? YBARLEY What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Barley? YCORN What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Corn? YBUCK What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Buckwheat? YPOTAT What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Potato? YTOBAC What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Tobacco? YHAY What is the Average Yield Per Acre of Hay? MALSUM How Many Men do You Employ in Summer? MALWIN How Many Men do You Employ in Winter? MALPAYS What Wages do You Pay Men in Summer? MALPAYW What Wages do You Pay Men in Winter? BRDWASH Does It Include Board and Washing? HIRE Is Help Hired by the Week, Month or Season? WGCHG1 Is Wages for Farm Help Higher or Lower Now than One Year Ago? WGCHG2 Is Wages for Farm Help Higher or Lower Now than Two Years Ago? WGCHG3 Is Wages for Farm Help Higher or Lower Now than Three Years Ago? CHGWG1 Amount by Which Wages are Higher or Lower Now than a Year Ago. CHGWG2 Amount by Which Wages are Higher or Lower Now than Two Years Ago. CHGWG3 Amount by Which Wages are Higher or Lower Now than Three Years ago. FEMSUM How Many Women do You Employ in Summer? FEMWIN How Many Women do You Employ in Winter? FEMPAYS What Wages do You Pay Women in Summer? FEMPAYW What Wages do You Pay Women in Winter? FEMSCE Is Female Help Scarce? TENFARM Is There a Tendency Among Unmarried Farm Laborers to Acquire and Own a Farm? IFSAV Have You Accumulated any Savings during the Past Year? IFSAV5 Have You Accumulated any Savings during the Past Five Years? IFDEBT Did You Run into Debt the Past Year? LABORG Do You Belong to any Grange or Labor Organization? BENESOC Do You Belong to any Beneficiary Organization? INSLIFE Do You Carry any Life Insurance? INSFIRE Are You Insured against Fire? Table 2 Place of Birth [POB] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 19 1 California 1 2 Connecticut 5 3 Delaware 1 4 Illinois 8 5 Indiana 7 6 Kentucky 1 7 Maine 7 8 Massachusetts 2 9 Michigan 1 10 Minnesota 1 11 Nebraska 1 12 New Hampshire 2 13 New Jersey 1 14 New York 73 15 Ohio 22 16 Pennsylvania 9 17 Vermont 9 18 Wisconsin 204 19 Austria 1 20 Bohemia 1 21 Canada 13 22 Denmark 4 23 England 35 24 France 2 25 Germany 42 26 Holland 1 27 Ireland 24 28 Norway 39 29 Poland 2 30 Prussia 1 31 Russia 1 32 Scotland 5 33 Switzerland 2 34 Wales 2 Total 549 Table 3 Marital Status [MS] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency 1 Single 32 2 Married 517 Total 549 Table 4 Family Size if Married [FAMSIZE] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Number or code Frequency -9(No response) 51 1 person 7 2 43 3 47 4 82 5 83 6 70 7 65 8 37 9 22 10 24 11 6 12 7 13 4 14 0 15 0 16 1 Total 549 Table 5 Children at School [SCH] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 177 1 Too old 2 2 Yes 370 Total 549 Table 6 Number of Months in School [SCHMO] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Months or code Frequency -9(No response) 181 1 month 0 2 1 3 8 4 12 5 13 6 44 7 53 8 100 9 129 10 7 11 1 Total 549 Notes: Farmer 503 left Family Size and Children in school blank but has months at school = 6. Farmers 5, 8 and 171 stated they had children at school, but did not state number of months. Table 7 Number of Years a Farmer [YRSFARM] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Years or code Frequency -9(No response) 2 -8("Always") 104 1 - 5 years 26 6 - 10 33 11 - 15 54 16 - 20 66 21 - 25 54 26 - 30 89 31 - 35 21 36 - 40 50 41 - 45 27 46 - 50 17 51 - 69 6 Total 549 Table 8 Number of Acres in Farm and Number of Acres under Cultivation A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Acres In farm Under Cultivation or code [ACRE] [CULTIV] -9(No response) 3 5 15 - 100 acres 87 262 101 - 200 252 202 201 - 300 111 63 301 - 400 63 9 401 - 500 20 6 501 - 1,160 13 2 Total 549 549 Table 9 Value Per Acre (including improvements) [VALACRE] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Value or code Frequency -9(No response) 17 $3.00 - 10.00 10 10.01 - 20.00 63 20.01 - 30.00 76 30.01 - 40.00 84 40.01 - 50.00 106 50.01 - 60.00 62 60.01 - 70.00 45 70.01 - 80.00 56 80.01 - 90.00 11 90.01 - 100.00 17 100.01 - 125.00 2 Total 549 Table 10 Interest If Have Mortgage [MORTINTR] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Percent or code Frequency -9(No response) 355 4.00 % 3 5.00 32 5.50 4 5.75 1 6.00 67 6.25 1 6.50 5 7.00 55 7.50 2 8.00 21 8.50 1 9.00 1 10.00 1 Total 549 Table 11 Staples A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Code Response 1 2 3 4 5 6 [STAP1][STAP2][STAP3][STAP4][STAP5][STAP6] -9 No response 28 67 156 322 476 547 1 Barley 20 28 33 22 3 1 2 Berries 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Buckwheat 0 0 1 1 1 0 4 Cane 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 Cattle 2 5 6 0 2 0 6 Clover 0 1 1 2 1 0 7 Corn 193 124 52 11 4 0 8 Cranberries 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 Dairy 50 8 16 17 7 0 10 Div. Farming 2 0 0 0 0 0 11 Flax 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 Garden Prod. 1 0 0 1 0 0 13 Gen'l Farming 0 1 0 0 0 0 14 Grain 9 6 1 1 0 0 15 Grass 2 1 6 1 0 0 16 Hay 23 18 72 50 12 0 17 Hogs 6 25 10 9 1 0 18 Hops 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 Mix Farming 14 0 0 0 0 0 20 Oats 104 226 66 6 0 0 21 Pease 5 0 1 4 1 0 22 Potatoes 20 3 32 47 26 1 23 Poultry 1 0 1 0 0 0 24 Raspberries 1 0 0 0 0 0 25 Roots 0 1 0 0 0 0 26 Rye 5 16 10 25 2 0 27 Seed 0 0 0 0 1 0 28 Sheep 1 1 2 1 0 0 29 Small Fruit 1 0 0 0 0 0 30 Stock 3 8 5 5 8 0 31 Tobacco 6 3 12 7 0 0 32 Vegetables 0 0 1 0 0 0 33 Wheat 50 7 65 11 3 0 34 Wool 0 0 0 1 1 0 Total 549 549 549 549 549 549 Notes: Farmer 114 -- changed Jersey Cattle to Cattle [STAP1] Farmer 117 -- changed Cows to Dairy [STAP2] Farmer 437 -- changed Grass Seed to Grass [STAP2] Farmer 544 -- changed Ryes to Rye [STAP2] Farmer 79 -- changed Garden Stuff to Garden Produce [STAP4] Farmer 218 -- changed Pork to Hogs [STAP4] Table 12 Yields Per Acre of Wheat, Oats, Barley, Corn and Buckwheat A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Yields Wheat Oats Barley Corn Buckwheat or code [YWHEAT] [YOATS][YBARLEY][YCORN] [YBUCK] -9(No response) 271 32 312 63 474 1 - 5 2 1 0 0 0 6 - 10 46 2 3 1 9 11 - 15 73 5 9 4 19 16 - 20 95 26 25 10 23 21 - 25 43 26 38 19 9 26 - 30 13 77 70 47 9 31 - 35 4 78 37 44 2 36 - 40 1 149 43 126 3 41 - 45 0 47 3 36 0 46 - 50 1 82 7 105 1 51 - 55 0 8 1 4 0 56 - 60 0 13 1 27 0 61 - 65 0 2 0 3 0 66 - 70 0 0 0 8 0 71 - 75 0 0 0 21 0 76 - 80 0 1 0 7 0 81 - 85 0 0 0 4 0 86 - 90 0 0 0 7 0 91 - 95 0 0 0 0 0 96 - 100 0 0 0 12 0 101 - 125 0 0 0 1 0 Total 549 549 549 549 549 Table 13 Yields Per Acre of Potato [YPOTAT] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Yields or code Frequency -9(No response) 101 1 - 25 11 26 - 50 80 51 - 75 81 76 - 100 158 101 - 125 21 126 - 150 60 151 - 175 3 176 - 200 26 201 - 400 8 Total 549 Table 14 Yields Per Acre of Tobacco [YTOBAC] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Pounds or code Frequency -9(No response) 503 700 lbs. 1 900 2 1000 10 1100 5 1200 15 1350 1 1400 4 1500 6 1600 1 2000 1 Total 549 Table 15 Yields Per Acre of Tobacco [YHAY] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Tons or code Frequency -9(No response) 77 0.25 - 1.00 ton 103 1.01 - 2.00 327 2.01 - 3.00 40 3.01 - 4.00 2 Total 549 Table 16 Number of Men Employed in Summer and Winter A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Number In summer In winter or code [MALSUM] [MALWIN] -9(No response) 141 279 1 man employed 221 210 2 131 50 3 35 6 4 14 2 5 4 2 6 1 0 7 0 0 8 2 0 Total 549 549 Table 17 Wages Paid in Summer and Winter A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Wages In summer In winter or code [MALPAYS] [MALPAYW] -9(No response) 127 271 $4.00 - 5.00 0 5 5.01 - 10.00 2 103 10.01 - 15.00 39 102 15.01 - 20.00 311 58 20.01 - 25.00 35 5 25.01 - 30.00 29 4 30.01 - 35.00 5 1 35.01 - 39.00 1 0 Total 549 549 Table 18 Is Board and Washing Included [BRDWASH] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 150 1 No 22 2 Yes 343 3 Board 34 Total 549 Table 19 How is Help Hired [HIRE] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 142 1 Day 23 2 Month 269 3 Season 61 4 Both 15 5 All ways 18 6 Year 21 Total 549 Table 20 Are Wages Higher or Lower 1, 2, and 3 Years Ago? A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Code Response 1 yr. ago 2 yr. ago 3 yr. ago [WGCHG1] [WGCHG2] [WGCHG3] -9 No response 113 213 253 1 Lower 200 170 160 2 Higher 38 43 29 3 Same 198 123 107 Total 549 549 549 Table 21 By How Much Have Wages Changed in One Year? [CHGWG1] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Value or code Frequency If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '-9', -9(No response) 113 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '1', -8(Lowered, but no amount given) 19 $1.00 - 2.00 111 2.01 - 3.00 41 3.01 - 4.00 9 4.01 - 5.00 17 5.01 - 6.00 2 6.01 - 6.50 1 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '2', -7(Higher, but no amount given) 4 $1.00 5 2.00 14 3.00 2 4.00 4 5.00 8 6.00 1 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '3', -6("Same") 198 Total 549 Table 22 By How Much Have Wages Changed in Two Years? [CHGWG2] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Value or code Frequency If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '-9', -9(No response) 213 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '1', -8(Lowered, but no amount given) 7 -4("30%") 1 -2("$4.00-5.00") 1 -1("$1.00-2.00") 1 $1.00 - 2.00 62 2.01 - 3.00 43 3.01 - 4.00 24 4.01 - 5.00 20 5.01 - 6.00 7 6.01 - 9.00 4 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '2', -7(Higher, but no amount given) 1 -5("33.33%") 1 $1.00 3 2.00 19 2.50 1 3.00 4 4.00 5 5.00 7 6.00 2 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '3', -6("Same") 123 Total 549 Table 23 By How Much Have Wages Changed in Three Years? [CHGWG3] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Value or code Frequency If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '-9', -9(No response) 253 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '1', -8(Lowered, but no amount given) 6 -3("25%") 1 -2("$4.00-5.00") 1 -1("$1.00-2.00") 1 $1.00 - 2.00 51 2.01 - 3.00 31 3.01 - 4.00 28 4.01 - 5.00 23 5.01 - 6.00 8 6.01 - 13.00 10 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '2', -5("33.33%") 1 $1.00 2 2.00 10 2.50 6 3.00 2 4.00 5 5.00 3 6.00 If the answer to WGCHG1 in Table 21 is '3', -6("Same") 107 Total 549 Table 24 Number of Women Employed in Summer and Winter A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Number In summer In winter or code [FEMSUM] [FEMWIN] -9(No response) 352 419 1 woman employed 172 114 2 24 15 3 1 1 Total 549 549 Table 25 Wages Paid to Women in Summer and Winter A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Wages In summer In winter or code [FEMPAYS] [FEMPAYW] -9(No response) 340 409 $1.00 2 8 1.25 6 4 1.50 21 28 1.75 9 5 2.00 105 67 2.25 11 5 2.50 37 15 2.75 3 1 3.00 12 6 3.25 0 0 3.50 2 0 3.75 1 1 Total 549 549 Table 26 Is Female Help Scarce [FEMSCE] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 86 1 No 65 2 Yes 397 3 Very 1 Total 549 Table 27 Is the General Tendency to Acquire and Own a Farm [TENFARM] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 223 1 No 162 2 Yes 157 3 Some 6 4 Part 1 Total 549 Table 28 Accumulated Savings during Past Year, Past Five Years? A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Code Response Past year Past five years [IFSAV] [IFSAV5] -9 No response) 36 27 1 No 240 90 2 Yes 273 432 Total 549 549 Table 29 Run into Debt during Past Year [DEBT] A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Code Response Frequency -9 No response 17 1 No 445 2 Yes 87 Total 549 Table 30 Belong to a Grange or Labor Organization and a Beneficiary Orgnization A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Code Response Labor orgnization Beneficiary org. [LABORG] [BENESOC] -9 No response) 14 26 1 No 516 410 2 Yes 19 113 Total 549 549 Table 31 Carry Life Insurance and Insured against Fire A Survey of 549 Wisconsin Farmers, 1895 Frequency Code Response Life Insurance Fire Insurance [INSLIFE] [INSFIRE] -9 No response) 10 4 1 No 367 34 2 Yes 172 511 Total 549 549