ften experiences
molds his entire opinion of and attitude toward the United States. From
the viewpoint of the Americanization of the immigrant, therefore, the
questions of land policy, land colonization, and land dealing are of the
utmost importance. Before a discussion of reforms is begun, a general
description of present conditions, from this point of view of
Americanization, is necessary.

[3] Jenks and Lauck, _The Immigration Problem_, p. 100.

[4] The figures for 1910 are taken from the Census of 1910, vol. iv, p.
303. The Census of 1900 does not give occupations by nativity. The figures
for 1900 are taken from the _Reports of the Immigration Commission_, vol.
xxviii, pp. 66, 71-79, prepared from original and unpublished data of the
Census Bureau. Since the figures for immigrant female agricultural laborers
are incomplete, it has been here assumed that they were in the same
proportion to that of the males in 1910--namely, about 9 per cent.
Therefore the figure 22,850 for the immigrant female agricultural laborers
for 1900 represents an estimate of 9 per cent of the number of immigrant
male agricultural laborers for 1900.

[5] _Reports of the United States Immigration Commission_, 1911, vol.
xix, pp. 89-102.

II

LEARNING OF LAND OPPORTUNITIES

The immigrant desiring to settle on land is constantly on the lookout
for an opportunity to acquire land. The most general way of learning of
such opportunity is through personal acquaintance or through
correspondence with relatives and friends of the immigrant's own
nationality who have previously settled on land. These sources of
information are considered by the immigrant to be the most reliable,
although they have certain drawbacks.

FRIENDS, AGENTS, AND ADVERTISEMENTS

First, immigrants on the land are always desirous of increasing the
number of people of their own race or nationality in their particular
locality, for the sake of their own advantage; for the larger their
community the better their social and business opportunities. Therefore
they are often prone to exaggerate the advantages of land and farming in
their section and to be silent as to the disadvantages, so as to induce
more people of their race to join the community.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: THE OWNER OF THIS FARM, SETTLED IN 1917, HAS PERSUADED
SIX MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY TO BUY FARMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD]

Second, it is quite a common practice among immigrant