Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-02-09
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
The Annual Progress Of the United States in the
Settlement and Cultivation of Land.


whole United States sold and mostly occupied in single
generation In consequence Of this that find improved
farms in New York and Pennsy sold, uaequenty,
at 500 per In another generaon the best lands OF
Ohio will command more than that price.
OF importance to all men, who either hold expect
hold lands to ascertain, possible, the progress of actual
settlement and cultivation. This problem be diff
cult, but may be solved with sufficient accuracy to afford
very clear Of the actual progress Of the American nation
in the settlement of lands 1t is only necessary to know
the proportion Of agrculuss the whole people, the amount
Of emigration, the sales Of the public lands and tho annual
increase Of the inhabitants All these know The po
puaion increases % per each year. Taking the year
ls4s the basis Of calculation, the white population was
about Ia, ,000 000 The increase in l649, at 81 per cents
100000. The average emigration for three or four
years (Which is the bass) about 00O The in
crease OF population is thus made up:
Increase Of native born .350,000
Do forvgn born ........--......S 1000
The number of persons employed In agriculture 10 n per
cent rather than three ourths Of the whole people
OF the increase Of the two elements Of population stated
above the numbers Of farming and planting people Get three
fourhs Of the whole) stand thus
American born, |oS'ooo
Emgrants,. .-.. .lSI,oOO
OF the first class (262. .5OO) may safely that
about oneha provided for by nheritances while the
all purchase lands, the farms Of those who must in
their turn, purchase The whole Of the emigrant
farming people be provided with lands The total num-
Der of be provided with lands the basis OF the
population Of lS4s is, then
American born, l3l, 200
Emlgrante lcf,oVu
Total, .5lS,10U
The provision, however, is be made by families, and
individuals and the proportion of heads of families to
the whole number Of persons is about in 6. There
therefore, on the above calculation 53 l25 tracts of public
land required to supply the actual demand Of the farming
people for land. The public land is sold in tracts Of
40, 80, l6O, $780, and GAO each is well known,
however, that the emgrants purchase in nine out Of
ten very email tracts of land We 80 for each
family the amount required by actual settlers This gives
for 53 1875 tracts, the aggregate of 600 acres Of
land required IL ls4s for actual and settlement This is
the theory If it be correct will vary very largely from
the sale Of public lands when there is speculative fever to
false demand. Let how they correspond.
We find the entries Of public lands in l84S to be thus
Sold by the Government. ,ss7,5 553 acres
Mexican War Warrants entered, q, 2S8, $50
State selections under the act Of ls4l. 37s,05s
Improvement Of Rivers, &c............. S2l,lss
Chocaw Certificates, es,.................. 57,24O
Total acres entered. ed,........... A, 933, ,0O9
Deducng from this total the State and Internal Improve
ent selections, and have 4,233 763 entered
use and settlement, almost the very amount had
rived at by the theory Of increasing population
The increase Of land entries in the three years prior to
I849, were as follows:
Land entered in 1916. ,904 637
ls47. 3,296, ,4O4 {"
I" " l64S a, ,S55, UOS =
This increase very large but it must be recocced that
In these three years emigration immensely increased BY
the European famine Of 1886. The emigration 10 these three
years exceeded by PERSONS what would have been
under the former proportions. This number Of emgans
would require about 500 900 that il the ucua-
ons occaoned by foreign emigration were left out of view,
the actual increase Of the sales public lands would be found
to proceed exactly proportion 10 the increase Of population
at home
There two disturbing causes of the irreguary in the
amount of land Sold These speculation and emigration
The latter know and estimate exactly but the for
(specuation) may anticipate whenever the paper
currency largely increased but cannot tell exactly its
effect In 1885, 1885, and 1887 most specnla-
ton in public lands occurred Many of the highest official
officers Of the Government involved in it. and few
cuave bubbles have exceeded that in extent and
by spectators alone The that for the next
Ave years the sales Of public land greatly fell off, BY ls45
however, the sales had got into the ordinary channel and
since then have regularly increased The sales OF ls4950
will be about fue millions Of acres per
We easily form idea from the above data of the
rate, at what time the lands of States will be occupied
and settled.
The State Of Ohio contains about tDentyue millions Of
acres The annual sales of public lands is fre millions
Consequently the sales of public lands amount to the wo
surface Of the State Of Ohio each ue gears In ten years.
ments provided the lands all aable But they not
We allow full third Of the best States for
occupation in the first generation, by of inferior soils
The conclusion of the WHOLE them is that the people of the
United States actually progress the purchase settlement
and occupation Of and at the rate of THREE AvERAaE
SIZED STATES YEARs-Ctncinrdi Chronicle
and atlas.