Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-01-25

and yaIeQ OF the I farm Itself. Durlng |
the years when money was plenty, and
the price Of land was pretty steadily adj
vancing, this item was always reckoned
as constituting. much of the profit from
holding land. Large tracts were bought,
and either poorly titled or left useless,
waiting until the Improvements on adj
joining property enhanced the value of
all. This is still done in some western
States, as it's pretty sure always to be
in the settlement Of new localities. But
the profits on the increase in value of
la16 from the labor of Others than their
owner have become very precarious. In
old, settled districts, land left alone
does net increase.in price. Even at the
West the laws justly discriminate against
nonresident owners, taxing such lands
50 heavily a often to force them on the
market, and nearly always enough to
take, all the profits from holding. We
have therefore got. down to ''hard-pan"
in estimating the price Of real estate.
Whatever increase in price is made
must follow a real increase in value
and productive capacity. Land is, and
will be henceforth, worth whatever sum
it win pay interest on above the cost of
producing the crop. This may be un-
favorable to landowners who rely on
speculative values for their profits, but
it is just what is wanted by the real
working farmers Of the country.
While we may not look for large
and sudden increase in the speculative
value Of farms, it is certain that inn
proved condition and greater productive
capacity, resulting from good manage
ment, will not fail Of their reward. The
farmer who improves his land by heavy
manuring. Undertaking where needed,
and clearing it of weeds, has this decided
advantage, that he does not need to sell
in order to reap the profit from his enter
prise and forethought. Judicious i'm,
provement Of the soil is always worth
to the owner good deal more than it
costs or will sell for. Very many farm
ers can increase the productive capacity
of their farms 800 per year by $500 ex-
pended in .judicious UNDERTAKING..
Whoever, does this in New York. has
for $500 added more than 81, 400 to his
working capital. In those Western
States where money is worth 10 per
cent, an Improvement yielding 500
yearly is worth ten times that sum to
keep, if not sell. Wherever possible,
all the profits of the farm should be
yearly invested in such Improvements
~ these, Nothing else will, or can,
nag, 81 well al increasing the productive
tapacity Of the soil. On poor OF wet
land, all the labor Of preparing the
ground, planting Or sowing the crop, is
poorly requited !; while if the land is
improved, as it could and should be, it
will yield profit. With a crop of
twelve bushels Of wheat per acre, poth-
ing is left after paying the cost of pro-
duction, at present low prices of wheat.
In sucha case the land is worth nothing
except as it may be profitably improved.
Increase the crop to thirty bushels per
acre, and all the surplus above twelve
bushels makes the rental value of the
soil. In one case the land is worth
nothing to hold on its present condition
for producing wheat. In the other case
the. land is worth what the price of
eighteen bushels Of wheat will pay the
interest on. These figures are only
approximate; but they show clearly
enough the principle involved. Other
conditions will modify the result. Land
that produces thirty bushels of wheat
per acre must be kept up to that pro-
ductive capacity or such cropping will
speedily decrease the value Of land far
more than the profits. On the other
hand the owner of poor land may be
doing better than his richer neighbor if
the farm Of. the. first is constantly grow
ing richer and that of the other less
fertile. ASS rule however it is per-
fectly safe to say that poor land tends
to grow poorer, while except under bad
management rich soil is apt to increase
in fertility. go s'e
IT needs good farmer and a man
with plenty of capital to take poor land
and build it up into fertile and prof.
table farm. 1t will take years besides
a. good deal of money to make poor
land productive and profitable. No
poor man can afford to buy such land.
He needs farm on which he can at
once begin to make money. This re-
verses the usual course but it only
shows that in farming as in everytllin g
else the poor meyer do or can make so
good bargains as their richer neighbors.
Solomon said thousands of years ago
that the destruction of the poor is their
poverty. tits just as true now as when
uttered, and is especially true in farm
ing. ~
TOO much land" is the great obstacle
to improvement in American farming.
Increase Of land increases labor, and all
expense, including taxes, while it does
not always increase the production.
Many a farmer who. has bought an
additional fifty, or one hundred acres,
could have realized far more of profit
and pleasure from the Investment of the
same money in improving and beautlfy-
ing his original farm, A thousand
dollars will not do much in our Eastern
States, buying more land !; but it will
accomplish wonders in undertaking
FENCES Most of these. Improvements
will pay for themselves in two or three
seasons at farthest. Ne matter how
lnw the aal1ipg r,r;co Of land may 90 ita