Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-14
WHAT ONE ACRE WILL YIELD.
ihe Limit Probably Reached by Land In
New Yorl's First Ward.

The Limit Probably Reached by Land In
New York's First Ward.
An acre of land is 4.S40 square yards, OF
- $50 square feet. 1t is the ordinary meas
IRE OF ground among farmers and surveyors
but the earning capacity of acres varies
considerably. About the simplest use, in
volvipg the least skill and labor. to which
an acre of land may be put is to the grow.
ing of trees upon it. This requires nc
capital, but patience, and yields on the
average &.25 per acre a year Then there
are the fruits of husbandry and farming,
gained through toll and cultivation, and
greatest of course in the rolling prairies OF
virgin lowlands of the west and northwest.
But taking farming lands nearer home,
in New York state these are found to be
the net returns per acre: Rye, $50; oats,
eli; wheat, SIS; barley, S17; corn, SIS; peas,
so1; sweet potatoes, SIS; spinach, $50; wa
termelons, SSl; grapes, 1922; currants, $l20;
cabbage, $133; beets, $50; peaches, $50;
strawberries, $50; tomatoes, Sl65; musk
melons, SIS; asparagus, $751; and celery,
S2l4. The adaptability of the land for such
products varies. and the value of an acre
corresponds with such variance. The per
ishable crops are subject to great damage
and require usually more cultivation and
greater care
Taking 10 feet as the average width of a
railroad bed, 4 $50 feet of track would COM
prise, stretched out in a straight line, an
acre of land. This is more than four-fifths
of a mile of railroad The portion of the
Pennsylvania road between New York and
Philadelphia is generally acknowledged
among railroad men to have the largest
gross earnings of any in the world, with the
ont rra- Of NSrlr ofa @,.I
and the London underground. But taking,
as fairer for the purpose, the whole Penn
sylvania system, it is found that the annual
gross receipts amount to about 800, COO, 900
Tor the 800 miles of track operated. OF
this total S31 ,500,0 G0 is net receipts. In
other words, this railroad system earns
$4,000 mile net, or Sl2, 500 an acre, and
the latter figure may,ffe given as the high
est earning capacity o. an acre of land given
over to railroad transportation. This is
high figure. 1t is greater than the gains
from either forestry or husbandry, but it
shrinks into unimporrance compared with
the revenue yielded by an acre of New York
city real estate.
The area of New York city, including the
two wards beyond the Harlem river, is
nearly 5000 acres. That tranquil stream
divides territorially the town into two al
most equal parts, there being 12,5i6 acres
south and 1887 acres north of it. The
most valuable part of the city of New York
is the First ward, lying south of Liberty
street and Maiden lane and covering 154
acres. The assessed value of its real estate
is SS9,O00,00O. When to this is added the
value of land exempt from taxation, which
is sec, 100000, and allowance is made for the
difference between assessed and the actual
values, it appears that the real estate of
this territory is worth not less than $780,
100000, or at the rate of 81 100000 an acre,
which is probably larger than the value of
any other piece of real estate in the United
States. At 5 per cent on the amount of
capital represented the annual revenue
from real estate in the First ward of the
city of New York is $4,000 a year per acre
That is the highest point, and these, then,
are the figures: Forest land, 81 o5 IN acre;
farming land, so to $50; railro1d bed,
$1,000; New York real estate, business sec
ton, S50,0O0.-New York Sun.