The Progress., 1893-07-29
WHAT ONE ACRE WILL YIELD.
The Limit Probably Reached by land In
New Nnrl.,. -ir,t Mhrn.

New Yor!.', first Ward.
An nc"c Of land j. f.Si9 square yards, or
IS 500 square feet. 1t is the ordinary meas
ure of ground among farmers and surveyors,
but the cIrnin" capacity of acres varies
considerably. About the simplest use. in
volving 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 no
capital, but patience, and yield, on the
average S225 per acre n year Then there
are the fruits of husbandry and farming
gained through toll and cultivation, and
greatest of course in the rolling prairies or
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,
Sll; wheat, Sl5; barley, SlI; corn, SIS; peas,
So; sweet potatoes SO; spinach, So; wa
termelons, SSl; grapes, Sl22; currants, Sl2U,
cabbage, Sl33; beets, $50; peaches, $50,
Strawberries, $50; tomatoes, SlG5; musk
melons, SIS; asparagus, SlS3, and celery,
SPA. 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 usL.:ily more cultivation and
greater care.
Taking 10 feet as the average width Cf a
railroad bed, ,3J6 feet of track would com
prise, stretched out in Il straight line az
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 acknowledge
among railroad men TO have the largc--
gross earnings of any in thcworld, with ths
two exceptions of the New York elevated
and the London underground. But taking.
a. fairer for the purpose, the whole Penn
sylyauia system, it is found that the annual
gross receipts amount TO about SlOO,OO,pp
for the > 800 miles of track operated. or
this total 81. 10000 l. net receipts. Ia
other words, this railroad system earns
$1,000 a mile net, or 800 an acre, and
the latter figure may be given as the high
est earning capacity of an acre of land given
over to railroad transportation. This j.
high figure. 1t is greater than the gains
FROM either forestry or husbandry, but it
shrinks into unimportance 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. i,
nearly 25,cO1 acres. That tranquil stream
divides territorially the town into two al
most equal parts, there being 12,516 acres
south and l@,3l1 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 l5i
acres. The assessed value of its real estate
is SO, ,GO0gOO. When 20 this is added the
value Of land exempt from taxation, which
is So, ,O0OOOO, 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 Sl55,-
OO0.0C0, 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 ) 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 year per acre.
That is the highest point, and these, then,
are the figures: Forest land, 81 % an acre;
farming land, so to $50; railroad bed,
$4,000: New Yorl, real estate, business sec
tion, $50, ,OC0.-New York sun.