The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-05-14
BUYING FARM LAND.
DON'T BE TEMPTED TO BUY
TOO MUCH.
Prevailing Tendency Is to Buy More
than Can BE Cultivated, and the
Farmer Takes ON a Mortgage that
Weighs Him Down.
Buxinp a Farm.

= AdAC8 Oh a AsAOh skaSS t]Aos
| Weighs Him Down.
Buying a Farm.
A great many men when they set out
to buy farm are tempted to buy three,
six or nine times as much land as they
can handle. They want quarter sec
ton for each member of the family or
| they want to play off as farmer on a
mammoth scale. To carry out his plans
he has only half as much money as he
needs, and he borroWs enough to carry
him through with the purchase at least.
He at once comes under mortgage for
half the value Of the land he has
bought. He begins in the new country
at the bottom, has no money to improve
with or to pay hired help with. He
founders in desperate way until the
end comes. He has no money to buy
fuel for the cold weather season, and in
case of general failure of the crops
he has no money to buy grain or other
feed to carry his stock through the win
ter We know of cases out West where
men are land poor. They own sections
of land-tracts so large that they can
not work them. 1t is choice land as
need be, but they cannot sell it. They
are tied to it. We know of another case
where man had a strong notion of be-
coming the largest land owner in the
world. He bought land until his boun-
dary lines were counted by miles in
length. Then he went to farming. He
bought all the improved patent farm
implements that were known, and left
the most of them out of doors the year
round This kind Of farming resulted
lust as such farming always will re-
suit. Huge fields Of corn left to go into
the winter unhusked, the regular fall
work half done.
Another class of men must cut re-
spectacle figure as farmers, and they
buy a half section or section of land;
may pay for the whole or go in debt for
a part Of the purchase money. The
land may be first rate, but the man has
more land than he can work. He can
not more than about half farm the land
he has undertaken to work. He cannot
keep down the weeds nor properly fer
tilize his ground. The hiring of help
as wanted is very uncertain, these days
especially.
A speculator buys 5000 or 10000
acres Of land in good locality. He is
interested in having settlements made
as fast around his purchase as possible.
He has bought with the calculation that
the settlement Of the country will make
him a fortune. The SPECTATORS land
is usually offered at strong advance
on the price originally paid for it, but
on longtime payments, bearing
healthy rate Of interest. In this way
a good many farmers have been drawn
into trouble and some spectators have
made money. 1t is, however, the policy
of the government of this country to
have all lands sold in small holdings.
A man going into new part of the
country to buy farm should make his
calculation to buy just as much land as
he can pay for and have enough money
left to improve the purchase with. He
should have buildings of the right size
and for all purposes, and should have
fencing Of the right kind, so stock could
neither break in upon him nor break
out. After the farm is well fixed ev-
cry farmer should have bank account
of $500 to $500, which is far better than
to have mortgage to nurse from year
to year. How much anxiety and trou-
BILE has the mortgage made.
We have seen it stated lately that the
amount Of public land outside of that
which has been entered, exclusive of
Alaska, is 600,000,O00 acres. OF course,
whatever the amount is, the estimate
takes in mountain, hill and dale, sand,
plain and every kind of worthless. un-
productive land. 1t will yet be long
time before all the land that is really
desirable is taken up and put to prac-
teal use. The Indian reservations,
when they come into market, sell quick
ly, and they are all choice land.-Rural
Home.