Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-10-04
Taking up Abandoned Farms.

IL HbeflS strange W redu VI dpuhuuHoa |
farms in New England, and yet there
are plenty of them there, and in Mas
sachusetts the State Hoard OF Agrioul.
ture Is making strong effort to re.
populate them. liz latest catalogue
contains descriptions Of lS6 farms, aud
the secretary states that many OF them
are desirable pieces OF property. The
average acreage of the farms is i3o
acres and the average price asked is
sl,720. This catalogue brings the total
| number Of farms advertised in the
| eighth editions since 1891 to ITO. or
these. 800 farms have been sold and
liza have been withdrawn from market.
or these 300 purchasers, l7s lived in
Massachusetts, IA each in New York
and Connecticut, 5 in New Hampshire,
4 each in Vermont and Rhode Island,
8 each In Ohio, New Jersey, aud
Florida, aud each in Nova Scotia,
Maine, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin
and Kansas; rs did not report. Most
Of them, judging by their names, were
of American parentage. The farms
were purchased fer the following pur-
, poses: For farming, 40; for a home,
26; for investment, Is; for the wood
J and timber, 10; for summer residence,
IS; for poultry with scme farming, 10;
I for dairying, 8; for poultry, y; for
Q sheep, s. for cranberry growing, !.
, No statement was received regarding
80 of these farms
r The popular interest in the subject
: is indicated by those facts; tine last
Q edition was exhausted in March, 1893,
y but in tho year ended August Goth, 1900,
/. requests for catalogues were received as
J. follows: From Massachusetts li5. New
y York 81, Connecticut IL, Rhade Island
10 I, New Hampshire q, and also In
,, smaller number from New Jersey,
+. Pennsylvania. Maine, Vermont, Michi-
j. gan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas. Nova
70 Scotia, Canada, District of Columbia,
A. Indiana, North Carolina, illinois,
Of Alabama, Tennessee. Montana, Cali
IN fornia, North Dakota. Minnesota. and
u Washington to total number of 252.
to The State appropriation for the work
this year was 1000. The first step OF
b. the Board was to send a circular to the
be assessors of the 1853 cities and towns in
of the State asking them to return to the
be Board such farms as they thought came
he under the description, and replies were
n received from lA7. One reply from
nd Berkshire county said: There have
Ter beun 8, 600 acres of our lands sold to ;
,r- New York. party. They we're the poores
lar lands in town. Our farms are bringing
In better figures and we have no aban
10, dnnej farms" One reply from Worces
ter county said that many farms in th
,nt town could be bought for less than th
no cost of the buildings. Circulars wer
if also sent to members of the State Boar
q of Agriculture and to masters q
III granges, and some thirteen farms oh
ths tained in that way, but five of th
my owners did not wish to sell. Circular
md were sent TO the names in the sevent
J edition and forty. eight owners reporte
to that their farms had been sold; tiftee
wished the description omitted, an
seventy wished it continued, viii
seventy eight did not reply, and the
farms are omi tilted from the new edition
The official Judgment on tho value
-. | this state enterprise Is aa IolloW
1.-THE action of successive Legislator
H.; in appropriating without opposite
~, the amounts of money asked for, ii
aun very general support of the press. OIL
~ tho correspondence OF interested i
"a dividuals, certainly lead to the co
clusion that this work is meritorio
nm and should be kept up" In order
-at get the opinion of the purchasers
"a. SO called abandoned farms, circula
- were sent to 252 of them. Replies We
~ received from g. n letters were
M turned by the Postofiice Departmel
ava unclaimed, while 1l2 purchasers sc
+ho no reply. Only six of the purchas
M who replied said that they were
-. satisfied. Extracts from many lett
~ are printed. They show good resul
- Some report remarkable profits. 9th
20 - took the places for health and
"A satisfied.