Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-11-14
IOWA LAND HIGHER
Brings Better Prices Than New
York Farms.
DIRECTOR SAGE MAKES OBSERVATION
Returns From Trip of Inspection
Through the East-AppIes viii Be
Higher Priced Than Oranges Before
sprins-East Suffered From Rain.

Through the East-AppIes Will Be
Higher Priced Than Oranges Before
Spring-East Suffered From Rain.
Des Moines, Nov. Al. r. Sage, d.
rector OF the Iowa weather and crop
service, has returned from months
visit in New York, New Jersey and
other eastern states, where he made
some interesting agricultural inyesti-
cations and comparisons. While there
Director Sage conferred with tile best
posted men in the sections visited by
him and now returns to his home state
with better opinion than ever of the
agricultural riches of Iowa.
Concerning his observations and in
designations Director Sage said:
| 1T Is fact, and rather startling
one at first appearance, that, acre for
acre, farm land in Iowa is worth more
on the market and brings a better
price than farm land, acre for acre, in
New York or any of the eastern states.
IF there should be forced sale of
farm land in Iowa and farm land in
New York tomorrow, selling the land
in bulk, the Iowa land would COM
mand the higher price. Of course one
reason for this is found in the fact
that there is a larger proportion of TIL
liable land in Iowa than in New York:
but the output on the tillable land is
better here than in the east Take the
land IN the immediate vicinity of the
large eastern cities and of course it
commands higher prices, as it is used
for small gardening purposes. But OUT
in the country, acre for acre, Iowa
l,,f1,
1t is the same in comparison with 9TH
er eastern states.
There's nothing like a visit and an
inspection of other states to make me
more firm in my belief than ever thas
Iowa is the greatest agricultural state
IN the union. I'm always more salts
fed with Iowa after I've been away
and examined the condition of other
states
THE price of Iowa farm lands is
away up now; l believe it is almost
eXtravagantly, fundamentally high.
Almost every day you will see dis5
patches of Iowa farm lands selling fo
the highest prices known in the court
try. of price records being broken Z
believe the collapse or relapse must
and will come, but it will not hurt
Iowa. Just the same, l think the
wheat lands of North Dakota are
bringing too high prices now. But one
good thing for Iowa is that these
lands which are being sold at such
nigh prices now are not being bought
by poor men, whose mortgages will be
foreclosed in a few years, and the land
thus thrown on the market in forced
sales, to disturb the financial condi-
ton of affairs and make financial
trOnh1n ha e.,
by Well-to-do and rich men who can
afford to keep them and will not put
them out on the market again in a few
years to have other parties bidding
for them and forcing the prices down"
Scarcity Of Apples.
While in the east Director Sage ex-
amined into the crop conditions, pay
ing particular attention to the fruit
supply, and gives the result of his OBJ.
servations thus:
The great scarcity in the fruit crop
this year is with apples. | don't know
when apples have been as scarce as
they have been this season. | pre-
dict that before spring apples will be
higher priced than oranges. l don't
know why the apple crop is so light,
but it is. Here in the west it is light
and back east it is even worse. Why
on eastern trains last week apples
We're sold at exactly the same rate as
the finest pears and peaches; so much
a dozen or so many for dime. The
incest, juiciest, most delicious peach
was no higher priced than the apples.
The balance of the fruit crop is in
pretty good condition. Grapes are
plentiful, as are also peaches In Mis-
souri, the peach crop is the heaviest
ever known in the history of the state.
Pears are also fairly plentiful. I
can't understand why apples should
be So scarce.
THE east suffered this past summer
from an excess of rain, just as We SUI
Tered from the drouth Nature al
ways equalizes in that manner. White
We were drying up it was raining too
much in the east. We pulled through
with the drouth better, however than
the east dld with it's excess of mois-
ture, and there is strong demand for
our products, so that the Iowa farmer
| is in a good condition this season."
| Mr.. Sage was accompanied on his
eastern trip by Mrs. Sage, to whom he
delegated the inspection and enjoy
ment of the scenery while he investi-
gated farm lands and crop conditions.
They took in the Pan-American Expo
sition as recreation and enjoyed a
boat trip down the Hudson.