Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-08-03
GOOD FOR THE POOR MAN.
Industry jail That Is Needed
Tn Northern Wiscorsir.
It's Farming Eardss

While northern Wisconsin is an in
viting field for men of large capital it
is especially suitable for the poor but
| industrious farmer who wishes to estab
| lish home but has not the means to pur-
chase the high priced land of the older
parts of the country. 1t is practically
| impossible for a man to start on farm
for himself in the old settled parts of
this and adjoining states unless he has
enough to nearly pay for the farm,
which means quite sum where land
costs from $50 to $50 per acre. If
man runs in debt for such land, even if
he gets money at six or seven per cent,
he does well if he makes enough to pay
the interest, with little prospect of
ever reducing the principal If he has
enough to pay for the land, it requires
a further large outlay for stock and
machinery, and he must calculate on
receiving almost no income for nearly
a year. There must also be taken into
consideration the possibility of crop
failure, which exists in all countries.
OF course the farmer in prosperous
circumstances can tide over occasional
years of failure, and make up for losses
in the good crops which succeed, but
the man who to just starting in on a
small capital, paying interest that stops
4 not for drought, rust or hail, is likely
to be swamped by a single poor crop.
In this section man can obtain an
eighty for the price of a garden spot in
the older sections. Land within easy
distance of shipping points, either
windfall, cut-over or with moderate
amount of standing timber can be OBJ
tanned at five or six dollars per acre,
heavily timbered land being somewhat
higher and land five miles or more from
the railroad being obtainable at better
figures. Easy terms can usually be OBJ
tanned, one third or one-fourth cash.
The windfall or cut-over lands are the
best for the man who wishes to begin
farming operations Immediately, as the
land can be quickly cleared and put
under cultivation. 1t has the disad
vantage, however, of yielding no re-
turns until cleared, while the timbered
land, though slower in being brought
under cultivation, yields an income
from the start.
If man buys timbered land he does
not need to wait a year for a crop in
order to realize upon his investment,
but can begin harvest as soon as he has
his house built. If he has maple, birch,
hemlock, elm or ash he finds a ready
market for the logs in the saw mills
and often the outlying settlements.
The hemlock yields good pay for the
work and something besides, while the
other varities yield a considerable pro-
fit. He can get very good pay for odd
moments put in peeling bark for the
| tanneries If he has cedar or tamarack
he can get out ties, poles and posts at a
| good profit. His smaller timber can be
cut into cordwood which finds ready
market at from two to three dollars per
cord. If he is so unfortunate as to be
completely strapped" after making
the first payment on his land, he need
not be discouraged, nor need he fear
that the minions of law will swoop
down on him to collect accumulated in
terest. Work is so plentiful here that
tramps and hobos give us wide berth,
and wages are considerably higher
than in older sections. There can be
no failure of the timber crop, and at
the prices lumber is likely to command
in the future there will be no lack of
employment.
| Just as soon as the timber and under
brush are cleared off, the land is ready
for pasture and hay. A little stirring
up with spring tooth harrow is all
that is needed to secure a good catch
of clover or timothy. On land thus
treated the hardwood stumps rot rap
idly, and in the course of four or five
years the largest of them can be pulled
out with span of horses without even
a block and pulley.
A man can thus start in here with
little and, almost no capital. earn his
living and the payments on his land
from the timber he removes in clearing
and be free from the fear of failure
which constantly hauntss he man who
is compelled to run heavily in debt for
high priced lands, stock and machinery
When his land is cleared and the
stumps rotted out he will have farm
equal to the best in the older sections.
With the excellent soil, favorable eli