The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-18

soil have been sadly neglected. This work
of inducing immigration has been carried
ON by the great railroads that penetrate
to every corner OF that country that was
given them by the government to aid In
the building of the roads themselves,
working in conjunction with the great
ocean liners plying between this country
and Europe 1t has been a matter of BUSH
ness with these great forces, and has re-
suited in this great benefit to them both.
In this work many things have been done
to belittle tho possibilities of the south
and to prevent the immigrant from COM
ing among us.
After 70 long time. and with just a
little help now and then, the possibilities
of the south have showed themselves I'M
der the nose, so to speak, of the investor
and homeseeker, and gradually we are
gathering into our midst a better class
Of farmers, and they are reapins the
benefit of the good work they are doing.
What the south, and especially Ala
bama, needs is a full appreciation OF the
value of work that can be systematicai-
Iy done to induce newcomers-to induce
homeseekers-to come into our midst, rent
or buy our farms and apply the same
methods of cultivation to them as are
applied in the farming sections OF the
west and northwest 1t is an established
fact that Alabama imports 10 per cent
of tho living necessities she consumes
from states north of the Ohio river, where
land Is worth and brings In the open
market three to four times as much as
Alabama lands are selling for.
If these up-to-date farmers were Of
fered the right inducement this would
not continue long, for all those who have
come among us and settled down to any
of the leading avenues to wealth-truck-
ing, dairying, fruit CULTURE, and even
fioriculture-have made good, and can
show the advantages of the change they
made.
Think Of land that will produce from
one crop in one season more than the
land COST And then there is ready
market for all that Is produced. This
cannot be equalled In any other section
of this or any other country. To demon
strate Any of these farms, run down as
they are. and neglected as long as they
have been, will produce at least half a
bale of cotton to the acre. which at
present prices will bring to the farmer
with the seed from s45 to $50. Or this
same land would produce 80 to 40 bushels
of corn, which would bring 90c, or about
per bushel.
Alabama has thousands of acres of al
falfa and clover lands now lying idle.
These lands will produce from three to
five tons per acre, and we are all ac-
Quainted with the market conditions In
Birmingham alone. Suppose it costs one
third to harvest and market the crop,
the net result will exceed the first cost
of the land. This Is an undeniable fact
Taking into consideration the small
amount of agricultural lands Alabama
possesses, with the rapid strides being
made by the great mining and manufac-
turing industries which are multiplying
and enlarsing SO fast, there Ia no rea-
son why the lands so long idle should
not enhance in value to a price more
nearly representative Of their earning ca
pacity.
Assuming, which Is correct, that good
farm lands can be purchased in Alabama
for about one-fourth of the prices rul-
ing In Illinois and Indiana, for example,
for some grade of lands, If only one crop
a year Is produced 1t will bring Just az
much as the produce from an equal
number OF acres Of these northern lands;