Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-07-26
T. arm an0
Garden
FARMS EAST AND WEST.

Comparative Cost Of Lands In the Tw,
Sections Discussed.
In letter to the New York Times ,
correspondent wrote recently:
If the Times really wants to know
why It is that western Iand-ir
Iowa or Illinois-sells for 500 to $20C
an acre while plenty Of farms can be
bought in New York for $40 to $50 an
acre, let 1t pay attention. The secret
is about to be released. And let me
say at the outset that with consider
able familiarity with both west and
east I'd much prefer to buy eastern to
western lands.
zone point In favor of the western
farm Is that, whereas a western farm.
properly handled. will raise crops
which pay good interest on the in
yestment without fertilizer, a great
many acres of land In the $40 and $50
belt are merely something to put pro-
ductiye soil on top Of The French
method Of carrying the land away
when one moves wouldn't go bad In
connection with several cheap New
York farms.
Another thing-one can take an
eighty acre farm In the middle west
and plow every. foot of It. while there
are very few cheap farms In this Sec
tion which can be cut up into fields
large enough to pay for using large
machinery. The result is that the east.
ern farmer, If he Is to make use of the |
cheap lands, must 'putter' Now. the
right sort Of puttering is profitable
fruit berry and truck raising will |
make moderately large fortunes for
diligent and capable men-but most
men don't like that sort of business.
The middle westerner is a whole lot
happier with a four horse gang plow
and harrow that wouldn't go be.
tween stumps IN the east than he
would be on II $40 an acre New York
farm. And he doesn't strike as many
Stones In the course of a season as the
New York farmer win In a day The
American farmer hasn't lost his sense
of the 'bigness' OF the country yet.
and until he does lose II be Will prefer
TO work the large farm rather han the {
small one, even II he gets no more for
his labor. {
"Furfherniore-and this is not to be !
gnored-arouud that high priced land !
10 the west will be found more intel n
igent. better educated body of nieu 4
aklng them by and large than In a 4
given number of eastern farmers. be $
'ause the factories aud the other city {
oys seem 10 lure much lHrger proper. 4
ion OF the ambitious youth OF the east y
The city Is so close to the farrn thai II
be transition II but step. OF course q
here are many OF the most Intelligent It
frIners OF he country here. but the u
lrmer with desire for inielle4tnai 10
ssociatiOns-a some have IT. Will hi
nd less Of this opportunity In the $40 fof
nd $50 localities than In the west ~
ltelligent farmers. like men IN other II
'ofessions. like intelligent companion M
lip rs
II am firmly convinced thnt flie best la
'portunlties for agriculture lie within f'
few hundred miles OF New York city 10
I'd my Impression Is that he bes mi
ny 10 get the right sort OF farmers We
go TO this land and stay there IL 10 hlS
t number OF this kind OF men in IN
rested In one locality. thus lnSurine ed
immunity from death by intellectual IN
lrvation. II used TO be imagined u
at farmer couldn't starve in that rr
~. but we know better now" inf
kp,