Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-01-13
SOUTHERN FARM LANDS.
Claimed TO he Worth Three or Four
Tjmea Their SELLING Price.


CFrom tho Augusta tGa.) Chronicle
Pick ZIP any copy OF almost any south
| ern daily paper. and YOU will find hun
drcds of good farms advertised for sale.
and ut prices ranging from five TO twenty
dollars per acre-the higher prices, usu-
ally, including improvements Of consid-
era ble value.
Almost every day the Chronicle car
,ts scores OF these advertisements
farms for sale in Richmond. Burke, Lin
coin. Columbia and other nearby coun-
ties. Only lately the Chronicle carried a
score or more of such advertisements
And in the same issue was told the
story " Georgia farmer who raised
this year. IA bales Of cotton on ITO acres:
together with 500 bushels Of corn on ton
acres. Here was gross return OF not
less than 5000 from lao acres OF Georgia
land, or an average yield Of approx
matcly ss5 per acre.
The question naturally arises. then,
what Ia thing worth that will pro-
ducc a gross annual return OF S65. wheth-
er 1t is land, house and lot or some
thing elsec This. 1t seems 70 us. Is n
thing southern farmers ought TO figure
on. and figure very carefully. before
dsposng OF their land.
Now 1t IL not contendcd that every
acre OF Georgia land produces more
Than bale OF cotton and fifty bushels
Of corn 10 the acre--but tho vast bulk
Of 1t will do as we'll, when properly Gull
tivatcd.
The particular case referred Il is that
of a farm near Triton, Ga. And it has
not recn so long since tic land In that
very locality was considered almost
valuecss for agricultural purposes. on
" recently tho Chronicle published a
story OF how 40 acres of this land was
snapped fcr q onr-horae cart and. after
wards, for q sow and pigs-and this
happened only twenty years ago. The
same 10, of land could not he bought to-
day Tor SIS oG0
It may be contcndcd that this is an
exceptional case. hut the answer To
that is. hundreds of thousands Of acres
% such land have been sold. within tho
past nftecn or twenty years, at dol
lar an acre-vith tie timber on it. And
the timber alone was worth many times
that sum.
The point is this-the southern people
have simply been giving away their
lands. Ard the worst OF it Is. they are
still doing it.
| For instance. we have before us a
| little booklet on "rarny Lands issued by
Il local real estate dealer. In which Just
"ighty-two Georgia and South Carolina
farms near Augusta are offered for sale.
Here are IA few sample offers:
Sn' acres with Improvements, in Burke
county. for 5000
600 acres. three tenant houses, for So
/ coo
/ 10 acres for $500.
| 30 acres. Richmond county. fine old
time dwelling on it, for $50
| $40 acres, in Columbia county for IS
per acre.
li0 acres. that will cut 1000 cords of
wood. for $500
Peach farm of 10 acres. with e.oO
trees made $500 net last season. for 81 800
$50 acres, dwelling and tenant houses
| for 5000.
400 acres, fourteen miles from Augusta
! at e. per acre.
800 acres. in Burke county at s. per
| acre.
3ss acres in Lincoln county-"the best
land in the country''-for s. per acre.
And 50 on all through the list. In
deed, it is little short Of amazing to OBJ
serve the values that some people pu,
ON southern farm lands When these
price: are conlrasted with the 800 and
$40 acre lands in the West. the COM
parison is simply astounding.
! Ard this, too, with cotton bringing
from $50 to so per bale. As It simple
business proposition. can our farmers af.
ford to do this? Isn't it clear that al.
LIN. ~; tie. /,