Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-08-13

the business end. He is now in po-
sition where he can plan on going to
work for himself. He will have saved
something from his wages while on the
farm, and he probably had a little
money saved up before. Then comes
the question of whether TO buy or to
rent. good many beginners in farm
ing make the mistake of tying all their
capital up in land and having moth
ing left for stock and equipment In
order to make the farm pay the farmer
must have plenty of working capital.
1t is usually better to rent for few
years until enough money has been
saved to make a fair payment on the
land. Then farm can be bought
without robbing the equipment fund.
The question of where to locate is an
important one and one which the con-
ficting mass of evidence makes hard
to decide The irrigated districts of
the west offer some of the best oppor-
tunities to be found anywhere. The
country is new, and settlers are vel
come Land is high, but it does not
take much Of it to yield good living.
The dry farming districts Of the
west have been loudly doomed. This
dry farming land can be bought very
cheaply. 1t costs little to get start.
At the same time the man who goes
on dry farm must remember that
only half of his land will yield a
crop each year, sometimes not more
than a third of it. The principle of
dry farming is to cultivate the land
for a year or two without sowing a
crop. This prevents the rain which
falls from evaporating, and by the
second or third year enough moisture
will have been stored up to raise a
crop. No one should think Of going
on dry farm without having enough
money laid by to pay expenses for
two or three years without any in
come. Dry farming means many
losses and much discoura cement, but
the success of many dry farmers
proves that it offers opportunities to
the man who has the courage to stick
The fertile lands of the middle west
have been little advertised of late, and
many people are of the opinion that
this part OF the country is already
fully settled. This is far from being
the case. The Mississippi valley could
support four or five times its present
farming population with ease. Land
is high, but it is worth the price. The
middle west offers the advantage of
progressive neighbors, good churches,
schools and colleges and modern con-
veniences Of every sort. There are
thousands of chances for the city man
in this section.
In the east probably the best oppor-
tunities are found in truck farming.
Only a small tract of land is required.
and the returns are large.
The abandoned farms OF New Eng
land can be purchased very cheaply.
They can never be made as productive
as the lands farther west, but under
proper treatment the fertility can be
restored and a very comfortable profit |
secured from them.
= The agricultural opportunities of the
south have been little advertised. yet
there is no section of the country
where the opportunities of the small |
farmer are greater. Diversified farm |
ing and stock raising are compare |
lively new thing IN this section. The |
men who are growing less cotton and |
more corn and hogs and dairy cows |
are getting ahead. Land is cheaper |
here than in many parts of the coun-