Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-11-27

efforts aided the general trend of
prices quite materially.
OTHER CAUSES AID.
There is no doubt that the exhaus-
ton OF the supply of agricultural land
in the west and crop failures there
also helped boost prices throughout
this vicinity, for migration was check
ed to a marked degree about this time.
The telephone, rural free delivery OF
mail and the auto no doubt aided to
the same end.
1t is safe to say that during the 10
years not less than half the farm land
in the county changed hands, some Of
it more than once, and the average
price has almost trebledi Nor is the
end yet in sight, for while there is now
less activity than a few years ago, a
good deal of farm land is being bought
and sold now, and the price tendency
is decidedly upward
There is a marked demand for small
farms of from 10 to 90 acres; and larg-
er tracts not too far from the city are
being divided and sold at fancy fig
ures.
LEARNING REAL. VALUE.
Rock Island county farmers are find
ing out some things about their land
that they did not know a few years
ago A man who for years owned the
largest single farn in the county, and
who has travelled extensively in the
horse-breeding districts of Kentucky,
is authority for the statement that the
blue grass of this vicinity is far SUI
perior TO that which gave Kentucky its
nickname Of the blue grass" state.
Grass grown here does not require re-
seeding as It does in Kentucky, he
says. and II makes better feed For
merly land too rough to be success
fully titled was accounted almost worth
less, but more and more it is being re-
allied that such land will almost al
ways raise good blue grass, which. if
properly handled, yields almost as
great a net profit as any forage crop
that can be grown, even on the best
OF soil. For instance, one Rock Island
county farmer and feeder May ! put
81 head of steers on a 154-acre blue
grass pasture. The animals averaged
/ 500 pounds in weight then and were
worth $3.50 per hundred. The herd
subsisted upon the grass till Nov. l,
when the average weight of the ami
mails had increased to LOO pounds and
| they were sold at an advance of 81
per hundred over the spring price
The owner figures that each acre of his
pasture netted him SIS during the
seven months.
Grazing land lying within II or Il
miles OF the city is worth even more
than this for cows TO supply the city
with milk
NO CROP FAILURES
There has been no crop failure il
this vicinity during the decade, moi
anything resembling failure Method
OF cultivation have improved great,
and there is a growing diversity o
crops produced Among other thing
the farmer has learned, Is the fact tina
he can grow alfalfa here as well al
they can grow it in the west, and field
of this plant are not uncommon now
where a decade ago they were extreme
ly scarce. The farmer now grows be-
ter varieties of corn, oats and othe
grain than he used to, and he raise
more and better live stock. All thes
things are no doubt partly due to tn
necessity of making his income kee
pace with his increasing investment /
: land, but they also help the upwar
, tendency OF farm values and may b
taken as reasonably safe assuranc
that no reaction is imminent, but, o
I the contrary. prices will continue I
] find higher levels as time passes.