The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1915-09-09
RARNHZYG SUNZ~

pressing these facts in the form or
percentages, they appear as follows,
viz Extent of land area in farms, 51.5
per cent; per cent Of farm land i'm
proved, CTS, and per cent Of entire
land area of the state improved for ag-
ricultural production, $40. For pur-
poses of comparison, Iowa, one of the
richest and most exclusively agricultur-
al states in the country, includes to-
tai of 35,575, GAO acres, of which SO per
cent is in farms, with sc per cent
of the farm land in the improved class
In the case of Iowa, therefore, her
lands are almost entirely being used
for agricultural purposes; she has
little, but per cent, of unoccupied
land to reclaim, and her efforts must
be directed toward the improvement of
| present acquisitions, which is not true
of Michigan, with ASS per cent of her
land area not yet included in farms.
Michigan Unique Alphabetically.
The position of Michigan in relation
to her sister states is really unique.
| Though not new state, in the sense
of those to the westward, there still
remain great possibilities for agricul-
tural development in the state, in ad-
dition to the Improvement of those
! portions long ago reclaimed. 1t would
| be easily possible for citizens of other
states, and perhaps some of our own,
| to assume that because settlement be-
| gan at an early date in the state, that
all the good land had already been oc-
cupied, and that the portion not under
cultivation is of little or no use for
agricultural purposes. On the contrary,
there are no better opportunities Of
| fered anywhere today for investments
in farm lands than in the state of
| Michigan, where prices at present are
much lower than in adjacent states
where similar soils and conditions ex-
list. The ASS per cent of Michigan
land not in farms is not all sandy or
rocky or swampy by any MEANS there
are enormous areas of good land not
yet under cultivation.
Conditions Unfavorable for Early De.
velopment.
Among the many questions which
arise upon perusal of the foregoing
data probably the most general one is.
Why have the agricultural possibili-
ties of Michigan not been developed
ere this, considering the early date at
which the settlement of the country
began? AS Michigan was originally a
timbered area, the development of its
agriculture has been slow, which is
also true of other states under like
conditions. Suitable conditions for
crop production did not exist; they
had to be produced slowly and labo
riously, at the sacrifice of an enormous
amount of muscular energy. The rich
storehouse of soil fertility was firmly
locked by the tenacious grip of the
roots of the oak, maple, beech, bass
wood. elm and pines-in fact, by a
great variety of both deciduous and
coniferous trees. These obstacles had
to be removed before crop and live
stock production could begin. On the
other hand, however, with the extern
sion OF numerous great railroad sys
TENS into the prairie states to the
westward, vast areas were made avail
able to the pillow. The simple over
turning of the prairie sod produced
suitable conditions for the production
of corn, wheat and oats in abundance
which. combined with the great wealth
of natural grasses. established con
ditions for the cheap production Of
enormous quantities of cereals. meat
milk and wool, which at once became
competitive factors and which have fol
years pinched Michigan farmers with
keenest of competition, forcing a cur
tailment of agricultural development
This competition has almost become g
thing of the past, for the best of the
western agricultural lands have beer
put under cultivation, while the ex
cessive SURPRISES of farm products
are no longer to be feared owing tC
the rapidity with which consumption
is overtaking production. especial,
within the bounds OF our own country