Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-24
Not Good Farm Land.

But laying aside the cost of getting
the land ready to pillow. taking its value
as a purely agricultural proposition, 1t
could not be made to earn per cent
on an investment of s75 an acre for
good many years to come. 1t must be
borne in mind that land out our way,
unless IT has been made so, isn't farm
land In any sense of the word. The soil
naturally was thin and poor, and it was
farmed to death in the days before the
civil war. Thousands of acres in our
county have laid waste for half a cen
fury because no one has been able to
figure out how 1t could be restored to
productivity at a cost upon which a re-
turn could be earned.
There are many fertile and profitable
farms. 1t is true. but they are the re-
suit OF combinations of exceptional cir
cumstances Some of them are iso
lated cases of farms which never were
permitted to be worked absolutely out
but in most instances the land was
bought at from IS to SIS an acre by
men who had the money and brains to
build 1t up Buying rundown land at
IS to US an acre is quite a different
proposition. from business stand
point, from buying the same kind of
land at SIS an acre.
Only Land on the Market.
But We have got to bear in mind that
this ten-acre piece is the only run
down land that adjoins Sunny Knoll
on any side. and also 1t is the only ad-
Joining land that Is likely to be on the
market for many years to come All
the other adjoining land Is in a high
sale at all couldn't be bought for less
than $3.50 an acre. Mr. Brown, who
owns the best farm within miles of our
place, says the ten acres could be
al AVnAh ra
stable fertility for about $40 an acre
This would make the land, when 1t be-
came an asset instead of a liability.
stand us In the neighborhood of SIS
eating any bargain, make the PROPOSE
tton look like q fair business venture.
The question then becomes: Can We af-
ford to invest $1.15O additional in Sun
ny Knoll IN the expectation that IT will
earn US or per cent in the course
OF four or Ave years!
1 don't think we can-considerinE the
thing as business proposition. But
whom realize that II may be q ques-
tion Of seizing this opportunity or run
ming the risk of being hemmed in on
all sides without any chance to ex-
Dend. don't know what to say.
Jane Wants to Buy.
Jane wants to buy the ten acres and
proposes that we shall forego some OF
the improvements We have planned and
use the money they would cost to pa,
for the land. She argues that we car
make the improvements in two or five
or ten years as we'll as we can today
whereas We might not have anothe,
chance to buy adjacent land. She 1.
willing to give up the hot-water heat
ing plant and to abandon for the pres
snt tho interior changes. including tn,
open fireplaces. This would say.
enough to pay for the land and have i
cleared Should We decide to do thi
we would build the porches. paint tn,
house and put in water with a bath
continuing to heat the house will
stoves. Several people have told US 1
is unsafe TO have water in q house tina
has no heating plant. because of tn
danger of pipes freezing. but some o
our neighbors have water and no fur
naces. and I never heard Of them hav
ing trouble with frozen pipes.
Since the matter came up have gon
out several times and looked at tn
land and longed for it. But the thing
We want most are not always tn
things that are best for us to have
I.and-hunger is more or less of a pro
gressive malady Should we buy thi
piece and should some one offer to sci
US so or 1Vo acres adjoining 1t. II