Connecticut western news., 1922-01-26
MANY THINGS TO CONSIDER
 IN THE PURCHASE OF A FARM
The Fertility of the Land is of First Importance, but Good Social and Living Conditions are Almost Equally Desirable-Depend-
 able Water Supply is
 Necessary

vital to the success and satisfaction
 of farm life. Choosing farm oftel
 means choosing a place in which t.
 live and work for a lifetime. It i
 important of course to decide wisel, in buying for investment, says th'
 United States Department of Agri culture, but in making selection fo
 home it is doubly important to con sider various features that may have a decided bearing on the farm busi ness or that may make the home lift attractive.
 Home and Business are Inseparablt
 The home side of the question must always be kept in mind for the farm home and the farm business are inseparable. The desirable farm from a business standpoint many times is found undesirable if it has nc social or community advantages. On the other hand desirable living condi- tions are of little or no advantage unless supplemented by successful farm business.
 In selecting a farm it should be borne in mind that it requires farm business of considerable size to pro- vide an income that will merely cover maintenance charges, and that these charges are relatively larger for small farms than for large ones. A farm must be of such a size as to furnish most of the supplies needed in the farmers living, such as garden and fruit, and enough income to pay the taxes and running expenses. Un- less, however, there is margin above these annual maintenance charges no progress can be made to- ward accommodating surplus
 Another feature which the farm seeker should see to is that prospects for crop yields are more than suffi- cient to balance the cost of produc tion. Soils of low fertility are handi- capped-some are found to be posi- tive liability if it is necessary to farm them. It is we'll to inquire thoroughly into crop yields, not only thosc that have been obtained on the farm itself for a period of years but those realized on adjacent farms,
 Learn whether poor crops are due to poor soil or to bad management. If yields are very high, inquire care fully as to how they are obtained and judge of the economy>ef the methods used. If the yields have been very low, it may be that better manage ment or improved methods, which may be put into effect, will make possible the production of profitable crops; but before buying in such case it is we'll to make sure that the land is capable of improvement.
 Equally essential to the success ot the farm business is high quality ot the live stock enterprise. To handle live stock so it will pay for feed, care, and labor is more than mere matter of management, for 1t IS de- pendent not only on cheap roughage, pasture, market, and securing labor at reasonable rates, but also on the quality of, the animals kept.
 Crop land in itself is of little value unless it is so situated that it can be made to yield profitable returns through the use of labor and machln- cry. A farm of 160 acres, valued at $1OO an acre, may be a much better purchase if practically all of the land can be put to some profitable use, than another farm of 16O acres, at $50 an acre, of which large ares are practically useless, owing to streams and swamps that can not be dralned, or rough stoney tracts poorly suited even for pasture.
 Another factor is ease of cultlva- tion. If the land is very steep or broken it is not practicable to use improved machinery and it is often difficult to harvest the crops and re- move them from the land by the usual methods. This is particularly true Tn loading hay and grain on steep hills. Smaller loads have to be drawn than on level land, and it requires more time in loading. Such fields can be worked, of course, but the cost of producing crops on them is neces- sarily higher than on fields where labor and machinery can be more efficiently used.
 The physical condition of the soil is important. Frequently, even on high grade farms, soils gets into very poor condition through a few years of mismanagement, such as improper tillage or careless handling. 1t usu- ally takes several years to correct such injury, many times resulting in loss of profit. Then, too, the matter of drainage should be looked into, first as to the natural drainage of the fields, and second to the possibil- ity of draining them, if need be, artifcially.
 The experienced farmer in select ing farm generally looks first to the source and dependability of the water supply. He knows that a farm without an adequate supply of water is most undesirable. Attention should be directed to the quality of the water, the question of whether the supply is dependable at all seasons ot the year, and to the cost of obtaining it. The cost of upkeep and supply of