DISTRIBUTION OF INVESTMENTS. 13 



figure for bare land. Farm 14, although the largest of all, with a 

 total of 388.92 acres, has but 50.7 per cent of the land in crops. It 

 contains, however, a large acreage of productive bottom land, has a 

 low building investment per acre, and has good roads to a shipping 

 point, so that the bare land has an acre valuation of $60 as compared 

 with the average of $45.96 for the 21 farms. Farms 20, 21, 22, and 

 23, with bare-land valuations of $43.97, $22.26, $25.55, and $29.59, 

 respectively, are all located in the hill section (southeastern part) of 

 the State. No. 20 (valuation $43.97) shows an unusually low area 

 in waste and timber land for a hill farm and is conn(>cted w4th town 

 by 6 miles of pike road. No. 23 (valuation $29.59), with nearly the 

 same area, distribution of acreage, and distance from railway station, 

 is separated by 3 miles of hilly dirt road from the pike leading to 

 town. No. 21 (valuation $22.26) has considerable waste and timber 

 land; and No. 22 (valuation $25.55) has been wisely kept in pasture 

 for the greater part, though a greater area in crops would have made 

 it more attractive to a buyer. Farms 12 to 17, inclusive, range in 

 bare-land value from $43.90 for No. 15 to $64.89 for No. 17 and are 

 located in the large-farm area of central and southwestern Ohio. 

 Only one of this group falls below the average bare-land valuation 

 of $45.96. These farms are well equipped with buildings and are 

 easily reached by pike roads from good towns. Most of them show a 

 higher percentage of crop land than the mean of the whole number 

 and are in a high state of productivity. Farm 24, with a bare-land 

 valuation of $19.61, is located in a rougher section in southern Ohio, 

 is underequipped in buildings, and is conservatively valued rather 

 than otherwise. 



From these examples the land values due to good roads, good 

 drainage, high percentage of crop areas, good topography, and 

 adequate improvements can be plainly seen. 



PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS. 



The appraisement of the true value of permanent improvements 

 in this study was extremely difficult and the values given must be 

 accepted with due allowances. Wherever practicable the basis for 

 fixing values should be that expressed in the following question: 

 "What is the value of this item as a part of the equipment of this 

 farm, remembering that the sum of these values must equal the value 

 set upon the farm as a whole?" Land values have increased in 

 nearly every section, unfortunately not through improvement of the 

 land by farming, but through an advance in the value of land as a 

 raw material. We have no means of determining the present pro- 

 ducing power of a given farm as compared with that at the outset, 

 nor what its rate of appreciation or depreciation has been in this 



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