VALUE OF FARM LAND 



the result (i) of the introduction of a new crop 

 which thrives best on the land which for other 

 purposes was counted inferior; (2) it may be the 

 result of a dense population in a region which had 

 formerly been sparsely populated ; in other words, 

 the development of a better home market; (3) it 

 may be the result of an improvement in the means 

 of communication which makes the land which 

 was formerly more fertile but less accessible, 

 equally accessible, and hence, more valuable; or 

 (4) it may be the result of a rise in the prices of 

 agricultural produce, or a fall in the current rate 

 of interest, either of which would result in a more 

 rapid increase in the value of land which is more 

 fertile and accessible, but which requires relatively 

 larger expenditures to bring it into cultivation, 

 than in the value of land which is less fertile or 

 accessible but much more easily brought into culti- 

 vation. All of these possible variations in the 

 annual value of land must be properly anticipated 

 and included in the list of future incomes which 

 are discounted to find their present values. 



Perhaps enough has been said to impress the 

 thoughtful reader with the fact, that to determine 

 the value of a piece of land is by no means a 

 simple matter. When a man sells a piece of land 

 he transfers his right to a series of annual incomes 

 which may be greater or less as time passes by, 

 but which will probably increase as the years go 

 by. In payment for this land he is to accept 

 191 



