87 BUYING A 



GARDEN 



weeks of inquiry, and he can generally buy 

 cheaper and get better terms than you can, be- 

 cause he knows what arguments to use and will 

 use many that, for the sake of your soul, you 

 would not use. 



Get a good map as soon as you decide what 

 locality you like ; then get from one of the banks 

 the name of a real estate agent whom they can 

 recommend at least he won't be a known thief, 

 as some are; examine one farm in that section 

 and talk with those who have cultivated it, even 

 in their crude way; by it you can judge of other 

 land near by. 



Don't be deluded by five-acre plots on easy 

 terms, even if the soil is fertile, where there is 

 no market; the farther you go from a good mar- 

 ket the less the acre is worth. For a small piece 

 of land, situation and cheap transportation 

 facilities are of far more importance than is 

 mere fertility; the German idea is, that a good 

 soil is any place where one can put fertilizers. 



You should look for a good soil, but situation 

 is the thing. Location, nearness to a good place 

 to get manure and to sell crops, has more to do 



