14 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



have a hundred and sixty acres at the West for the taking. If he 

 is the right sort of man, he may grow rich, with the same amount 

 of labor, during his whole life-time, on either place. Fifty years 

 hence he would have, at the West, a capital farm, well fenced, 

 well watered, with good out-buildings, and with a good house. 

 Probably, he would also have his share of political honor and of 

 social distinction. At the East he would have glass-houses, hot- 

 beds, rich land for vegetables, a house " with all the modern con- 

 veniences," and the most agreeable kind of work for the evening 

 of his life. He would be less likely to achieve personal distinc- 

 tion, but, on the other hand, his wife would have, at least at the 

 commencement, less drudgery, and his children would have better 

 advantages for education near home. 



These are the two extremes which are open to him, and his 

 opportunities cover the whole ground between. It is for each 

 man to weigh well the arguments on both sides of the case, and 

 decide for himself, — what no book can tell him, — which path 

 promises the most of what he considers the most desirable. 



In choosing a farm in the far West, the considerations which 

 should influence one are rather political and commercial than 

 agricultural. . There is so much perfectly good land to be had, 

 that it is much more difficult to decide upon the most desirable 

 location, than it is to find good land in the chosen situation. 



Farther east, however, good situations are plenty, while good 

 land is not always to be found, and the more nearly we approach the 

 Atlantic coast, the less easily can we suit ourselves in this respect. 



I can say little about the South that ought to have weight in 

 deciding a quiet farmer to go there. The state of society is so 

 unsettled and the prospect of the immediate fortune is so uncer- 

 tain, while so many Northern men who went there under the 

 most favorable circumstances, and with the most flattering pros- 

 pects at the close of the war, have come home wiser and sadder 

 than when they went, that it seems to me that a prudent person 

 should leave the Southern lands, with their many great advan- 

 tages, for the settlers of some future day. 



Supposing the region for the new home to be decided on, and 



