LAND VALUE AIDS 23 



Land should be bought reasonably us to price, and with payment spread over 

 a long period, all terms combined being such as can be met without having to 



depend upon unusual good luck. Many factors are involved in 



Factors in what constitutes a "reasonable price" — location with reference 



Land Values to markets and schools, character of soil, value of improvements, 



state of cultivation; on an irrigated farm, character and dependa- 

 bility of the water right : likelihood of water-logging with consequent drain- 

 age ; on a stock ranch, the average amount of forage that can be raised for 

 winter feed ; the location of the ranch in regard to the summer range on public or 

 national forest lands, the amount of summer range the ranch can depend upon, and 

 water supply. For the ordinary non-irrigated farm, with fair to middling improve- 

 ments, good depth of moisture-retaining soil, free from alkali, and in recent culti- 

 vation, reasonable prices under present conditions range from $15 to $35. For the 

 ordinary irrigated farm, with better improvements and in a higher state of 

 cultivation than the non-irrigated farm, a dependable water supply, no alkali 

 troubles or danger of water logging, reasonable prices range from $75 to $100. 

 So many special factors are involved in stock ranch valuations that it is not 

 feasible to attempt to give reasonable prices. More capital is required to get 

 started in this industry than in either non-irrigated or irrigated farming. 



Prospective buyers can ascertain approximate land values in a district with 

 which they are not personally familiar through a number of agencies. There are 



146 federal farm loan associations in Montana. Deer Lodge 



Land Value and Silver Bow are the only counties with no associations. 



Guides The sixth annual report of the Federal Farm Loan Board says : 



"The Farm Loan Board or any Federal Land Bank will 

 be glad to give any legitimate inquirer a statement as to any county in the 

 United States in which business has been transacted, showing the number of 

 appraisals made, the number of acres involved, and the average appraisal by 

 acre in the county. This service should be especially helpful to those who con- 

 template the pni-chase of lands in territory with the values of which they are 

 unfamiliar". Inquiries concerning appraisals in Montana counties should be 

 addressed to the Federal Land Bank, Spokane, AVashington. 



The assessed valuation of specifically described tracts can be ascertained upon 

 inquiry to the county assessor in which the land is located. County commis- 

 sioners are required by law to provide for the classification of all lands in 

 their counties, except vacant lands in forest reserves, Indian reservations and 

 unsurveyed lands, into seven classes : agricultural lands ; irrigated or non-irrigated 

 lands ; grazing lands ; timber lands and stump lands ; lands bearing stone, coal 

 or valuable deposits; lands bearing natural gas, petroleum, or other mineral de- 

 posits ; lands which may be valuable for more than one purpose. The classifi- 

 cation is to be used as a basis upon \\hich land values shall be fixed by the 

 county assessors. Some counties have not yet completed the land classification, 

 which the law requires to be in accordance with legal subdivisions. Inquiries to 

 assessors should be directed to the County Assessor, addressed to the county seat 

 of the county in which the inquirer is interested. 



The State of ^Montana had granted to it by the federal government sections 

 16 and 36 in every township in the state. Some of this land has been sold, but 

 the state still owns large tracts in every county. These tracts have all been 

 appraised. A person interested in a specific land parcel can ascertain what the 

 state lands in the same township ai-e valued at by writing the Register State 

 Land Office, Helena, Montana. The inqairer should give the number and range 

 of the township and ask that the plat be mark(xl to show the sections or sectional 

 subdivisions the state owns. 



