448 BUFFALO LAND. 



WHAT A FARM WILL COST. 



The emigrant has ah-eady been told what it will cost him to 

 obtain government land. If this adjoins railroa.l tracts, he 

 can secure what is desired of the latter at from twr to ten 

 dollars per acre. 



The expense of fencing material might be fairly estimated 

 at from twenty to thirty dollars per thousand feet for boards, 

 and ten to fifteen dollars per hundred for posts. This is sup- 

 posing that all the material is purchased. If fortunate enough 

 to have timber on his claim, the emigrant, of course, can 

 inclose the farm at the cost of his own labor. 



I have seen many new-comers protect their fields by simply 

 digging around them a narrow, deep trench, and throwing the 

 earth on the inside line so as to raise an embankment along 

 that side two feet in height. One single wire stretched along 

 this, and secured at proper intervals by small stakes, appears 

 to answer quite well as a cattle guard. 



Osage orange grows rapidly, and is cheap, and a permanent 

 fence can be made with it, at small expense, in the course of 

 three or four years. 



The usual cost of breaking prairie is from two to four dol- 

 lars per acre. With a yoke or two of good oxen, however, 

 this item can also be saved. 



The second year the farmer can set out with safety his trees 

 and vines, and the third or fourth year he may be considered 

 fairly on the road to prosperity. 



Laborers' wages are from twenty to thirty dollars per 

 month and board. ^ 



