SHALL 1 BE A FARMER? 



19 



value of land is one of the very important considerations. 

 But the gain from this source will gradually decrease as the 

 country grows older. There are still parts of the country 

 where good land is for sale for much less than it is 

 really worth. Doubtless many farms will double in value 

 in the next twenty years. But we will probably not see 

 such a wonderful land boom of a large area as occurred 

 in the Central West from 1897 to 1912. It does not now 

 appear as if this land 

 would go much higher 

 until other parts of the 

 country have had their 

 prices adjusted. 



Many of the for- 

 tunes that are attrib- 

 uted to farming are 

 due to buying land- 

 when it was cheap and 

 holding it until it be- 

 came valuable. We 

 should distinguish 

 clearly between profits from producing crops and animals, 

 that can probably be repeated, and profits from real es- 

 tate that are not so likely to occur again. 



14. Safety of the investment. While farming does 

 not offer large profits, yet it offers comparative safety 

 for the capital invested. The very fact that credit is 

 much easier to secure on city enterprises of equal size 

 makes the chance of loss of capital greater. Farm land is 

 a comparatively safe investment. A farmer finds it 

 difficult to borrow enough money to make the capital 

 unsafe. This does not apply to renters. All their capital 

 is invested in stock, equipment, and costs for the growing 

 crops. It is possible to buy machinery and horses on time 



FIG. 7. A pioneer's sod house. Part of 

 the so-called " unearned increment " in 

 land values was earned while living in 

 such houses. 



