22 BULLETIN 425^ V. S. DEPAETMEISTT OF AGEICULTTJBE. 



milk, butter, eggs, meat, vegetables, and small fruit for home use and 

 sells one or more of these products. On nearly every farm there is 

 an abundance of firewood and plenty of good timber for fence posts. 

 Lumber, stone, sand, and gravel needed in the construction of farm 

 buildings can usually be secured on the farm or in the immediate 

 vicinity. As a rule the farmers of this district are very quick to rec- 

 ognize the advantages to be secured by reducing the living and farm 

 expenses to the mmimum. 



COMMUNITY BREEDERS' ASSOCIATIONS. 



More and better live stock is needed on the farms of this district. 

 There are already a number of wide-awake community live-stock 

 organizations. Tliey are accomplishing much that would be impos- 

 sible to individuals working alone. Cooperative ownership of sires 

 makes it possible to secure animals of a quality far beyond the reach 

 of the individual farmer. More economical advertising, cooperative 

 buying and seUing, prevention and eradication of animal diseases, 

 and the raising of standards due to education and competition, are 

 a few of the advantages to be secured tiu-ough community breeders' 

 organizations. To improve the dairy herds of this district more 

 cow-testing associations are greatly needed. A community desir- 

 ing to take up work along any of these lines should communicate 

 with the State agricultural colleges, with one of the substations within 

 the district, or with the local county agricultural agent. 



SELECTING A FARM. 



Great care should be taken in selecting a farm in the cut-over 

 district. The price of unimproved land, from which most of the 

 valuable timber has been cut, usually varies from $5 to $25 per acre, 

 depending on quahty of soU, topography, and location. Improved 

 farms, including buildings, are ordinarily held at prices ranging from 

 $25 to $100 per acre. The range in price between the most desir- 

 able and the least desirable undeveloped agricultiu-al land is now a 

 matter of only a few dollars. When the region becomes thickly 

 settled and these lands are improved, the difference in value per 

 acre wiU undoubtedly be much greater than the present difference 

 in price. During this period the better soils should also yield larger 

 net profits per acre. The prospective purchaser of farm land will, 

 therefore, be amply repaid for time and expense of making careful 

 investigation of soil, topography, drainage, water supply, amount of 

 salable timber, cost of clearing, markets, schools, and social condi- 

 tions. He should reserve a part of his capital to develop the farm 

 and to support his f anfily until he can get a fair acreage under culti- 

 vation. 



