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SETTLEMENT AND COLONIZATION IN GREAT LAKES STATES 53 
size if all settlers are given approximately the same amount of till- 
able land. There is probably a tendency to lay off land settlement 
projects too much in 40’s, 80’s, and other even units. Ordinarily, 
it is impossible to get the right proportion of pasture, meadow, and 
crop land, and have the units so uniform. 
If noncultivable land les in a large block, some other way must 
be found for handling it. One company was expecting in a few 
years to sell a large marsh in 10-acre and 20-acre plats to the set- 
tlers now in the colony. Another was planning for joint use of pas- 
ture and meadow land on a rental basis. Another was laying out 
its rough land in sheep farms. The layout of a tract is closely re- 
lated to road planning. If a road is established in the wrong place, 
it is frequently impossible to incorporate some tracts in farms to 
advantage. The land between roads and streams and around lakes 
is especially likely to suffer. 
COMMUNITY PLANNING 
The advantages of community planning constitute one of the chief 
reasons for having a compact tract to colonize. Without a compact 
tract, it is not possible to locate community centers, lay out roads, 
reserve land for public use, and to plan the use of the land so there 
will be a minimum of waste. 
A few companies are making the planning of the tract a rather 
elaborate business, first giving the tract a hasty but detailed survey 
and then mapping out the tract according to soil, topography, and 
mode of utilization. On this basis the layout is planned. Finally, 
in some cases, a colored map is prepared to help the prospect in 
selecting his land. The map gives them a chance to see that the best 
land has been divided between several plats. Other companies op- 
pose this practice on the ground that it hinders rather than helps 
ane sale, and that prospects are never satisfied with the plats as 
aid out. 
ROAD BUILDING 
Road building is more important than all the other community 
improvements combined. Several of the colonization companies 
were building roads to all their lands before selling them; in other 
cases they were cooperating with the local townships and getting 
them to build the roads. Where the colonization company owns a 
large share of the taxable property in the township, 1t makes little 
difference which way the matter is handled. Another plan in use 
was for the land company to cut out the road and remove the 
stumps, and the township to do the grading. The settlers are able 
to use the road before it is graded, and when enough of them move 
in the township is in a position to do the grading. Some of the 
companies considered it highly important to make their land acces- 
sible by roads before they offered it for sale. They believed that the 
land sold enough more easily and for enough higher price to war- 
rant the expense of road building. 
Several land companies were paying no attention to roads, leav- 
ing the matter almost entirely in the hands of their settlers. As a 
result, in some cases, the settlers could not be reached except over 
