804 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters. 
acre. The ratio is then 2.76. The width of this right of 
way varies from 150 to 385 feet. 
The determination of this ratio of right of way value to or¬ 
dinary value has been discussed at length for two reasons: 
First, because of the far-reaching effect of the use of such 
a ratio, and second, because the methods used were precisely 
the methods used in the determination of the right of way for 
all roads in the state. 
H I | 
i 
METHODS EMPLOYED. 
Might of Way Through Farm Lands. 
As we have already seen, the state board of assessment re¬ 
quired that the appraisal should be based upon actual sales of 
land situated near the right of way Without special facili¬ 
ties for obtaining data from such sales, the method would be 
practically impossible. However, in the state of Wisconsin, 
the register of deeds in each county is required to transmit 
annually to the secretary of state a report of all sales of real 
estate made in the county during the year for which the con¬ 
sideration was not merely nominal. These reports contain 
(1) a brief but accurate description of the property, (2) the 
date of sale, (3) the consideration, and, in the case of farm 
lands, the number of acres transferred. The existence of these 
reports made fairly simple a piece of work which otherwise 
could hardly have been completed in a reasonable time and at 
a reasonable expense. By means of them, it was possible to 
obtain in the office of the secretary of state in a few weeks in¬ 
formation which it would have taken the same force as many 
months to collect had the men been obliged to go to the offices 
of the registers of deeds in the various counties. The trans¬ 
fers are usually arranged by towns, the boundaries of which in 
a general way coincide with the boundaries of the government 
townships. 
