294 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST.' 
DO OUR EASTERN FARMERS BETTER 
THEIR CONDITION BY REMOVING TO 
THE WEST. 
NUMBER FOUR. 
Some people have an idea that after anew 
Territory or State has been filling up for ten 
or a dozen years, and gotten to be an old 
story, all the good lands are taken, and 
nothing is left worth looking after in the way 
of a substantial or desirable farm. And such 
people never made a greater mistake than 
in so thinking. There are now hundreds of 
thousands of acres of first quality land in 
Ohio unsettled, which have lain forty years 
since the government surveyed them. Some 
of them—perhaps the greater part—may be 
in the hands of speculators, but they can be 
bought comparatively cheap, are near rail 
roads or canals, and every way available for 
cultivatirn and settlement. So in Michi¬ 
gan and Indiana—even so, in some degree, 
in Western New York. Like many other 
things in life, we are prone to overlook the 
positive blessings which lie around us unap¬ 
preciated, because familiar, and fancy those 
which lie beyond, and out of sight are far 
more valuable. 
We can point to numberless farms in 
Ohio and Michigan, both cultivated and wild, 
lying within striking distance of railroads, 
schools, churches, and a wholesome popu¬ 
lation all around them, with timber, good 
water, and a healthy climate, which can be 
bought for less money than far less fertile 
lands hundreds of miles west of them in Illi¬ 
nois, Wisconsin and Iowa, on the broad 
prairies, with neither wood nor water near 
them. The only reason for this difference 
is, that emigiation, like migrating flocks of 
pigeons, all get into the current, without 
any sort of reason that they can give for it, 
and for the time being, the emigrants think 
that until they arrive at the promised land, 
nothing is worth looking for on the way. 
When once at their destination, settled, and 
too late to recede, they find out their error ; 
but now that the emigrating tide has turned 
into another direction, they cannot sell. 
They are in the condition of very many 
whom they have passed, only with 
worse lands, and a less available local¬ 
ity. 
Every one has heard of “ Western Pion¬ 
eers.” They are a class by themselves. 
They never have a home for ten years in a 
place. They “ settle” as they call it—on 
the outskirts of civilization ; remain a few 
years in clearing up and “bringing to” a 
patch of land. Sometimes they own it and 
sometimes not. As soon as society begins 
to thicken inconveniently around them, they 
get discontented, pull up stakes, and hie off 
to another wild, unsettled region. A better 
class come in, buy out their investments for 
a trifle, and settle themselves permanently 
on their squattings. This, usually, is the 
better way for emigrants from old farms, 
because they thus procure farms where im¬ 
provements are begun, and some land is 
already prepared for crops, and it.has a hab¬ 
itable tenement for their families, until 
they have time to prepare a better one. 
We believe the very best bargains, and 
many of the best locations for perma¬ 
nent homes, are made in buying out these 
pioneers. 
Of the western States, Ohio is, and always 
will be the richest. It has a greater supply 
of good land, coupled with other advantages 
of climate, society, markets, and education, 
than any other. Yet there is great choice 
of all these in that State. We believe, too, 
that lands are cheaper in Ohio than in any 
other western State, according to their pro¬ 
ducing value. Next to Ohio is Michigan. 
Then Northern Indiana, Northern Illinois, 
and Southern and Eastern Wisconsin. Peo¬ 
ple may wonder that we say this when such 
glowing accounts are given of Iowa, Minne¬ 
sota, and the far West. No matter for that. 
The lands we speak of are quite as good as in 
the farther states and territories, and the 
markets much better and more available. The 
great agricultural markets are on the Atlantic 
coast. New York is the great market of 
our farming staples, and the nearer and more 
direct a farm lies to New York, the lands 
being equally good, the more they are worth, 
transportation being less, purchasers 
more abundant, and capital cheaper. Even 
in the Southern counties of Western New 
York, fine grazinglands, well improved, with 
quite tolerable buildings and fences, on 
them, can be bought for twenty-five to thirty 
dollars an acre, with more life sustaining 
resources upon them than in Illinois, at the 
same price. 
There are thousands of people living on. 
good farms with the comforts of life around 
them, who want to sell. The reason why, 
they cannot well say, only that “they want 
to go to the West.” They make no further 
improvements where they are, are dissatis¬ 
fied, and “ want to move”—probably to be¬ 
come worse off than where they are, if they 
could only realize their present condition. 
Sueh is American humanity, and it only re¬ 
quires a deliberate observation on the part 
of the Eastern farmer, who wants to betler 
his condition by emigrating westward, while 
taking a broad survey of the country beyond 
him, to get a capital bargain out of the dis¬ 
contented people who possess what they do 
not enjoy, and on which he can make him¬ 
self and his family permanently happy.— 
[Ed. ______ 
FARMING IN-WISCONSIN.: 
From a correspondent’s letter, dated Del- 
ton, Wis., we make the following extracts. 
* * * I find the farmers here very un¬ 
willing to make any innovations from the 
old style of farming, such as plowing four to 
five inches deep, using no fertilizers &c.;but 
although a new hand at farming, with your 
paper as my guide, I am determined to con¬ 
vince them that Agriculture may be improved 
upon, as well as other sciences. I am plow¬ 
ing my land eight to ten inches deep. 
* * * I raised a fine crop of perfectly 
sound potatoes last season, by dropping good 
sized whole potatoes on the sod, and cover¬ 
ing them with straw to the depth of two feet. 
T was not successful with my fruit trees ( 
but the fault was clearly my own ; being 
very much engaged at the time I purchased 
my trees, I made small holes in the ground, 
and stuck them in, throwing the dirt hastily 
upon their roots ; the result is that they 
have nearly all died. Would you advise my 
taking up the remainder and setting them 
according to the directions given in the 
Agriculturist, or shall I allow them to get 
along as best they can ? * * * 
The past winter has been very severe on 
fruit trees, particularly the peach which has 
been killed both root and branch. * * * 
Do you think that trees which do well in 
New England would succeed here? * * 
I think Lucerne would be a valuable crop 
here and intend to try it next Spring. 
Remarks. —If the sub-soil is poor and 
hard, and it was not dug deeply at first, we 
should advise to transplant the trees this 
coming autumn. If the sub-soil is moder¬ 
ately good, it will probably be better econo¬ 
my to dig around the trees for some distance, 
and work in good soil and manure, without 
materially disturbing the principal roots. [Ed. 
COUNTRY RESIDENCES NEAR NEW-YORK. 
A subscriber in Norfolk, Va., another in 
Charleston, S. C. and a third in New Orleans, 
each inquire of us in reference to residences 
near New York, where they can locate their 
families, so as to enjoy the advantages of 
the country, and still be near the Metropolis. 
They, or others, can only settle such ques¬ 
tions by a personal visit. There are any 
number of beautiful country residences, 
within one, two, and three hours ride of the 
city, and there are almost always some of 
these for sale. We refer to those fitted up 
with dwellings, &c. There are likewise a 
great number of finely located plots still 
unoccupied, on the different Railroad and 
Steamboat routes centering here. 
After looking about for some years, we 
selected Flushing, Long Island, for several 
reasons, such as the beauty of the location, 
the fine nurseries and gardens, the good 
character of the inhabitants, and the excel¬ 
lent schools, &c., but chiefly on account of 
the quick and comfortable facilities for com¬ 
ing to, and returing from our business. In¬ 
stead of an hour’s ride in crowded horse- 
cars, up through the narrow streets of the 
city, we step upon a steamer at the foot of 
Fulton street, enjoy a fine ride of miles 
up the East River to Hunter’s Point, and 
then go 7i miles in the spacious cars of the 
Flushing Railroad. This road is mostly 
owned by citizens of Flushing, and, as a 
matter of course, its running hours are 
adapted to the wants and conveniences of 
that town. An hour’s time is amply sufficient 
to go from our office to our home, including 
a short walk to the Boat, and another from 
the Depot. One can leave either end of the 
route at 6J, 8, and 10 A. M., and 1, 4, 5£, 
and 7 P. M. Fare 20 cents, or $50 a year. 
We can not recommend a more pleasant 
trip for those who wish to get out of the 
heat, dust, and smoke of the city for an hour 
or two, than to go up to Flushing and take 
a stroll around the Commercial gardens, 
green-houses, &c. 
