Vol. LXXII. No. 4194. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 15, 1913 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
SELECTING A FARM. 
Some of us ‘ - back-to-the-landers” do not know what to 
look for when we go hunting a farm. Will you ask sonic 
of your practical farmers of solid experience to tell us 
what “signs” we should look for in seeking to locate, so 
that we may pick out a suitable place ? s. b. 
IMPORTANT POINTS.—Many things should be 
considered aside from the character and condition of 
the soil. I shall mention a few of them, 
not perhaps in the order of their im¬ 
portance. A farm is valuable accord¬ 
ing to the demand for its products and 
its proximity to the consumer. A good 
market is sometimes rather to be chosen 
than fertile soil. One of our most able 
writers on rural economics has said 
that he would deduct $5 per acre from 
the price of a farm for every mile away 
from town or shipping point. He has 
not put it any too strongly, for the mar¬ 
ket and facilities for marketing are 
large elements in the value of a farm. 
It is variously estimated that a farm in 
a locality where the roads are generally 
improved is worth from $10 to $25 per 
acre more than the same farm would 
be worth if the roads were unimproved. 
It is difficult to compute the value of 
churches, schools and society in dollars 
and cents. One may have been deprived 
of educational advantages himself, but 
he wants them for his children, and a 
farm is worth much more in a com* 
munity where schools are appreciated 
and provided than where they are run 
as cheaply as possible. Similarly one 
may not be religiously inclined himself, 
but would not want to live in a church¬ 
less community. Also a good healthy 
social life in a community is a price¬ 
less asset. We can live this life only 
once, and we should aim to put all we 
can into it and get all we can out of 
it. One cannot take churches, schools 
and a healthy social life with him into 
a community, and they are so vital to 
successful living that I would not buy 
a farm in a community where they were 
not strong and dominant. 
PROBABLE GROWTH AND DE¬ 
VELOPMENT.—I should take a broad, 
general view of the section in which I 
thought of locating, and determine as 
far as possible what its future develop¬ 
ment and economic importance may be. 
To illustrate, take Northeastern Ohio. 
This section is bound to have a great 
future. The best iron ore in the coun¬ 
try is the Lake Superior ore, and the 
best coal is in the section comprising 
Southeastern Ohio, Southwestern Penn¬ 
sylvania and the Virginias. This ore 
and coal naturally meet in Northeastern 
Ohio, which means that this section is 
to be the center of the iron and steel 
industry of the country, and hence also of allied 
manufacturing interests. Then, again. Northeastern 
Ohio is. by its geographical position, on the great 
natural highway of the nation between the East and 
the seaboard and the great fertile West. A farm 
where interests are varied and development probable 
is worth more than where these conditions are im¬ 
possible, and business runs along in a rut. 
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.—I should want to 
know something about the geological formation of 
the section in which I thought of locating. The say¬ 
ing is old and true that a limestone soil is a rich soil. 
I should choose first a farm on a limestone forma¬ 
tion; second, sandstone, and- third, shale. I would 
also much prefer a farm in the glaciated sections of 
the country. Coming now to the farm itself, I would 
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AN OPIIO DAIRYMAID AND HER DAIRY FRIEND. Fig. 122 
consider the buildings. Are they well located? Are 
they in good repair? Are they adapted to the work 
you wish to do? It often costs about as much to 
remodel, make sanitary and put in repair a set of 
buildings as to build new, and the job is more 
troublesome for the man planning it. 
ELEVATION.—Next I would consider the general 
lay of the land, and choose a location that has good 
air and frost drainage, rather than a low, flat, frost 
pocket. This is of prime importance if fruit is to 
figure in the output of the farm. The shape of the 
farm, too, is important. And I would look to the ar¬ 
rangement of the fields, or the possibility of arranging 
them, so that all may be convenient of access to the 
house and barn. This is worth much more to a farm 
in money value than one might suppose at first thought. 
DRAINAGE FACILITIES.—Then I 
would not buy a farm that had not 
either good natural drainage or a good 
outlet for artificial drainage. In con¬ 
sidering a soil look well to its drainage 
requirements. A soil in which water 
will stand even a very few days in the 
Spring or after soaking rains is in need 
)f drainage, and may require a drainage 
nvestment of from $15 to $35 an acre 
o lit it for successful agriculture. You 
can tell something of the drainage needs 
of a soil by going onto it in a very wet 
time and digging a hole three or four 
feet deep, and watching the behavior 
of water in it. If it fills with water 
and stands nearly full, you will know 
that drainage is necessary. If it fills 
rapidly, you may know that the soil 
drains easily and you may put drains a 
good distance apart. If it fills slowly, 
you may conclude that drains must be 
put close together to dry the soil. 
T f in digging the hole you can readily 
spade the soil to a depth of three or 
four feet, and find the water coming 
up from the bottom of the hole, you 
may know that you can drain deep 
(three to four feet). But if you find a 
soil at a depth of 18 to 30 inches that 
is so hard you cannot spade it, and if 
you find the water coming into the hole 
at the sides at about the depth of the 
hard layer, you may reason, in general, 
that it may not pay to put tile much be¬ 
low the hard ground. The land under¬ 
laid with the hardpan is not worth near¬ 
ly so much as soil not so underlaid. 
ACIDITY.—Next, I would determine 
the condition of the soil as to acidity. 
Most of our older soils, especially on the 
non-limestone formations, have become 
acid to the extent that their productive¬ 
ness is greatly impaired. If clover is 
growing luxuriantly on the farm in 
question and in the immediate neighbor¬ 
hood. you may at once conclude that the 
soil is not acid. But if clover fails, and 
blue litmus paper turns red or pinkish, 
after being in the damp soil a few min¬ 
utes. you may conclude that the soil is 
acid to the extent that you must use 
lime before you can do any very suc¬ 
cessful farming. In this case I would 
want to know the cost of lime at the 
nearest station. It will probably cost 
$5 to $10 per acre to correct acidity. 
KINDS OF SOILS.—Soils are generally classified 
as sands, clays, loams, etc., according to their com¬ 
position. They are spoken of as heavy or light ac¬ 
cording to their ease of cultivation: warm or cold, 
early or late, according to their relative temperatures, 
especially during the early part of the season. Sandy 
soils are easily worked, warm and early, but may suf¬ 
fer from drought, and are bard to keep up. Clays 
