VOL LXXXTTT Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th St. New York. Price One Dollar a Year 
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iNlhW xOivlV, AU trUbi lb, iy/4 xat New York. N. Y., under tho Act of March 3. 1879. NO. 4, SOS 
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Free Land on New York F arms 
I am inclosing a clipping from your paper where I 
cannot agree with you about free farm land. There is 
free farm land for every man who wants it (but the 
trouble is nobody wants it), and it is good land, clear 
land, near to railroad and market, and right here in 
New York State. There are many farms for sale at a 
price the buildings cannot be put up for, and, if so, 
the land is free. It is far better and cheaper to buy a 
farm for the cost of the buildings and fencing and water 
than taking free government land. A man has to buy 
the material to build and go without many things for 
years on government land. T know from experience. 
Twenty years ago I took free 1G0 acres in Saskatche¬ 
wan. At that time we had to go 100 miles with team. 
No auto riding then. Four years later we bought In¬ 
dian government land at $1.25 an acre in South Dakota. 
All open land, but not a drop of water; not enough 
grass to get hay for one cow for Winter. We had to 
get the water from Missouri River, eight miles away. 
Instead of earning, we had to build and go after water. 
To get a company to make artesian well cost $1,500. 
Another idea some town people have is that the land 
should belong to the government and all taxes shall be 
put on land. I would like to know whether those peo¬ 
ple would do the farming; if so, they have plenty of 
chance to come here and rent land for the taxes there 
are on farms now. A. H. 
New York. 
A ll. is right in saying that there is free farm 
• land in New York State for all who want it, 
the only condition attached to its acceptance being 
that the buildings on it shall be paid for at much 
less than it would cost to replace them. As the 
lands in the West that were given away had no 
buildings, the comparison is a fair one, and he who 
wishes to pioneer in New York will find a multi¬ 
tude of advantages already at hand that those Who 
subdued the prairies waited long and weary years 
for. Let the new pioneer “take up” one of these 
farms in the same spirit shown by his forefathers, 
displaying the same willingness to suffer privation, 
to labor with only hope in the future for reward, 
keeping ever before him the vision of a homestead 
whereon no other man can rightfully set foot, and 
he will find his task immeasurably easier than did 
those who spoke of quarter sections, instead of 
acres. 
True, he cannot look forward to wealth, gained 
through increasing population, the coming of rail¬ 
roads and the building of new cities, but neither 
need he spend the strength and years of his early 
manhood in acquiring the most ordinary comforts 
of civilization. These, with luxuries that his fore¬ 
fathers never knew, are his to enjoy as he goes 
along. 
Let me describe one of these farm holdings, in 
my mind now because the owner has recently of¬ 
fered it for $4,000. It lies in a beautiful valley, 
one-half mile off from a State road connecting the 
county seat with another large and thriving village, 
three miles distant from one, seven miles from, the 
other. Of its approximately 100 acres, only a few 
are of level land in the valley, these containing the 
buildings, a large maple grove and a creek pasture. 
The rest extend back upon the hill, rather steep but 
easily tilled. All of the land is in good tilth, not at 
all run down. The main stream of the valley flows 
by, only a few hundred yards distant, while the 
farm itself is watered by never-failing springs, piped 
to the buildings, and a well with power pump at 
the milkhouse. It has kept a team and large dairy 
for years. 
What about the buildings, for which one will be 
asked to pay $4,000? Well, the dwelling is a large, 
old-fashioned farmhouse of 10 rooms, in a setting of 
old trees, needing not a dollar in repairs, or even 
paint. The large dairy barn has been rebuilt within 
a few years; it has concrete floor, modern stable for 
cows, concrete floored box stalls, silo, attached 
sheds, ample storage space for hay and grain, milk- 
house, with well, and is painted. A separated, 
smaller barn, houses team and tools. In addition 
there is a sugar house, equipped with modern evap¬ 
orator, henhouses, and the usual outbuildings. All 
in first-class repair. Perhaps $G,000 or $7,000 would 
replace these buildings; it is hard to make a close 
estimate. 
Adjoining this farm is another and smaller one. 
The same description as to location fits it. It con- 
Ayrshire Cow, Mauchlin Snowdrop 2d. In her 11 years of milking she gave $3,518.32 worth of milk. 
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