The price of lands in the colony are from $5 to $6.50 per acre, on the following easy terms of payment. At the time of purchase, interest only, one year in advance, seven per cent., is required; at the end of one year, interest only for another year; at the end of two years, one-tenth of the principal, and a year's interest on the balance; at the end of three years, one-tenth of the principal, and interest on balance; at the end of each year thereafter, twenty per cent. of the principal, and interest on balance; until all is paid.
We subjoin a practical illustration of these terms:
We will say that January, 1879, a man contracts for 80 acres of land at $5 per acre, this will come to $400, with 7 per cent. interest, which sums he will have to pay as follows:
| Jan. 1st, 1879, | At time of purchase, one year's interest in advance, at 7 per cent. | $28 00 | |
| Jan. 1st, 1880, | One year's interest in advance, at 7 per cent. | 28 00 | |
| Jan. 1st, 1881, | Ten per cent. of principal. | $40 00 | |
| One year's interest on balance $360, at 7 per ct. | 25 20 | ||
| ——— | 65 20 | ||
| Jan. 1st, 1882, | Ten per cent. of principal. | 40 00 | |
| One year's interest on balance $320, at 7 per ct. | 22 40 | ||
| ——— | 62 40 | ||
| Jan. 1st, 1883, | Twenty per cent. of principal. | 80 00 | |
| One year's interest on balance $240, at 7 per ct. | 16 80 | ||
| ——— | 96 80 | ||
| Jan. 1st, 1884, | Twenty per cent. of principal. | 80 00 | |
| One year's interest on balance $160, at 7 per ct. | 11 20 | ||
| ——— | 91 20 | ||
| Jan. 1st, 1885, | Twenty per cent. of principal. | 80 00 | |
| One year's interest on balance $80, at 7 per ct. | 5 60 | ||
| ——— | 85 60 | ||
| Jan. 1st, 1886, | Twenty per cent. of principal. | 80 00 | |
| ———— | |||
| Total. | $537 20 |
The advantage of the terms is, that the principal payments are all postponed until the farmer has had time to raise several crops from his land. A quarter-section of land will support a family, pay for itself, leave after seven years a balance in cash, and be worth more than twice its original value.
We have already selected several 80 and 160 acre farms in Avoca for persons not in a position to come on immediately to the land. Now let us explain how this operates.
An intending immigrant writes to the Bureau to have 80 acres of land in Avoca at $5 per acre, selected for him, (as a general rule a man should take a quarter-section, 160 acres, by doing so he will be likely to have both meadow and tillage land on his farm.) For those 80 acres, he pays down, before getting his contract from the railroad company, one year's interest, $28. He writes on then, next spring, to the Bureau, to have 30 acres of his land broken and ready for a crop the following spring—1880. His breaking will cost at $2.50 per acre, $75. He will have paid the first year $103, and have his land ready for the seed; he comes on then the second spring, 1880, pays $28, another year's interest, to the railroad company, puts in his crop and has it saved and ready for market in August. Up to this time—not calculating the expenses chargeable to the crop, which we have estimated already in another place—he has paid out $131, and has his farm opened and in a fair way to pay for itself.
In soil and location the Colony of Avoca is not surpassed in the Northwest. Nine miles from the village of Avoca there is a large body of timber. Settlers can also get coal from Iowa.