“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”
Already something has been said with regard to an abundant supply of water, but it may not be out of place to emphasize the necessity of securing healthful water for household purposes. Modern science has revealed the fact that a large number of diseases are introduced into the system by means of drinking water (see [Chapter XII]). All drinking water may be boiled; it may be said that it should be, for in too many cases water that appears limpid and pure, drawn from sources which have every appearance of being uncontaminated, is not only dangerous but sometimes deadly. Careful physicians recommend that all water be filtered, but so many of the filters are imperfect and are so badly neglected that there is no certainty that filtered water is entirely safe; therefore, it may be said that the only safe way is to boil all drinking water. As the streams and soil become more and more contaminated by unsanitary conditions, it is only in rare cases that safe water can be secured naturally. When wells or streams become low, or when streams are quickly flushed by heavy rains, invariably there is danger that the water which they contain may be impure. Care should be taken to provide an abundance of water, and that used for household purposes should be treated in such manner as will make it entirely healthful.
Having discussed the subject from four leading standpoints, those of less importance may be taken up. It is usually not wise to purchase a farm, however well it may fulfil the requirements of healthfulness, desirable environment and productivity, if the lands by which it is surrounded are poor, since man, in one respect, is like the tree toad, which partakes largely of the color of the thing to which it adheres. The French have a proverb which runs in this wise: “Tell me where you live, and I will tell you your name.” Translated into modern thought, it would read: “Tell me your environment, and I will tell you your character.”
Beauty of natural scenery may not be entirely ignored, although utility, the dollar, must be kept prominently in view. One can afford to economize in the living expenses in many ways not dreamed of by those who load the farm table with a superabundance of good things, if it be necessary to do so, to secure beautiful surroundings. It may be only a question of choice between a moderate subsistence and a reposeful environment, or an overloaded table with uninspiring surroundings. Natural as well as artificial beauty and pleasurable environment have their values. A certain lot on one street sells for $1,000, another one on the same street for $500. They are both within easy reach of the business center, on the same street-car line, of the same size, and have the same elevation. Why the difference in price? Because of environment. A seat in the dress circle at the theater costs a dollar, one in the peanut gallery ten cents. The play can be seen as well with a glass in the cheap seat as in the more expensive one. Then environment has value, as well as land and buildings.
The value of the farm may be greatly modified by the improvements upon it. It is well to ask, Is the house well located? May it not have to be virtually rebuilt before it is at all satisfactory? Will it be necessary to move and repair barns before they are at all suited to their purposes? The improvements may be too extended for the needs of the purchaser. Some farms are overloaded with buildings ([Fig. 4]); some have badly arranged, unsightly buildings, too good to destroy and too ugly and unhandy for either economy or pleasure. Farm buildings are not a direct source of income and are expensive to keep in repair; therefore, there would better be a slight deficiency of them than an ill arranged surplus. All other permanent improvements, such as orchards, plantations, fences, and the like, should be carefully considered. A good bearing orchard of only a few acres may serve to furnish enough profit each year to liquidate taxes and interest charges. The orchard may be cheaper at $500 per acre than the balance of the farm is at $75 per acre, or it may be only an incumbrance of good land. Is the farm naturally or artificially drained? If not, will $35 per acre have to be spent in thorough draining before the land is really satisfactory? If not drained, will it bring constant disappointment? Fences, lanes and the necessity for them, the amount and location of inferior land as pasture land, the kind of weeds about the farm, as well as the amount, kind and location of timber, should be considered.
Fig. 4. Too many buildings for eighty acres of land.
Land devoted to market-gardening should be near the market town where the perishable products are to be sold. Vegetables should reach the market early in their season in a fresh and presentable condition and cheaply, if satisfactory profits are desired. Then land which can be tilled early (warm or sandy land), though it may contain a comparatively small amount of natural plant-food, will be more satisfactory than rich, cold land situated farther from the market. An acre of poor, sandy land near the market may be worth, to the gardener, three or four times as much as an acre of the more distant fertile upland.
Near the town, manures, which are so necessary to force many market-garden products, can be procured cheaply and in abundance. The added distance of even one or two miles from the switch or shipping station may have an important effect on profits. Land situated far from market may well be devoted to stock-raising and such other products as may be marketed infrequently or at leisure. As yet, agricultural methods in America are so new that they have not adjusted themselves to the growing cities, nor have specialized crops found their appropriate localities. Too often are seen truck farms located half a score of miles from the city, and the meat-producing farms within sight of it. As the country becomes older, the varied activities in agriculture will fit themselves into their appropriate localities, as they have already done in many parts of Europe. The dairyman of the Channel islands has long since learned that the piebald cattle of the poulders are not suited to his wants, and the boer of the lowland knows that the meek-eyed, thin-skinned Jersey is not best adapted to his cold, windy country and wet pastures.
Cost of tillage should be considered when valuing land. When produced on friable land, crops may be secured at much less cost than on tenacious clay. On the other hand, while sandy soils are the most easily cultivated, they are ever demanding more plant-food, and hence are not well adapted to grass or general agriculture, as the expense of keeping them productive is usually so great as to preclude profits.