State Lands Subject to Entry October 1, 1881-Description and Acres.

[In this table fractions of acres are omitted. There are besides those enumerated 200 acres of University land" in Kalamazoo, 30 in Berrien, und 67 in Ottawa; and 250 acres of "asset land" in Lapeer, and 40 in Genesee.]

RAILROAD AND CANAL LANDS.

Various grants of land have been made from time to time by the general government providing for the construction of railroads through new portions of the State. The State has also made grants of its own which have been used for similar purposes. The amount of land acquired through these grants by various railroad and canal companies, and yet remaining in their possession, is about four millions of acres, some portions of it having only a contingent value, depending upon the discovery of mineral resources. The chief value of those which are indicated in the tables which follow, and in the table printed on the map preceding these pages, lies in their timber and agricultural capabilities.

The grants made by the general government were of alternate sections lying within six miles of the lines of railroad they were intended to advance, and it was provided that in cases where such sections had been already disposed of, indemnity lands might be appropriated within a range of fifteen miles of the track. Supplementary legislation extended this right in one or two exceptional instances to a distance of twenty miles, but it is evident that lands of this character are none of them very remote from railroads, while the greater portion lie in convenient proximity. They are not all good lands, but some of the best the State affords can be found among them, and their soil, timber, and location present a wide range of selection. In disposing of them their owners have general rules on which sales are regulated, but are liberal in their treatment of purchasers as regards time and terms of payment, and settlers who improve their farms and keep their taxes and interest paid are assured of kindly consideration. Particulars will be promptly furnished on application by letter or otherwise to the land commissioners or agents whose names and addresses are mentioned below. Three companies own all the railroad lands in the lower peninsula, and the principal grants under which they derive their titles were made by congress in 1856, when large sections of the country which their lines traverse were parts of an almost unbroken wilderness. One of these is

THE FLINT AND PERE MARQUETTE.

Its line extends from Monroe in the southeastern corner of the State to Ludington on Lake Michigan, and the lands which it holds lie in every county through which its track passes between the head of Saginaw bay and its western terminus, and in some of the adjoining counties. The company holds its strictly farming lands-or lands which are not valued principally for their pine-at from five to ten dollars per acre. The terms are one-fourth down, and the remainder distributed in three to five equal annual payments, with interest at seven per cent. The rule is not inflexible, however, and smaller cash payments are sometimes accepted when it is apparent the settler is in good faith seeking a home. William L. Webber, East Saginaw, is the land commissioner of the company having in charge all interests pertaining to the grant. The number of acres remaining in its possession in October, 1881, was about 146,000, divided among the counties named as follows:

This line extends from Fort Wayne in Indiana to Traverse City and Petoskey on Grand and Little Traverse bays, and will be completed to the Straits of Mackinac, at Mackinac City, during the summer of 1882. Its lands are situated principally in the counties intersected by its rails between the northern limits of Kent and the southern boundary of Emmet. The land commissioner is W. O. Hughart, at Grand Rapids. The company numbers its farming lands at about 570,000 acres, upon which prices range from $3.50 to $7.50 per acre. One-quarter of the purchase money is required to be paid at the time of sale, and the remainder in five equal annual payments at seven per cent interest, ten per cent discount being allowed when the price is paid in full at the time of purchase. The figures below represent the quantity of land held in each county lying within the limits of the grant:

The Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw company has for all practical purposes become merged in the Michigan Central. Its line begins at Jackson, on the latter road, and deflecting to Saginaw bay, reaches the extreme northern limits of the lower peninsula at Cheboygan and Mackinac City. The land business of the corporation is managed by O. M. Barnes, land commissioner, at Lansing, and prices, as advertised in its publications, "vary from two dollars per acre upwards." The terms are one-quarter down, and the remainder in five equal yearly payments, with interest at seven per cent. The company owns lands in all the counties penetrated by the line between Saginaw bay and the Straits of Mackinac, and in some contiguous counties, numbering in the aggregate about 384,000 acres, distributed as follows:

This line, recently opened on the upper peninsula, forms a connection with the roads of the lower peninsula by means of a ferriage at Mackinac City, and unites St. Ignace on the Straits with Marquette on Lake Superior and the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon railroad, extending westward. Its construction was promoted by a grant from the State, and it owns about 1,326,000 acres of land in the counties which it intersects. W. O. Strong, Detroit, is the land commissioner of the company, whose prices for strictly agricultural lands range from four to ten dollars per acre. The terms of sale require a payment in cash of one-quarter of the purchase money, the remainder being payable at the option of the buyer, within ten years, with seven per cent interest annually. The grant is contained in four counties, viz.:

The Chicago and Northwestern railway corporation, the main lines of which extend in other directions, has a branch which enters Michigan at Menominee and reaches by way of Escanaba to Negaunee, near Marquette, and a smaller one diverging westward into the Menominee iron district. Part of its lands were received from the general government and part from the State. The entire amount owned in Michigan is about 657,000 acres, with prices ranging on those not held chiefly for timber from $2 to $10 per acre, one-fifth to be paid in hand, and the remainder in five equal yearly payments, with interest at six per cent, payable annually in advance. F. H. Van Cleve, Escanaba, has charge of sales. The acreage is divided as follows:

LAKE SUPERIOR SHIP CANAL RAILWAY AND IRON CO.

The lands of this company were acquired under grants to aid in the construction of the Portage Lake canal. They were selected chiefly for mineral and pine, but the agent of the company at Marquette estimates that 60,000 acres in Houghton and 150,000 acres in Ontonagon are suitable for agriculture. All mineral rights are reserved in their sale, and prices to settlers range from $2 to $5 per acre, one-fifth in cash at the time of purchase, and the remainder payable in four equal annual payments, with interest at six per cent. J. M. Longyear, Marquette, is the agent.

This company is the

ST. MARY'S CANAL MINERAL LAND co.

owner of the remaining lands lying in the upper peninsula which belonged to the grant made by the general government in 1852 for the construction of the ship canal around the falls of St. Mary's. It estimates its agricultural tracts at 37,000 acres, and the prices placed thereon range from $2.50 to $10 per The terms of sale are not inflexible, but the custom is to require a cash payment of one-third the purchase money, leaving the remainder to be paid in three equal annual payments, bearing interest at seven per cent. R. R. Goodell, at Houghton, acts as agent for the company. The lands lie in the following counties:

acre.

The company has in addition 90,000 acres lying on the copper range, which is for sale without reservation, at prices not yet fixed.

THE MICHIGAN LAND AND IRON COMPANY-(LIMITED).

Lands formerly in the possession of the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon railroad corporation under a government grant are represented by this company. Parties interested think that of 400,000 acres thus represented not to exceed one-quarter are adapted to farming purposes, and these lie in nearly equal proportions in the counties of Marquette and Baraga. They are held at from $2 to $8 per acre. B. J. Stevens, Madison, Wisconsin, will furnish information concerning these lands.

IN THE HANDS OF PRIVATE OWNERS.

It is estimated by intelligent men who have made real estate operations a business that there are in the newer counties of this State, in the hands of private individuals, from one to two millions of acres of wild lands, much of it taken up at government prices, which were selected with especial reference to their agricultural value, and are held for an advance on their cost. Generally these are known as beech and maple. lands, bearing a large proportion of hard or sugar maple, and they offer an inviting field of selection to those who are looking for an opening to first-class farms. In price they vary from $3 to $10 per acre, depending not only on their quality but on their neighborhood, accessibility to markets, and the relative and prospective growth* of the surrounding country.

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There are at least as many more acres in the market, and belonging to private parties, that are known as stump lands." These are lands from which the pine timber has been cut, leaving standing the remaining trees of the native forest, consisting of beech, maple, basswood, elm, hemlock, etc. It has been explained in previous pages of this pamphlet that the best pines grow among hard wood. The soil of a large proportion of these "stump lands" is rich and productive, and in the hands

of diligent cultivators will follow its wealth of timber with an equal abundance of good crops. Prices differ, as in other lands, according to location and quality, but selections may be had within a wide range varying from $2 to $8 per acre.

Partly improved farms, the owners of which, in the changing vicissitudes of life, may desire to sell, or which may have fallen into the possession of people living at a distance, can sometimes be bought at very low figures.

It is, of course, impossible to give a definite idea of the selling prices of improved lands in the State at large. The nature and extent of the improvements, the condition of the buildings and fences, the growth of its orchards, and the skill and industry with which it has been cultivated, bear relations to the value of a farm quite as specific, if not so important, as its location and soil. It may be said, however, that farms in the older settled counties of the State, not exceptional in their buildings and in well established neighborhoods, in reasonable proximity to churches, schools, railroad stations, and markets, can be purchased at prices varying from $25 to $75 an acre. Farming lands can be bought in even the most populous counties at a lower figure than this minimum, and there are some under high cultivation and having an especial value in their buildings and position which will command considerably more than the amount named in the other direction. But a fair medium in the prices of average farms in the older portion of the State lies between the limits indicated. North of those counties the average is, of course, very considerably lower, although choice and well improved farms in the more advanced localities and in favored neighborhoods will always, as elsewhere, bring prices to correspond with their advantages.

SOME PRACTICAL HINTS.

The peculiar advantages which settlement in Michigan offers to farmers seeking new homes lie mainly in its exceptional adaptation to mixed husbandry, the accessibility of all its parts to general markets, its facilities for transportation, the established character of its institutions and its society, its light public burdens, its certain and rapid growth in the future, and the readiness with which good lands can now be bought for a little money. Nevertheless, to enjoy these advantages some money is necessary. To invest it judiciously is the first consideration, and after all attainable information has been procured the individual judgment must determine the rest.

Persons coming here from other States or countries should, as early as possible, form some idea of the part of the State in which they prefer to settle. It will be comparatively easy after that to acquire definite knowledge of neighborhoods. The county seats and business centers of those parts of the State in which the unoccupied lands are situated always contain competent men who are willing to impart the benefit of their own knowledge to those who are desirous of making a settlement, and the information to be derived from intelligent and trustworthy citizens possessing a local acquaintance with the country is more satisfactory and minute than any that can be bbtained from books and advertisements. Then before purchasing there should be a careful and personal examination of the land itself, and of its vicinity and opportunities. The man who buys a farm for the home of himself and his family without exercising his own judgment will be very apt to fail in any enterprise he may undertake.

There need be no trouble in this State about titles. The greater portion of its soil can be traced directly to the possession of the United States government, through few hands and by a simple transmission. Abstracts of title, certified by the register