of deeds of each county, who has the custody of its real estate records, are always to be had at the demand of the purchaser, in transactions with individuals, and county treasurers can furnish histories of the tax records, and where these are satisfactory all the rest is safe. Whether buying of Government, of the State, of railroad companies or of individuals, the careful purchaser will always be sure, however, that his deed or evidence of title contains a correct description of his land.

There are many advantages attending the settlement of new countries in colonies. A company of several families may largely reduce to each member the expenses of choosing a location, outfit, etc., and at the same time preserve the comforts and benefits of old associations. In cases where considerable tracts of land are thus taken up, if purchased from railroad companies or individuals, some modifications may be expected in the price.

After all, ultimate success will depend upon individual traits of character. Without industry, frugality, sobriety, and common sense, there is not much prospect for any one, anywhere, or in any pursuit. It is only claimed for Michigan that these quali

ties will have fair play here under peculiarly favorable conditions.

It is hardly necessary to add that the office of the Commissioner of Immigration is not an agency for the sale of lands of either a public or private character. Neither does it recommend in answer to general inquiries any particular sections of the State. Whatever information it can furnish, however, in regard to all sections will be promptly rendered.

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9.

EXPERIENCE IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN.

Mr. George E. Steele, now of Traverse City, has resided in the northern counties of this State for twenty years. He is a graduate of the Agricultural College, a surveyor by profession, has been a practical farmer, was formerly a member of the Legislature from Antrim county, and has the confidence of his neighbors. In the discharge of his ordinary avocations he has unusual opportunities of obtaining a personal knowledge of Northern Michigan, and in response to a request to that effect he has furnished for this pamphlet a series of practical suggestions which are here subjoined, and which have a general application.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SETTLERS.

BY GEORGE E. STEELE, TRAVERSE CITY.

The settler in securing a location, if he would be pleasantly situated and not meet with disappointment, must not go at hap-hazard, but must be governed by certain fixed principles, easily understood, and which others, sometimes at a loss, have helped by their experience to fix. Some of these worth heeding may be mentioned.

WHAT SETTLERS SHOULD EXPECT.

I. If you are determined to be a fixture in any part of Michigan, govern yourself in a measure by the practices and conditions of the particular locality. This does not mean that a man is not to make his impress on a community he is in; but it does mean that if he goes into Northern Michigan from Southern Illinois, or any far distant point, he is not to expect just what he left, either in habits of society, in practices of agriculture, or products. It would be folly for him to expect to find corn growing sixteen feet high, and because he could not take "two looks and a turn about over the prairie to declare that Michigan is a fraud; or because tobacco and sweet potatoes are not the principal products of the new country he had set foot in, to say it was useless for men to try farming there. It is not expected that an Iowa man will bring with him a breaking plow eighteen feet long and ten yoke of trained oxen to break up a stumpy farm. And yet there are men coming into Michigan who think they can just drive right through a hard maple stump, not even entrapping their coat-tails. We have seen men, who had lived on prairies, take timbered farms, and with axes in hand, go out to work in the morning only thinking how they could " spare that tree." "It is so very high to the top of this timber!" "What a pity this cannot be saved!" "Where we came from they would pick up every chip." There is no doubt that more economy of timber in Michigan would be appreciated by those who come after us, and the wealth of timber here is being more and more valued, but if you stop and show pity you will never have a farm cleared up. The fuller you are of good long days' works and the less you theorize about what people do somewhere else, the sooner your fields will be yielding their increase.

A DIFFERENCE IN MEN.

Men generally seek new homes that they may better their condition, but some are

with county

averse to change, and are determined to find fault with any country that does not have ju what they are accustomed to. It was only recently the writer talked tleman from Cass county in this State, who was looking in Grand Traverse a new location. He had been out two days in the roughest part of the county and concluded to go back home on the next train, declaring he had seen all he wanted, and would not take hilly land as a gift.

▲ case right the opposite is in point: Mr. Adams of Benzonia went there eighteen years ago, selected a high, rough location where a few trees had been chopped, cut a road winding up among the hills, and went to work. The seedling peaches by the stumps near the old log shanty grew rapidly and other fruit was planted. He told us a few days ago that his peach trees had borne sixteen years without a failure, and this year, as poor a year for fruit as it is, he had 200 bushels of peaches, besides a good crop of grapes and pears, and a fair crop of apples, plums, cherries and small fruits. He has not cultivated fruit as thoroughly as it should be, but it seems determined to bear. We measured a peach tree twelve inches in diameter branching into a three-parted head eighteen inches from the ground, each branch a large top in itself. The log buildings have been replaced by a nice frame house and frame barn with basement stable. Board fences have taken the place of brush hedges; the family have taken more lands, and a day of comfort and competence dawns for them. If this man had said "I don't believe fruit will grow here, the soil must be poor," and "I am so far out of the world I can't sell it if I had it," he might still have been in Minnesota-but not eating his own peaches.

A NEW COUNTRY REQUIRES NEW METHODS AND NEW IDEAS.

Onr first hint will be of practical value from the great diversity of soil, surface, climate, and other conditions found in a State as large as Michigan. There is a decided change from the level plateau of the Saginaw valley to the high lands of Otsego county, with an elevation of 900 feet above the lakes. The Michigan fruitbelt, bordering Lake Michigan and Grand and Little Traverse bays, is known to be very well adapted to fruit culture, and to some extent already has distinctive features. The development of the light sandy lands called plains is gradually going on and will require special agriculture, and bring about new processes and products now little thought of. So one must not judge by his home notions.

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THE PRODUCTIVENESS OF SANDY AND GRAVELLY SOILS.

The writer was walking along the track of a railroad in northern Michigan, in company with some men who had been in the practice of tilling a stiff soil. They remarked that such heavy sugar maple, elm, and basswood timber generally indicated good soil, but that the sandy and gravelly land was a problem. "See here," said one, “here is a good timothy, three feet tall and not yet in bloom, growing from the very bottom of an excavation." This was the length of a spade handle below the original surface. Farther examination showed that the large embankments taken from deep cuttings were grassed over with rank grass and herbage growing upon them. In each case the place was most unlikely to be so soon growing herd's grass. It is no longer a question whether the sandy lands (and we mean now those lands so very sandy as to raise a suggestion to the owner that he had better strengthen his title to hold them) can be made to produce clover; and if clover, then the other crops adapted to the locality and stock. There are numerous instances, and every year they are increasing, where such fields show for themselves, and show well. The past season the writer saw heavy lodged clover, so rank and thick to mow that it would make one think dinner time never would come, on what was originally light pine lands or 'plains" which had been fertilized with stable manure.

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State Lands Subject to Entry May 1st, 1883.-Description and Acres.

[In this table fractions of acres are omitted. There are besides those enumerated 200 acres of "University land" in Kalamazoo, 20 in Berrien, and 67 in Ottawa; and 160 acres of "asset land" in Lapeer.

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 three millions and a half 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 May, 1883, was about 110,000, 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 was 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 479,692 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: