An economic study of farm layout .. economicstudyoff00myer Year: 1920 500 W. I. Myers ^ / PUBLIC HIGHWAYS In most parts of New York State the owner of a farm holds title to the land in the adjacent highway, the only right of the public to the latter being the right to its free and uninterrupted use for highway purposes. The area of a farm as given in the deed therefore usually includes the area of all roads running thru the farm and one-half the area of roads bounding the farm. While land in is techni- cally owned by the owners of adjacent farms, little of this land is used
An economic study of farm layout .. economicstudyoff00myer Year: 1920 500 W. I. Myers ^ / PUBLIC HIGHWAYS In most parts of New York State the owner of a farm holds title to the land in the adjacent highway, the only right of the public to the latter being the right to its free and uninterrupted use for highway purposes. The area of a farm as given in the deed therefore usually includes the area of all roads running thru the farm and one-half the area of roads bounding the farm. While land in is techni- cally owned by the owners of adjacent farms, little of this land is used for producing crops and so it adds nothing directly to the farm income. However, the importance of good roads is so great in eco- nomic farm operation that the land necessarily occupied by good, well-planned roads is one of the most valuable assets of a farm. In that part of the State which was settled last, much of the land was laid out in squares, with straight roads in so far as topography per- mitted. Since this section is relatively level, the highways as a rule are straight. In the eastern and southeastern parts of the State, which were settled first, the roads were not planned, but developed, like the farm layoilts, largely by chance. In general the roads tend to follow the topography of the land, avoiding the steepest grades. Even where there are no grades to avoid, many of the highways are crooked (rtg. 133). The most serious effect of these crooked roads on farm Fig. 133. plan of a southern new york farm The crooked hiRhways which cross this farm not only occupy much hind but also cause the irregular shape of several of the fields. The area of the right of way of the highway is per cent of the farm area. Part of the roadside is cropped, the area of the highway not in crops being per cent of the farm area Farm area, acres Average size of farmed fields, acres Average distance to farmed fields, 35 rods
Size: 1401px × 1428px
Photo credit: © Bookend / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: archive, book, drawing, historical, history, illustration, image, page, picture, print, reference, vintage
