Our land at 150
dollars per acre will favourably compare with lands fetching much higher
prices.
7. Free Conveyances will be given, with a perfectly clear and
satisfactory title.
8. Two-thirds of the purchase-money may remain on
mortgage.
9. Merced is only 14 days from London.
10. A liberal competence may be secured by a reasonably industrious
settler.
11. Merced is a very healthy locality, and is nearer to San Francisco
than other Fruit growing centres.
12. My clients, the owners, are well-known gentlemen of wealth and
position in California, and not irresponsible land speculators, members
of a syndicate with an unknown personality.
COMPARISON AND WARNING.
I have already said that applicants should verify for themselves the
statements made by persons who, like myself, would be personally
benefited by their settling upon the lands offered for sale. Letters
sent to this country, and advertised by agents as a guarantee of
advantages, written by persons soon after arrival in California, and who
have not compared the place of their location with other places, can
scarcely be a sufficient recommendation. Some parts of California
advertised in this country for sale have not a permanent water supply;
are too hot; are swept by winds; are at a considerable distance from a
railway station; have a poor, sandy soil, some even mixed with alkali;
and some are so situated as to be "notoriously unhealthy," and produce
chills, fevers, and general malaria, and, in one case, I have heard of
an embarrassed title: therefore, I say that intending settlers should
remember there is a California and a California - that it is not all gold
which glitters, and that they should, personally and intelligently,
investigate for themselves, on the spot, the statements made by those
who, at a distance, offer the lands for sale.
CAPITAL REQUIRED.
It is recommended that settlers intending to establish Fruit farms,
should have a capital of from L600 upwards; but those who have a smaller
capital - say, L300, or even L100 - may, in other ways, find some opening
for employing it, if accompanied with intelligent, industrious,
persevering work.
=A Start in Life.=
To ensure the stability of a building the foundation ought to be
substantial, so in like manner a good start in life goes a great way
towards ensuring a successful career. By success I do not mean the
making of a rapid fortune by leaps and bounds of prosperity, but I do
mean an ultimate prosperity, acquired through patient, persevering, and
intelligent labour. To make a large fortune quickly it is necessary to
have command of the requisite knowledge of the business in hand, the
requisite capital, untiring energy, and a trait of genius.
