t search made and is willing to pass this on to the purchaser, thus
saving expense and delay in tracing back the records over a long period of
years. Such study will show whether there are encumbrances or liens of any
kind on the property, and these, of course, must be cleared up before any
transaction is entered into.

The potential buyer should also have a survey made by a competent engineer
to definitely fix the boundaries of the property. Stakes can then be
placed, indicating the corners and any irregularities in the outline of
the area under consideration, showing the new owner exactly where his
property extends. In many sections of the country the buyer is in a
position to demand of the owner that such a survey be made at the owner's
expense. This survey is particularly important where an area of
considerable size has been cut up into parcels for sale to individuals.

The steps that have been outlined to protect the investment are only those
which a prudent purchaser will insist upon before transfer of ownership
takes place. Frequently a buyer becomes so enamored with a property that
he hopes nothing will interfere with his acquisition of it, and he is apt
to mentally minimize the possibilities of a cloud on the title or the
exactness of the property lines. So many people have suffered serious
losses from failure to look thoroughly before leaping that emphasis is
given to these points as a means of securing ample protection for the
buyer.

_An Income from the Investment._--It is presumed that in most cases the
owner of even a small tract expects to secure some financial returns from
the land as a means of adding to his income. The plan that is proposed as
a means of securing an income from the land should not be too complicated
and should be of a type that can be carried on when the owner is
necessarily engaged in other work. This, of course, may run the gamut from
a small home garden to supply the vegetable needs of the household to the
operation of a larger tract on a commercial basis. Furthermore, as we get
into the commercial type of production, that may be planned as a means of
materially supplementing an income or eventually supplying the entire
family income.

Especial attention has been given in recent years to the use of poultry as
a means of supplying an income to the family which is willing to use its
own resources for taking care of the flock. Another means of securing an
income is the growing of ve