for short time delays in payment, not
only because the security is good, but because the full attention of the
maker is given to the necessity of payment.

A most familiar form of deferred payment for farm property is the
_mortgage note_, secured by a deed entitling the holder to take possession
of the farm, or real estate of any kind, upon failure of the maker of the
note to meet its conditions. This is esteemed the best possible security
for payments long deferred, because the ordinary values of real estate in
a growing country like ours increase rather than diminish. Except in cases
of overvaluation from speculative investment, or in the settlement of a
new country under misconception of its conditions, the security remains
ample. And even then the lender has no greater risk than the borrower.
Since final settlement by foreclosure of mortgage involves the law's
delay, increased by the natural sentiment growing up about a home which
has been occupied for years, such mortgage notes are only to a limited
extent available in general commerce. In large measure they are likely to
stand between the original purchaser and seller. The exception to this is
found in investment of large trust funds, as with insurance companies and
endowments of colleges and other benevolent institutions. In these cases a
permanent investment, with stated income, is desirable, and mortgage notes
with five to ten years' credit give better rates of income than long time
bonds of great corporations or governments. The ease with which purchase
is made by a mortgage tempts many a young man to promise more than he can
fulfil. The weight of the farm mortgage is felt throughout the country,
doubling the disaster of every deficient crop. Variations from the
mortgage in deeds of trust and instalment contracts have essentially the
same relation to credit, involve essentially the same burdens, and differ
only in the legal forms for taking possession of the real estate in
default of payment.

Where a company or a community defers payment for its purchases, it is
said to issue _bonds_, which are simply formal notes, usually with
attached notes, or coupons, for interest at stated times, issued by
qualified officers under specific legislation. These are so easily
understood and tested for their quality as to become a part of the general
credit of the country. They gain a well understood market value, and pass
from hand to hand with greatest readiness. This fact