“THE  OLD  BRICK.” 
HOW  A  LONG  ISLAND  WOMAN  FARMS. 
Guernseys,  Trotters  and  Berkshires. 
[EDITORIAL  CORRESPONDENCE.] 
“The  Old  Brick,”  as  it  is  familiarly  known  in  its 
neighborhood,  and  as  it  is  beginning  to  be  known  all 
over  the  United  States,  is  a  pleasant  place  to  visit.  It 
is  the  home  of  Mrs.  S.  P.  Taber  Willetts,  a  lady  who 
occupies  a  very  prominent  position  to-day  among  the 
successful  breeders  of  the  country.  The  place  com¬ 
prises  about  500  acres  and  is  situated  just  outside  the 
village  of  Roslyn  on  Long  Island.  It  is  a  most  valu¬ 
able  piece  of  property,  viewed  from  any  standpoint. 
The  soil  is  a  retentive  loam,  not  too  heavy,  easily  cul¬ 
tivated,  almost  free  from  stones  and  rolling  enough  to 
be  attractive.  One  could  hardly  find  a  more  desirable 
place  in  a  week’s  journey  up  or  down  the  country. 
“  The  Old  Brick  ”  is  a  name  the  place  lias  had  for  gen¬ 
erations.  The  house  is 
of  brick  and  was  one  of 
the  6rst,  if  not  the  first 
on  Long  Island.  In  the 
■early  days,  when  there 
were  no  railways,  the 
venders  of  shell  and 
■other  fish  from  the  south 
side,  when  asked  how 
far  they  were  going  with 
’their  load,  gauged  the 
distance  by  this  well- 
known  landmark — just 
this  side  or  the  other,  or 
within  a  certain  distance 
of  “the  Old  Brick”  until 
the  name  became  com¬ 
mon  property,  known  to 
all  the  residents  of  Long 
Island. 
It  is  a  most  comfort¬ 
able,  liome-like  place. 
With  no  special  at¬ 
tempts  at  architectural 
ornamentation  or  dis¬ 
play,  both  the  outside 
and  in  impress  the  visitor 
with  the  idea  of  solid 
comfort.  There  is  an 
air  of  comfort  and  com¬ 
placency  about  every 
chair  in  the  library  and 
if  Mrs.  Willetts’s  favor¬ 
ite,  a  great  St.  Bernard, 
Suldan,  after  looking 
you  over,  is  graciously 
pleased  to  wag  out  a 
welcome  with  his  pond¬ 
erous  tail,  you  feel  at 
home  and  comfortable  at  once.  The  grounds  are  large 
and  pleasant,  shady,  but  not  too  shady,  the  sunshine 
being  wanted  as  well  as  the  shade.  Such  were  the  im¬ 
pressions  a  representative  of  The  Rural  New-Yorker 
received  on  the  occasion  of  a  recent  visit. 
How  a  Woman  Won  Success. 
Mrs.  Willetts  is  a  remarkable  woman,  though  it  is 
likely  that  the  statement  will  surprise  her  more 
than  it  will  any  one  else.  She  is  a  very  quiet,  unas¬ 
suming  lady,  but  she  knows  her  own  mind  perfectly _ 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  vacillation  in  her  make-up. 
She  is  studious  and  retiring  naturally,  but  genial  and 
pleasant  in  her  home,  and  is,  withal,  a  rather  brilliant 
conversationalist,  especially  on  themes  in  which  she  is 
specially  interested.  She  is  also  a  shrewd  business 
woman,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  as  is  evidenced 
in  her  answer  to  the  questions  of  The  Rural  : 
,l  Would  you  object  to  some  personal  allusions  in 
The  Rural?” 
“Oh  no,”  said  she.  “I  will  endure  the  notoriety 
for  the  sake  of  the  advertising.” 
“  How  long  is  it  since  you  began  the  breeding  of 
Guernseys  ?  ”  said  The  Rural. 
“  Some  seven  years  ago.  I  began  breeding  Black 
Berkshire  swine  about  the  same  time.  Before  that, 
we  had  a  dairy  farm,  and  sent  our  milk  to  New  York. 
That  was  not  at  all  a  remunerative  business.  I  did 
not  have  anything  to  say  about  the  price  of  my  milk, 
and  between  the  milkmen  and  railroads,  there  was 
not  much  left  for  the  farmer.” 
“  Are  you  pleased  with  the  business  ?  ” 
“Oh  yes.  It  is  very  fascinating  if  one  goes  at  it 
aright.  Several  things  are  necessary  outside  of  means 
for  the  work.  One  must  have  a  definite  aim  to  begin 
with,  have  the  matter  all  thought  out,  and  know  just 
exactly  what  he  wishes  to  accomplish.  Ways  and 
means  come  next,  how  best  to  reach  the  desired  end. 
These  points  settled,  one  must  then  go  ahead  with  all 
the  energy  he  possesses.  He  must  expect  to  be  laughed 
at  and  reviled — that  of  course.  I  had  all  that  to  con¬ 
tend  with  in  a  marked  degree.  I  was  not  even  ‘damned 
with  faint  praise  ;  ’  nothing  so  consoling  as  praise  in 
any  shape,  however  modified,  was  vouchsafed  me.  But 
I  knew  what  I  wanted,  I  believed  in  my  theories,  and, 
I  am  glad  to  say  I  have  been  fairly  successful.  Suc¬ 
cess  really  never  comes  in  any  other  way.” 
How  did  you  come  to  add  horse-breeding  to  your 
business  ?” 
Well,  we  had  the  facilities — room,  forage,  etc., 
and  it  would  add  but  little  to  our  expenses,  so  we 
went  at  it  ” 
Selecting-  a  Head  Horse, 
“How  did  you  come  to  select  ‘Young  Highland  Grey’ 
for  the  head  of  your  stud  ?  ” 
“That  is  rather  a  long  story.  I  had  but  little  knowl¬ 
edge  of  horses  to  begin  with,  but  I  decided  1  wanted  to 
breed  ‘  standard  bred  ’  trotters  and  to  breed  them  of 
good  size.  If  any  of  them  made-  phenomenal  records 
as  trotters — well  and  good.  I  would  sell  them  at 
prices  befitting  a  phenomenon.  If  the  reverse,  they 
would  at  least  make  good  road  horses,  and  such  ani¬ 
mals  are  always  salable  at  fair  prices.  With  this  idea 
in  my  head,  I  began  to  study  up  the  Standard,  in  search 
of  a  stallion  which  should  come  nearest  to  my  ideal. 
He  must  be  able  to  show  a  promising  gait  himself,  but 
in  addition  to  this,  both  ancestry  and  descendants 
must  have  something  to  their  credit  in  the  line  I 
wanted.  I  his  took  some  time,  but  I  finally  made  up 
my  mind  that  Young  Highland  Grey  9310,  was  the 
horse  I  wanted.  I  had  never  seen  him,  but  his  pedi¬ 
gree  was  what  I  wanted  and  some  of  his  get  were 
very  fast.  So  I  sent  an  agent  up  in  Vermont,  who 
bought  the  horse  for  me,  and  he  has  been  here  since, 
a  period  of  five  years.”  (A  picture  of  the  horse  is 
shown  at  Fig.  281. — Eds.) 
“  Did  he  fulfill  your  expectations  ?  ” 
“  You  shall  hear.  When  he  first  became  a  part  of 
‘  The  Old  Brick,’  I  was 
the  recipient  of  much 
sarcastic  advice.  ‘  D  o 
you  expect  to  raise  trot¬ 
ters  from  that  stock  ?  ’ 
was  often  asked  me  and 
I  pocketed  many  a  covert 
fling  at  my  purchase. 
Jeers,  however,  did  not 
in  any  way  convince  me 
that  I  had  made  a  mis¬ 
take  and  I  went  on  the 
even  tenor  of  my  way. 
Soon  after  this,  I  wrote 
to  a  friend  in  Dutchess 
County,  telling  him  that 
I  wanted  a  couple  of 
mares,  and  specifying 
many  points  which  they 
must  possess,  both  in 
blood  and  in  physical 
traits.  Very  fortunately 
for  me,  he  found  two 
splendid  brood  mares, 
bough  t  them  for  me  and 
I  have  them  now.  Now 
as  to  results:  Highland 
Lassie,  two  years  past, 
holds  the  record  on  Long 
Island  for  2:30  as  a  two- 
year-old,  and  Highland 
Girl,  another  of  Young 
Highland  Grey’s  colts, 
is  even  more  prornis- 
ing.” 
“  Then  you  think  you 
did  not  make  a  mistake 
— that  you  laid  your 
foundations  wisely  ?  ” 
I  am  as  sure  of  it  as  one  can  well  be  ;  results  justify 
me  in  the  opinion.” 
“  How  many  head  of  horses  have  you  on  the  place  ?  ” 
“  Between  (50  and  70;  not  all  our  own,  some  of  them 
are  boarders.” 
The  Cows  and  Their  Care. 
“How  many  head  of  Guernseys  ?  ” 
“Counting  young  and  old,  about  70,  though  this 
number  varies  by  reason  of  sales  and  additions.  Comus 
and  Statellite  are  at  their  head.  Shall  we  take  a  walk 
about  the  stables  and  dairy  ?  ” 
Acquiescing,  we  were  soon  strolling  about  the 
grounds,  where  we  were  joined  by  Mr.  Doncourt,  the 
manager  of  the  farm.  Mrs.  Willetts  is  fortunate  in 
securing  the  services  of  so  competent  a  gentleman, 
who  combines  with  the  special  knowledge  needed  for 
the  place  an  enthusiasm  and  natural  taste  for  it, 
which  make  him  all  the  more  valuable.  The  dairy 
house  is  a  neatly  constructed  and  conveniently  ar* 
