RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1003 
Frank  of  Peach  Hill 
By  Geo.  B.  Fiske 
(Continued  from  page  DS1) 
I  did  begin  right  away  as  it  happened, 
and  the  first  start  was  not  of  the  kind  to 
establish  my  reputation  as  a  breeder.  My 
excuse  was  the  old  one.  I  needed  the 
money.  I  had  about  a  dozen  of  the  Stev¬ 
ens  stock  left  over,  so  I  advertised  them 
very  briefly  in  Editor  Haynes'  farm  paper. 
I  lmd  more  replies  from  that  little  card 
thau  I  expected,  mostly  from  farmers  who 
seemed  to  care  little  for  fancy  points,  but 
wanted  to  try  the  new  breed-  I  wrote 
careful,  honest  letters  telling  them  just 
what  I  had.  Then  came  an  answer  with 
a  blue  money  order  enclosed ;  then  an¬ 
other  and  one  more  with  a  great  sheet  of 
postage  stamps  enclosed.  Between  them 
they  took  all  my  culls,  and  healthy  smart 
birds  they  were,  clever,  too.  for  I  had 
made  pets  of  them.  Their  color  showed 
touches  of  the  old  Adam  in  places,  but  I 
had  no  complaints  and  suppose  the  buy¬ 
ers  having  seen  few  specimens  of  the 
breed  were  satisfied,  considering  that  I 
sold  them  for  not  far  above  their  value  as 
market  poultry.  I  boxed  them  up  with 
straw  at  the  bottom  of  the  box  and  slats 
on  top.  put.  in  an  apple  and  an  ear  of  corn 
for  refreshment  and  took  my  first  ship¬ 
ment  quite  proudly  to  the  express  office. 
They  netted  about  $14  besides  the  cost  of 
boxes  and  advertising  and  postage. 
1  was  now  left  with  three  fine  males, 
over  thirty  fair  to  good  pullets,  besides 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  pullets  which  I 
had  raised  from  my  common  stock.  These 
common  pullets  gave  me  all  the  eggs  I  had 
that  Winter,  being  early  hatched  birds, 
and  I  kept  no  males  of  the  common  stock 
but  reserved  those  pullets  to  serve  as  sit¬ 
ters  in  the  Spring  and  to  supply  my 
table  with  eggs.  'During  the  Fall  I  im¬ 
proved  my  poultry  plant  considerably, 
making  the  houses  more  substantial  and 
warmer  with  linings  of  heavy  paper,  and 
putting  up  wire  yards  for  the  breeding 
season,  also  a  better  shelter  for  the 
sitters. 
CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  STRAW  RIDE. 
After  the  first  good  fall  of  snow  the 
men’s  club  of  the  church  was  getting  up 
a  straw  sleigh  ride.  After  thinking  over  my 
few  girl  acquaintances  among  the  church 
crowd,  the  only  one  I  felt  might  go  with 
me  was  Hazel  Frost.  I  found  Air.  Frost 
on  the  barn  floor  feeding  his  cows,  his 
movements  rather  stiffer  than  usual  be¬ 
cause  of  his  regular  Winter  dose  of  rheu¬ 
matism. 
‘‘I  should  like  to  have  Hazel  go  with 
me  on  the  straw  ride,”  I  said. 
"You  would?”  he  replied,  leaning  with 
both  hands  on  the  hay  fork.  “Well,  you 
know  we  are  pretty  careful  about  who  we 
let  take  our  little  gal  around.  I  haven’t 
heard  of  auy  more  of  those  carryings  on 
over  on  the  hill  lately,”  he  observed,  look¬ 
ing  at  me  shrewdly, „ his  head  a  little  on 
one  side. 
“I  haven’t  taken  a  drop  of  anything 
stronger  thau  coffee,”  I  replied  earnestly, 
“and  I  never  shall  again,  Mr.  Frost,  un¬ 
less  for  good  cause-  I’ve  cut  out  cigar¬ 
ettes,  too.” 
“That’s  right,  no  drink,  no  smoke,  no 
bad  company,  and  plenty  of  hard  work 
and  a  young  fellow  can  make  a  man  of 
himself.  Going  to  church  right  along, 
too.  That’s  good,  though  I  don’t  always 
go  myself,  now  my  boues  are  growing  stiff. 
I  find  I’ve  got  to  be  more  careful  of  my 
underpinning  this  slippery  weather.  Well, 
Frank,  I’ll  see  what  the  old  woman 
thinks,”  His  term  ‘old  woman’  was  one 
of  his  kindly  old  jokes.  Mrs.  Frost  was 
much  younger  than  her  husband,  and  with 
her  red  cheeks  and  large,  bright  eyes 
looked  almost  youthful  at  times.  She 
was  his  second  wife,  and  had  escaped  the 
hardships  of  his  early  struggling  years. 
The  straw  ride  was  my  first  real  coun¬ 
try  jollification.  A  big  pung  lined  with 
plenty  of  straw  and  blankets  and  a  couple 
of  rows  of  laughing,  singing  young  people 
seated  on  the  floor  in  the  snuggest  of  snug 
nearness.  I  was  a  trifle  sensitive  about  my 
old  overcoat,  but  there  was  nothing  tailor- 
made  about  the  young  farmer  folks  of  the 
town,  and  in  the  long  run  I  worried  less 
about  my  coat  than  about  my  hat,  which 
was  city  style,  and  not  adapted  to  pulling 
down  around  half  frozen  ears  like  the 
headgear  of  the  more  seasoned  sleigh- 
riders  of  the  party.  I  felt  at  the  top  of 
my  spirits  all  the  same  and  joked  and 
sang  as  noisily  as  the  l’est.  Of  course 
Hazel  Frost  was  with  me.  I  should 
hardly  have  mastered  courage  to  have 
gone  alone  or  to  have  asked  anybody  else. 
She  liked  sleigh  rides,  she  told  me  when  I 
asked  her  the  Sunday  before,  after  the 
young  folks’  meeting,  and  I  judged  her 
parents  had  decided  to  risk  their  darling 
in  the  company  of  the  “Poultry  Boy,”  as 
some  had  begun  to  call  me  already.  There 
was  little  nonsense  about  young  society 
in  Mapleton.  While  many  old  families 
held  themselves  a  kind  of  aristocracy,  and 
while  the  rich  newcomers  on  the  fancy 
farms  flocked  by  themselves  somewhat, 
the  young  people  of  the  church  drew  no 
strict  lines  other  than  good  character  and 
fellowship.  Few  young  men  couhl  have 
had  less  of  solid  backing  and  sabs  t  a  nee 
than  I,  yet  these  young  people  accepted 
me  on  equal  grounds  and  some  it.  seemed 
even  looked  up  to  me  a  little  because  of 
my  city  experience,  some  snatches  of  which 
I  could  still  talk  about  in  a  way  to 
amuse  them.  Our  party  stopped  for  re¬ 
freshments  at  a  hotel  in  the  nearest  large 
town.  We  gathered  around  the  piano  in 
the  parlor  to  sing  those  durable  old  “col¬ 
lege”  songs-  Then  back  home  more  quiet 
but  still  sociable  and  still  strengthening 
bonds  of  acquaintance  that  were  to  be¬ 
come  choice  friendships. 
As  I  was  parting  with  Hazel  Frost  at 
the  farmhouse  gate  I  set  out  to  kiss  her 
good  night,  after  the  way  which  was 
somewhat  a  matter  of  course  among  my 
set  in  the  city. 
“I  would  rather  not,”  she  said,  with 
dignity,  and  strange  to  relate,  I  liked  her 
the  better  for  it,  when  I  had  thought  it 
over.  “Nothing  cheap  about  these  coun¬ 
try  girls,”  I  reflected.  “They  know  how 
to  be  friends  and  no  nonsense  about  it.” 
(To  be  continued) 
Legal  Questions 
Parents’  Rights  in  Vermont 
What  about  the  following  question  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  laws  of  Vermont?  A  hoy 
14  years  old  did  not  agree  with  his  father, 
and  was_  turned  out  of  the  house  a  num¬ 
ber  of  times.  The  boy  left  home.  The 
next  day  the  father  came  after  him  and 
persuaded  him  to  go  home.  Can  the  father 
compel  the  boy  to  stay  at  home,  and  can 
he  take  the  boy’s  wages  if  he  works  out? 
Vermont.  0.  M. 
Under  the  Vermont  laws  until  a  boy  is 
-1  his  parents  have  supreme  control  and 
have  the  right  to  his  wages.  If  the  boy 
has  a  grievance  after  becoming  14  years 
of  age  he  may  go  to  the  Probate  Court 
and  choose  a  guardian  if  he  satisfies  the 
court  that  he  ought  to  have  one. 
Right  of  Widow  to  Property 
A  widow  in  Ohio  having  one  child  and 
a  farm  marries  a  widower  whose  chil¬ 
dren  were _  married.  In*  not  owning  any 
property  either  real  or  personal,  went  to 
live  with  his  wife  on  her  farm.  She  not 
having  auy  stock  he  bought  some,  giving 
his  note,  she  signing  them.  Several  years 
have  passed,  He  has  worked  the  farm, 
using  the  proceeds  just  as  though  the 
farm  was  his  own,  paying  taxes  and  in¬ 
surance.  The  first  debts  were  paid, 
stock  has  been  grown  on  the  farm. 
Wagon,  baggy,  harness,  also  tools,  have 
been  gathered  together,  all  paid  for  off 
the  farm,  until  at  present  there  is  per¬ 
haps  $1,000  worth  of  personal  property. 
The  question  now  is  has  the  wife  any 
rights  in  this  personal  property  more 
than  she  would  have  if  her  husband  had 
owned  the  farm  when  they  were  mar¬ 
ried?  Has  she  any  claim  on  the  crops, 
or  things  that  arc  sold  <  IT  the  place,  more 
than  she  would  have  if  he  owned  the 
farm ?  If  she  has,  could  she  have  it  ar¬ 
ranged  so  she  could  have  it  to  use  as  she 
saw  fit,  whilst  lie  was  living  with  her. 
What  would  be  his  share  in  the  property 
if  she  should  die?  mrs.  w.  g.  ii. 
Ohio. 
As  things  now  stand  it  would  be  hard 
to  determine  just  what  the  rights  of 
these  parties  are  to  each  other,  unless  one 
knew  all  of  the  circumstances  surround¬ 
ing  the  transaction  and  how  the  parties 
regarded  it.  At  the  first  blush,  one 
would  say  that  the  personal  property  be¬ 
longed  primarily  to  the  husband,  inas¬ 
much  as  lie  bought  it,  and  that  the  crops 
having  been  raised  on  the  farm  belonged 
to  t lie  wife  and  were  primarily  hers,  but 
they  would  not  have  been  raised  without 
his  help.  If  either  one  of  them  should 
die  now,  it  is  questionable  how  the  prop¬ 
erty  would  he  divided,  probably  the  per¬ 
sonal  property  to  the  husband.  It  is  a 
case  where  the  parties  should  get  together 
and  have  an  understanding  and  an  ac¬ 
counting  as  to  just  where  they  stand  in 
relation  to  each  other.  If  it  is  going  to 
he  hard  to  do  this  now,  it  will  be  much 
harder  to  do  it  after  the  death  of  one  of 
the  parties.  She  certainly  has  more 
claim  on  the  crops  than  she  would  have  if 
he  owned  the  farm.  She  has  at  least  a 
half  interest  and  she  could  undoubtedly 
have  it  so  arranged  that  she  could  use  the 
income  from  half  of  the  crops  as  she  saw 
fit-  If  ho  should  die  and  the  personal 
property  was  found  to  be  his  she  would 
take  practically  one-third  of  it  and  the 
balance  would  go  to  his  children  and  if 
she  should  die  he  would  have  his  dower 
of  a  life  interest  iu  one-third  of  her  real 
property  and  the  balance  would  go  to  her 
children. 
Division  of  Property 
1.  A  man  and  his  wife,  during  thirty- 
odd  years,  have  accumulated  some  real 
estate,  which  was  in  the  wife’s  name  at 
the  time  of  her  death  a  year  ago.  Does 
this  property  belong  to  their  children,  all 
"f  age,  there  being  no  will?  The  man 
has  always  handled  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  estate,  paying  the  interest  on  a 
mortgage,  taxes,  insurance,  etc.  lie  still 
continues  to  do  this.  In  case  be 
should  remarry,  would  he  have  any  legal 
right  to  give  any,  or  all,  of  this  property 
to  his  second  wife?  E.  r.  q. 
New  York. 
1.  The  husband  would  have  his  right 
of  courtesy  of  a  life  interest  iu  his  wife’s 
real  property  and  at  his  death  the  re¬ 
mainder  would  go  to  his  children. 
2.  The  property  being  in  the  first  wife’s 
name  it  would  descend  as  above  outlined 
and  he  would  have  no  legal  right  to  give 
any  of  the  property  to  his  second  wife, 
although  he  would  have  a  right  to  dispose 
of  his  life  interest.  This  takes  it  for 
granted  that  the  husband,  even  though  he 
helped  a-----  *-.•->  the  property,  ac- 
knowlcf  .  >  t  !  '  t  i  he  in  his  deceased 
wife  and  docs  i:-  t  o’  im  it  iu  his  own 
right,  which  he  1:"<  /  coukl  while  the 
title  stood  in  her  name. 
Heir  to  Property 
Would  I  be  the  legal  heir  to  my  sister’s 
property  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
ns  we  are  the  only  ones  living?  I  have 
one  sister  dead  and  she  has  five  chil¬ 
dren  living,  also  a  half  brother  on  my 
mother's  side.  w.  ir.  c. 
Pennsylvania. 
You  would  have  one  share  and  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  the  deceased  sister  would  divide 
the  other  of  the  real  property,  and  you, 
they  and  the  half  brother  would  share'  the 
personal  property  iu  three  equal  shares. 
If  your  sister  desires  you  to  have  her 
property,  it  would  be  better  for  her  to 
make  a  will  to  that  effect. 
AN  ENGINE 
BOOK  WITH 
A  PUNCH 
Would  you  build  a 
.  house  with  a  || 
foundat  ion  like  IhisTy 
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bottom  were  culoUfoid 
j»atchoJona^*i*i  ll  lie  this?-* 
'  Wo!  The*  “ 
Vrivli 
now 
Booh 
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