joHS 
f^Nr RY ho*A 
VOL. XLIX. NO. 2099. 
NEW YORK, APRIL i9, i89o. 
PRICE, FIVE CENTS. 
$ 2.00 PER YEAR. 
“OUT OF THE OLD HOUSE.” 
“Out of tbe old house, Nancy, 
Moved up Into tje new, 
All of the hurry and worry 
Is just as goo d as through: 
Only a boundcn duty 
Remains for you and I, 
And that's to stand on the doorstep here, 
And bid the old place good bye.” 
There has never been a stanza of poetry written that 
appeals so strongly to the hearts of Western pioneer farmers 
as does Carleton’s touching “Out of the Old House, Nancy.” 
One has but to travel through Michigan, Ohio or Indiana 
to understand why this poem was written. Scattered 
here and there all through the West may be found “the 
old house and the new ”—a little, weather-beaten log-house 
on the hillside, and the substantial, hand¬ 
some, conveniently-arranged farm-house 
in the best location that the farm affords. 
The new house is far more convenient 
than the old one—life may be made 
broader, better and happier in it—yet 
we may well understand the thoughts of 
the honest farmer and his wife as they 
remember the privations, the struggles 
and the successes that they knew in the 
old home. The R. N.-Y. may be pardoned 
for bringing this poem to mind as it 
moves out of its old, time-worn quarters 
into the elegant new office that has been 
prepared for it in the building shown at 
Fig. 71. 
“34 Park Row ” has become a sort of 
trade-mark for the R.N.-Y. So far as 
convenience of business location is con¬ 
cerned, nothing could be better than the 
“old house.” It is close to the Post 
Office and City Hall and easy of access 
from all parts of the city. But the 
building is old, shaky and poorly arranged 
for modern business. It was originally 
designed for a boarding-house and now 
makes a poor showing beside the mod¬ 
ern business building. The new house 
is far better in every way—lighter,cleaner, 
more convenient. Yet it is not all pleasure 
that comes to mind as we “ bid the old 
place good-bye.” In this old building 
with its sagging floors, dingy windows 
and dust dropping walls, the Rural 
New-Yorker has won its reputation by 
hard, patient, thoughtful application 
and work. There have been times when 
the future looked dark enough—when 
it almost seemed best to retire from the 
field. But here, in this old house, the R. 
N.-Y. has fought it out and now it can 
move into the new home with full con¬ 
fidence and hope for the future. If we 
did not think we could tell the truth as 
candidly in the new house as we have 
done in the old one we should never move. 
The “new house” is undoubtedly the 
finest office-building in the city. Within 
50 yards of the old office, it is equally 
convenient of access. It possesses every 
possible convenience for the rapid trans¬ 
action of business. It is indeed a start¬ 
ling move for an honest, plain farmer 
like the R. N.-Y., to take up its abode in 
this fine new building. But we shall not 
be at all proud in our new house. The 
conveniences and comforts found there 
will only facilitate our work and enable 
us to serve agriculture better than ever 
before. Our new office will be high above 
the street, where we may expect to find purer air and a 
broader, clearer view of the country around us. It is to be 
hoped that we may also be able to take a broader, 
clearer view of life in general and thus be able to 
help more and more in the solution of the great 
questions which now confront agriculture. We make 
the change hopefully, with faith in the future, and 
with a fixed determination to be true to the lessons taught 
by the past life in “ the old house.” The R. N.-Y. will never 
be a traitor to its reputation while any of its present editors 
and proprietors have anything to do with it. You know 
its past; as for the future—watch it 1 
One more little matter. It is not necessary for us to ex¬ 
plain it—many of our readers will fully understand the 
situation. The R. N.-Y., by close attention to business 
became prosperous and was therefore looked upon as a 
very desirable “match” by various young ladies. Well 
—the long and short of it is that the R. N.-Y. fell a very 
willing victim to the maidenly wiles of that blooming 
damsel The American Garden. Hardly was the marriage 
celebrated before this young woman put her foot down in 
favor of a newer and more convenient house. The result 
is the usual one—the young woman gets the house. 
Many of the R. N.-Y.’s friends who have been through the 
mill, remark, on the sly, that the wife, in such cases, knows 
what she is about, and that the husband will fully realize the 
fact within a month after removal. The R. N.-Y. consents to 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER’S NEW 
~~ v/ * ■ " 
HOME. Fig, 
the new arrangement, only stipulating that its wife must 
not attempt to change the practical, plain husbandman into 
a “city farmer.” The lady has fully consented to this 
proposition, and as she feels that it is necessary for her to 
prove that the new house is a good business investment, 
we may expect encouragement and aid from her. We 
shall remain honest, straightforward people, working 
the farm because we love it and because we feel sure of 
the future of American agriculture. We don’t believe 
that farming is ever going to the dogs. We hope to do 
our full share, as in years past, in making farm life better. 
ABOUT THAT “ONE-HORSE JERSEY FARM.” 
Mr. Johnson, who owns the farm described on page 197, 
answers the following questions: 
1. How long are the laying hens kept ? 
2. What eggs are used for hatching ? How is the stock 
kept up? Are eggs selected from, the best laying hens? 
3. Is grain of any kind grown on thisjarm ? 
4. How is the cabbage grown ? 
5. What treatment will be given strawberries from now 
until picking time ? 
6. How is home-made fertilizer made? 
1. I always keep my laying hens two years. My two-year- 
olds are now laying and have laid all along just as well as 
the one-year-olds. I have a few three-year-olds and, on an 
average ,1 get the same number of eggs 
from them as from the younger ones. I 
shall keep most of my two-year-olds for 
another year so that I shall not have to 
hatch so many pullets to renew my 
stock. 
2. I use the eggs from my own flock 
for hatching and renew my stock by buy¬ 
ing eggs or roosters each year. I keep 
nothing but Leghorns. I select a few 
of my best stock for breeding, and keep 
them separate from the rest. All my 
chicks are hatched under hens. As soon 
as they are hatched they are placed in 
brooders. I prefer that way of hatching, 
- and rearing the best. 
I make several small pens containing 
nests in a building set apart for the pur- 
_ pose, put in china eggs, at night take the 
hen off the nest where she was laying, 
place her in the new nests, and cover her 
up for two nights and a day; then if 
she is still inclined to sit, I place the re¬ 
quired number of eggs under her and 
put in each coop corn, water and a dust 
bath. There is no further trouble, except 
that I occasionally look to see if the hens 
are all on their nests. In preparing the 
nests I place an inverted sod in the bot¬ 
tom of each, which furnishes moisture 
to the eggs, put in cut hay and mix with 
it some tobacco stems and a good hand¬ 
ful of sulphur, and dust the hen with 
sulphur, which drives away the lice. I 
find the brooder arrangement for rearing 
chicks excellent. I can raise about all 
in that way. In raising chicks with hens 
I always lost 50 per cent., and often the 
whole brood. My brooder can be placed 
out-of-doors; attached to it is a glass 
runway and a wire one on the end of that 
so that the little things can be kept 
within bounds and out of the wet until 
they are large enough to help them¬ 
selves. I have often raised 100 in each 
brooder. 
3. I raise no grain of any kind to feed 
to my fowls. When I seed down a piece 
of ground I sow rye; the straw will sell 
for as much in the market as good Tim¬ 
othy hay; the grain I feed to the horse. 
I feed no rye to the fowls. I can buy my 
grain cheaper than I can raise it. My 
land is so highly enriched with manure 
that I can raise better-paying crops, such 
as strawberries, potatoes and cabbages, 
and buy all the grain I need. 
4. In raising cabbages generally after 
the strawberries have been picked I plow 
the vines under, harrow and cultivate 
the ground well, open furrows three feet apart, drop 
big handfuls of my home-made fertilizer about 2>£ feet 
apart in the row, and with a hoe work it well in, making 
hills in which to set the plants. I often take a piece of 
raw ground, plow it twice, cover it well with manure 
which I cultivate in; make hills with my fertilizer in 
them and about June 1st sow four or five seeds in each hill. 
When the plants get fairly started I remove all but one. 
Those removed I sell or set out in another patch. I always 
grow the finest cabbages in this way; but the work is 
heavier. I cultivate and hoe the patch often. I raise only 
fall and winter cabbages. 
7U 
