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NEW YORK, JUNE 23, 1906 
WEEKLY. $1.00 PER YEAR 
t 
«] k 
VALUE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FARMS. 
New Possibilities from Old Opportunities. 
A FAMILY REUNION.—It was October 15, and one 
of those perfect Autumn days, when everything seems 
to be in harmony, and an air of quiet and peace per¬ 
vades the atmosphere in all rural communities. Two 
weeks of gorgeous weather had marked the first real 
reunion the “Jones hoys” had enjoyed since their separa¬ 
tion and departure from the old homestead which had 
been the abode of the Jones family for more than a 
century. Seth, the oldest son, who could not, even 
now, forget his first 20 years of existence, with frosted 
lingers in Winter and blistered hands in Summer, em¬ 
braced the first opportunity and “accepted a position” in 
a wholesale shoe establishment of Boston at the munifi¬ 
cent salary of $5 per week; by the usual advancement, 
brought about by industry, activity and the desire to 
know the business, he had regularly passed from stock 
room to the counter, then 
to head of the shipping de¬ 
partment, and now is trav¬ 
eling salesman at $100 per 
month The next boy, 
Jim, more familiarly 
known as “Fatty Jones,” 
had chored around among 
the neighbors for a time, 
and four years of city life 
being his fill, he returned 
to his native town, there 
to become a servant of the 
public in the capacity of 
country postmaster, and it 
was at his invitation that 
the brothers were again all 
together, for a time, at 
their early home, which lie 
now owns. The third 
boy, Henry, had been most 
successful as a wholesale 
commission man in the 
city, handling western 
dressed meats, as well as 
some country produce 
from nearby points. Be¬ 
ing the fourth member of 
the quartette, and never 
strong physically, with no 
desire for the “simple 
life,” I left Wilton 15 
years ago, and after sev¬ 
eral years in New York 
City, where several things 
were attempted and none 
followed long, I settled 
upon my present work, that of writing for one of the 
high-class fashion sheets of that city; this work is most 
congenial to my tastes, and I have no desire to change 
my daily work, which brings me a $50 bill at the end 
of every week; yet I find it is all gone at the end of 
the month, first of all being rent of a flat at $100 per 
month, and I do not like to think of the time when 
some one else will have my position and I shall become 
a back number. After a bountiful dinner, at the sug¬ 
gestion of Jim, we all took a hand in getting in a load 
of rowen from the four-acre field, the cutting having 
been delayed on account of a very wet September. With 
Seth at his old job, on the load, Henry and Jim to 
pitch on, and the writer to rake after, only a short time 
elapsed before the ox-cart was loaded and the “white¬ 
heads” turned towards the barn, Seth remarking: “The 
old field does not look as it did, lien, that day when 
you and I picked 20 big loads of stone on the half-acre 
strip to the east, as a penalty for sneaking out of school 
to go chestnutting.” The hay was left on the cart for 
the hired men and a delightful half hour spent under 
the elms when Henry suddenly remarked to our host: 
“Say, Jim, this is not so bad, and I am not sure but I 
would like this kind of life in the Summer season, if 
there was any money in it.” At this Jim was nettled, 
and replied: “For the past two weeks, which have 
been mighty pleasant, I have endured all sorts of jokes 
and some ridicule, till now you admit that except for 
.the financial end of it, we are enjoying an enviable life, 
and to-morrow morning I purpose to hitch up the pair 
and drive you three over the first end of the loop of one 
of my mail routes, which takes in corners of three dif¬ 
ferent towns, and there show you a dozen farmers 
whose net income, or money saved, is in excess of that 
of anyone present, barring your own, and some there 
are on this trip whose profits in some seasons rival even 
yours, and that, too, at far less worry and anxiety; team 
starts at 8:30 to-morrow morning.” 
HENS AND MIXED FARMING.—After refresh¬ 
ing sleep in the large, high-posted chambers, we started, 
NEW BLOOD IN THE OLD HOMESTEAD. Fig. 200. 
with Jim driving, down through the village, over the 
new State highway, which in itself was an eye-opener 
to us all, we having the impression that nothing of 
this kind was done outside Massachusetts borders, 
across the winding Souhegan, where we stopped long 
enough to use the camera, till the first house was 
reached. Here are two farms, with modern buildings, 
well painted, an abundance of shade, accommodations 
for more than 1,000 fowls and well filled tie-ups. Here 
mixed farming is carried on, the principal money crops 
being eggs and milk, supplemented by an occasional $50 
cow, which is hardly missed by the owners, there always 
being several of their own raising to take her place. 
One docs not have to look at the rapidly-growing bank 
account to know that these men at least are doing all 
that was claimed for them. Next is the “Johnson 
place,” where the two brothers were pioneers in the 
poultry business, which is revolutionizing New England 
rural life. The older brother has moved to a neighbor¬ 
ing farm, where the poultry business is continued to the 
extent of 1,500 birds, and as an example of what may 
be done from the profits of the poultry business a most 
lucrative grain business is added, he often .remarking 
that he much prefers to sell to poultrytnen, for the 
reason that it is nearly always a cash trade. It is very 
rare for a "hen man” to ask for credit. The younger 
brother carries through 800 fowls, and in addition to 
them is a most successful sheep breeder, his tastes run¬ 
ning to the Shropshire, with Winter lambs for the divi¬ 
dend, the wool more than paying the keep for the entire 
year. His books show an excellent condition of things, 
for, as he states: “I can easily care for 500 fowls, 
which net me $800 per annum, while the farm will 
carry 100 breeding ewes Summer and Winter, and at 
present prices this is bringing me another thousand.” 
There is no bill of expense for hired help. As nearly all 
these places have their specialty, so in the climb up the 
hill we find, first, a farmer who is keeping well to the 
front as poultryman and fruit grower, while across the 
street is one of the best vineyards to be found in any 
section, the owner, a 
young man, having served 
a full apprenticeship un¬ 
der his father, who prob¬ 
ably knew this part of 
fruit better than any grow* 
er in New England. In 
addition to the several 
tons of grapes harvested 
every year, more than 500 
barrels of apples are sold 
regularly, so that with 
milk, plums and peaches 
and the poultry yards, the 
receipts run more than 
$1,000 above the actual ex¬ 
penses. Personal ability is 
an im portant factor . 
FLOURISHING 
FRUIT FARMS. — We 
now leave for another 
•farm, where we find a 
young man who, upon at¬ 
taining his majority, gave 
up the mercantile career, 
already started, and re¬ 
turned to work with 
Mother Nature, in hopes 
that with proper manage¬ 
ment a living could be se¬ 
cured. Probably no man 
in the county has taken 
the strides in pomological 
work that mark his course, 
as he is always studying 
how to get the best re¬ 
turns with the least out¬ 
lay. No better illustration could be given than the 
young peach orchard, Fig. 204, where he has shown 
conclusively that the mulch method is the equal, if not 
the superior, of the oldtime cultivation, while of course 
the expense is only a fractional part. He utilizes all the 
nitrogen-gathering crops in his extensive orchards, such 
as vetch, Crimson clover and the like, saying that it is 
much cheaper than to buy from the chemical factory. 
From this farm some milk is sold, but the cattle are 
kept rather to dispose of the fodder crops than for the 
profits of milk-raising. Several hundred barrels of 
apples are sold from this farm, the peach orchards keep- 
ing around a thousand baskets per season, often far in 
excess of this. 
GOOD RETURNS FOR CAREFUL WORK.—The 
farm at the top of the long hill is really the original 
fruit farm of the neighborhood, here being orchards 
as old as the owner, and set out when the man was 
severely ridiculed for so doing, yet the end has justi¬ 
fied all such moves, and instead of a poor farmer we 
find a man independently rich, and mad? so by what ho 
