1562 
Jbc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October IS, 1910 
Just what Do They Offer? 
Changing Conditions. —For tlie last 
few years I have read quite a little about 
how agriculture and country life have de¬ 
generated in the East; and as I have al- 
ways lived in New England. I haA-e had 
chances to see some of the results. There 
have been such changes in some parts of 
this section that it is impossible for one 
of the younger generation to realize how 
the people farmed and lived 40 or 60 years 
ago. As an example: In one town in 
southeastern Now Hampshire there Avere 
less than half a dozen school children 
four years ago, while as many as 80 had 
attended four or five decades ago. This 
large decrease in the population is notice¬ 
able in all rural sections of the Northeast, 
especially in towns back from the rail¬ 
roads. A large decrease in the average 
size of families, and the vacating of many 
farms are, I believe, reasons for the 
smaller number of people found in these 
toAvns now. The day of large families 
seems to have passed, so avc shall have 
t<> consider the possibilities of repopulat¬ 
ing the idle homesteads of the rural East. 
Old-time Families. —Is it possible to 
bring back to the New England hills the 
conditions that existed years ago? No, 
with the labor-saving farming machinery, 
and the higher standard of living of this 
day. it is very undesirable, and in fact 
absolutely impossible. A farm rather less 
than three miles from the center of Ncav 
Hampshire’s fourth largest city Avas 
pointed out to me last Spring as the 
former home of a family that raised 17 
children. I discovered the land was rather 
sandy, and badly run out. I should not 
care to make a living on it. to say nothing 
of bringing up a family. It could be had 
for about .$2,000. aud contained between 
the barn; I Avas told that the person who 
formerly lived there had got into debt 
with the farm as security, and that he 
had to leave it rather suddenly. 
Another Case.—B efore leaving this 
city I Avish to tell a little about another 
place nearer the city than the others, but 
in much worse shape. The house Avas 
but seven minutes’ Avalk from the car line, 
Avhile most of the land lay along another 
road less than a mile and a half to the 
city. Around the house Avas a high, dry 
ridge, and there seemed to be no easy 
way to get Avater, although there was 
plenty on the loAver ground 375 ft. away. 
A deep avcII had been dug 30 years ago, 
when the house Avas built, but it Avas in 
such a condition it seemed cheaper to go 
back of the house to a better supply. It 
was impossible to get electric lights, and 
it seemed to be the same Avith the tele¬ 
phone, although I think it could have been 
had by paying a part of the construction 
cost. The buildings were of cheap con¬ 
struction, and had been built nearly 30 
years. The place had been vacant for 
several years; the house leaked badly, and 
about a third of the plaster had fallen. 
The AvindoAvs Avere all smashed, as might 
be expected. These repairs Avere made 
before the family moved in. but the barn, 
Avhich leaked badly, Avas not: shingled until 
the next Summer. A new henhouse Avas 
built in the Fall from the ruins of the 
old one and a feAv other boards. 
Run-down Soil. —The soil varied 
greatly, and Avas all in very had shape. 
All the tillage was in sod, and I Avas told 
that some of it hadn’t been turned over 
for 30 or 40 years. Back of the house 
it was quite sandy ; this piece Avas clut¬ 
tered up Avith a feAv fruit trees, and a voav 
of Avorthless grapevines through the cen¬ 
ter. Below this it went quickly through 
a medium loam into a Avet. heavy soil, 
Avhich made up the greater part of the 
tillage of the farm. Most of it needed 
draining, tAvo low spots and a wandering 
brook Avere worthless Avithout drainage. 
It could all be tilled easily, and would be 
very fertile soil. Away back from the 
road and the house there was a sidchill 
field of medium soil very much run out. 
All this farm Avas badly in need of humus; 
no stock of any amount had been kept 
for years. About two-tliirds of the total 
area Avas in Avoodland fenced for pasture; 
in one corner there were about 65.000 ft. 
of pine, and the rest Avas mostly covered 
Avith medium-sized hard wood. 
A Woman's Investment. —A Massa¬ 
chusetts Avoman purchased this place in 
the Fall, and paid only a small amount 
down, having 20 years to finish the pay¬ 
ments. She had a son interested in 
farming. He went there the next Spring, 
and planted the sandy soil near the house 
with vegetables and a few strawberries 
for the local market. Using only wood 
ashes and commercial fertilizer, the crop 
Avas not very large. Peas did the best, 
and seemed to sell most readily. Late 
that Fall they moved in, and next season 
the son put in over four acres of vege¬ 
tables and beans, using some purchased 
manure of poor quality. The wood ashes 
used the year before seemed to help this 
year’s crop, especially the peas. They 
made a small start Avith chickens, and 
purchased a pair of little soav pigs. A 
couple of cows Avere added, but they 
found no chance to sell milk. About 
this time the Avoman died, and the son 
Avas sick. This upset all plans, and after 
staying there during the Winter, the son 
decided to sell out and Avork elsewhere. 
• They had cut the timber, which had re¬ 
duced the debt considerably. They have 
sold part of the land, and it looks now 
as if next Spring Avould see a sale for the 
rest at a price that Avill let them out 
easily. V. <«s this project a success or a 
failure? It is hard to tell. All farming 
costs Avere heavy, and the crops Avere 
j»oor. due to the wretched condition of 
the land. The market seemed to be poor, 
except for peas and siveet corn. The soil 
was best adapted to hay, Avhile the son 
Avas most interested in fruit; thus it is 
possible to see that they might not always 
have kept the place. HoAvever, it is not 
fully reclaimed uoav. as it would have 
been if they had continued Avithout mis¬ 
fortune. EVERETT L. HALL. 
Massachusetts. 
Elderly gentleman (to boy, fishing) : 
“Catch anything, sonny?” Blase Truant: 
“Nope; but I expect to Avhen I get home.” 
—Judge. 
natural milker 
25 and 30 acres. 
A Characteristic Farm. —The place 
next beyond interested me far more, and 
I will try to give a description of it that 
will enable one to see the possibilities 
clearly. The farm lies along the State liigli- 
Avay from Boston to the White Mountains, 
and less than three miles from the local 
market. It was plenty large enough to 
keep one man busy the year round, and j 
give employment to extra help during the 
Summer season. There was a large, level 
field of good soil, with a few apple trees 
along the edge of the highway, aud an¬ 
other field of sandy soil that seemed to be 
pretty poor. Although the house aaris 
quite old. it needed very little repairing 
to make it a good home. A 30x60 ft. 
barn, without a cellar. Avas set up just 
off the ground on a brick wall. Almost 
none of the shingles Avere left on the roof, 
and a little repairing was needed around 
one of the big doors; otherwise, it Avas in 
good shape as it stood. I should want to 
remodel the inside, aud put in more win- 
doAvs, but that Avould not be absolutely 
necessary. There were also two large 
sheds that were in good repair, except 
that the foundation Avas about half fallen 
in on each, but the buildings were still 
standing fairly true. Tflht. Avith the had 
roof on the barn, made the place look 
pietty seedy. These three buildings 
seemed of a newer construction than the 
house. I didn’t inquire A'ery deeply into 
the matter, but there seemed to be plenty : 
of. water close to the buildings. It would 
appeal* that this had been a Aery good 
farm once, and one would wonder Avhy 
it had been allowed to go .so. I found 
that the owner had died, and left it to 
his son, who lived on another place near¬ 
by. He didn’t Avant to sell because he 
avus cutting the hay each year, aud feed¬ 
ing it out at home, Avhich explained the 
run-down fields. After his buildings are 
entirely ruined, and his land so poor it 
Avill bear no crop, he may discover lie has 
been getting pretty expensive hay. I be¬ 
lieve that A’ogetables and small fruits 
would pay well there, as there would be 
a good market at the door for many 
things of that nature. Poultry through 
the Summer, aud pork in the Fall, could 
easily be sold after the place became 
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Beaver Dam , Wisconsin 
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known. 
A Deserted Home. —Six miles the 
other side of this city there was another 
vacant farm that had good buildings, and 
a fairly good field. A pile of manure 
lay right AA’hore it had been shoveled from 
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