The  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
71 
A  B  a  c  lot  o-t  h  e-L  ander 
Advice  to 
OME  time  ago,  on  page  1270  (October  28,  1922), 
the  following  letter  from  one  of  our  readers  was 
printed : 
I  would  like  to  have  the  views  of  your  subscribers  as 
to  how  they  would  proceed  and  just  what  they  would  do 
under  the  following  circumstances : 
Supposing  they  were  52  years  of  agev  vigorous  and 
healthy,  well  set  up,  with  a  rugged  constitution,  and  as 
active  as  a  great  many  men  years  younger.  That  they 
had  spent  all  the  years  of  their  life  in  large  cities,  in 
positions  of  responsibility  wherein  manufacturing  was 
the  leading  one,  in  most  of  which  large  numbers  of  em¬ 
ployees  were  engaged  ;  that  they  were  fairly  proficient 
with  tools  of  any  sort ;  that  their  family  was  now  self- 
supporting;  that  they  had  accumulated  $25,000;  that 
they  always  had  a  hankering  for  rural  life,  but  knowing 
nothing  of  the  practical  side  of  it,  lacked  confidence  suf¬ 
ficient  to  take  the  step.  If  they  had  an  income  from 
their  investments  of.  say  $100  per  month,  and  if  they 
did  not  desire  to  add  to  this  income  through  farming, 
merely  to  raise  sufficient  vegetables,  eggs,  etc.,  for  the 
need  of  his  wife  and  himself,  with  the  least  amount  of 
effort,  so  that  he  could  have  some  leisure.  Just  how 
would  they  go  about  it?  How  many  acres  would  they 
secure?  How  would' they  plant  these  acres?  Would 
they  hire  a  worker  to  do  the  rough  work,  leaving  the 
lighter  work  for  the  owner,  or  would  they  do  it  all  them- 
tlie  butter,  and  the  families  of  my  children  were  near 
enough  to  make  use  of  the  surplus.  As  the  man  does 
not  wish  to  dig  in,  I  would  not  think  of  keeping  a 
pair  of  horses,  but  should  plan  to  hire  plowing  and 
harrowing  done  on  any  sized  place.  But  don't  plan 
on  too  much.  Don’t  pay  out  too  much  money  for 
hired  help. 
I  would  start  to  raise  a  good  garden  and  all  the 
fruit  I  wanted ;  should  plan  eventually  for  the  whole 
list  that  would  grow  in  the  locality,  and  should  be 
sure  to  select  land  that  will  grow  fruit  and  garden 
• — not  a  heavy  clay  location.  I  would  buy  moderately 
of  the  whole  list ;  that  is,  would  have  raspberries, 
blackberries,  strawberries,  peaches,  plums,  grapes, 
apples,  gooseberries  and  currants,  but  at  first  only 
buy  a  few  and  buy  from  a  reliable  mail  order  nur¬ 
sery,  and  don't  spend  too  much  money.  Many  of 
these  plants  can  be  multiplied  by  yourself,  so  all  you 
want  is  a  start,  qnd  if  you  start  right  you  will  not 
make  costly  and  discouraging  mistakes. 
mine  in  a  way.  I  had  to  make  two  tries  for  the  fam¬ 
ily  I  wished  to  raise,  and  that  brings  me  to  54  with 
four  children.  13  to  six.  and  I  don’t  feel  that  I  can 
let  up  now.  I  have  the  farm,  but  am  still  keeping 
my  nose  to  the  grindstone,  for  I  expect  these  children 
will  require  money  for  education,  and  it  is  quite 
some  time  before  they  will  all  be  self-sustaining.  I 
am  not  just  in  J.  B.  W.'s  class,  for  I  know  the  farm 
game,  or  I  would  not  presume  to  advise  him. 
Maine.  j.  L.  d. 
A  Little  Farm  in  Minnesota 
I  am  54  years  old,  with  as  great  a  desire  to  work 
in  the  soil  and  see  things  grow  as  any  living  being. 
I  was  brought  up  in  a  city,  developed  a  business  of 
my  own,  which  may  be  said  to  pay  me  equal  to  J.  B. 
W.’s  income.  Intermittent  poor  health  and  the  great 
desire  drove  me  back  to  the  land  some  20  years  ago. 
and  that  to  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  Western  New 
York  State,  only  to  learn  that  I  and  my  foreparents 
had  worked  so  long  for  others  that  there  was  lack- 
• 
those  heifers  belong  to  the  Columbia  County  Accredited  Herd  Guernsey  Breeders’  Association  of  Pennsylvania.  They  average  seven  months  of  age,  and  are 
ieady  for  shipment  to  Porto  Rico.  where  they  become  tlje  property  of  the  Insular  Experiment  Station,  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Labor,  Rio  Piedras,  Porto 
Hico.  They  were  selected  by  M.  J.  Grimes,  Catawissa,  Pa.,  secretary  of  the  Columbia  County  Association;  Louis  Merryman  of  Cockeysville,  Md.,  and  Dr.  Fahr- 
man  of  the  Dairy  Division  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Every  heifer  comes  from  an  accredited  herd  and  from  a  dam  of  known  record. 
selves?  What  tools  would  they  purchase  for  a  small 
operation  of  this  nature?  J.  B.  w. 
The  question  was,  apparently,  asked  in  good  faith, 
and.  as  was  to  be  expected,  it  called  out  a  volume  of 
advice.  There  has  been  great  interest  in  the  case. 
Many  have  asked  what  our  people  think  about  it, 
and  so  we  have  selected  the  following  typical  notes 
from  the  great  sheaf  of  comment: 
An  Opinion  from  New  England 
It  does  not  make  so  much  difference  as  to  the  size 
of  the  place,  so  that  it  suits  the  one  who  has  to  live 
there.  One  to  five  acres  near  a  city  w’ould  be  good. 
Ten  to  30  acres  in  edge  of  a  country  village  would 
suit  some  better,  and  call  for  different  management, 
but  either  would  fill  the  specifications  as  given.  But 
don't  pay  too  much  for  the  place. 
With  the  smaller  place  proposed,  one  to  five  acres, 
no  stock  would  be  desirable  larger  than  fowls  and  a 
pig  if  wanted.  The  plowing  should  be  hired,  and  if 
a  horse  could  be  hired  for  harrowing  and  cultivating, 
that  would  be  desirable.  With  a  larger  place,  the 
most  essential  animal  is  a  coav  ;  a  good  grade.  I 
would  have  a  cow  on  a  three-acre  place  and  larger. 
If  I  had  eight  acres  I  would  keep  a  cow  and  a  horse, 
and  if  the  place  would  furnish  the  roughage,  might 
keep  two  cows,  especially  if  the  wife  cared  to  make 
If  your  farm  is  to  have  a  horse,  you  will  want  a 
riding  wagon  and  a  wagon  to  do  hauling  of  hay  and 
other  heavy  material.  A  one-section  spring-tooth 
harrow  and  a  one-horse  walking  cultivator,  a  hand- 
power  seeder  and  hand  cultivator,  and  the  ordinary 
hand  tools  used  in  gardening.  On  the  30-acre  place 
I  think  $500  could  be  made  nearly  to  cover  the  outlay 
for  stock  and  tools  the  first  year.  Of  course,  that 
calls  for  not  too  high  priced  horse,  and  perhaps  some 
things  bought  second-hand,  but  it  is  often  easy  to 
find  some  of  the  tools,  or  at  least  wagons,  second¬ 
hand.  There  is  almost  no  end  of  the  good  stuff  a 
man  can  produce  for  his  table  on  the  right  kind  of  a 
small  place. 
I  think  J.  B.  W.  has  a  chance  for  a  continual  va¬ 
cation  if  his  wife  takes  to  the  idea  and  he  has  fairly 
good  judgment  in  getting  located.  The  main  rule  is 
don't  spend  too  much  money.  Don’t  buy  too  expen¬ 
sive  a  place.  Don’t  buy  too  expensive  equipment. 
Don’t  hire  too  much  labor.  Don’t  plan  such  exten¬ 
sive  operations  before  you  get  experience  that  you 
will  be  led  to  spend  too  much  money.  Go  slow  on 
spending  money,  and  you  can  hardly  make  serious 
mistakes.  .T.  B.  W.  has  planned  for  himself  just 
what  I  planned  for  myself,  but  so  far  I  have  missed 
ing  in  me  the  all-essential  initiative  both  to  manage 
and  perform  the  work.  This,  you  see,  calls  for  a  full 
rounded-out  personality,  which  the  world  is  sadly 
lacking  in  just  now. 
Seven  years  of  this,  with  its  joys  and  sorrows, 
were  sufficient,  when  the  call  of  the  city  again  pre¬ 
vailed,  but  with  it  came  the  suggestion  of  combin¬ 
ing  the  two.  Now  my  office  work  furnishes  the  nec¬ 
essary  money,  and  we  live  in  the  suburbs,  15  miles 
out,  with  five  acres  of  garden,  bees,  orchard,  etc. 
This  my  wife  and  I  hewed  out  of  the  wild  timbered 
country  during  our  spare  time  for  say  10  years,  and 
we  experienced  the  great  joy  of  pioneering,  which  is 
no  small  item. 
But,  remember  this,  the  wife  must  love  it  as  well 
as  yourself,  and  don’t  make  the  mistake  of  either  ex¬ 
pecting  to  know  off-hand  or  from  what  you  have 
read  how  to  direct  affairs  on  ever  so  small  a  farm, 
nor  be  guided  by  the  direction  of  hired  help,  for  it 
won’t  work.  Your  ambition  is  your  greatest  danger, 
and  I  am  writing  this  simply  to  prevent  others  fall¬ 
ing  where  I  fell.  Tons  of  cabbage  on  hand  at  this 
writing,  hundreds  of  bushels  of  carrots,  onions,  beets, 
etc.,  the  bottom  out  of  the  market,  but  the  help  to 
pay  all  the  same ;  $100  a  mouth  won’t  go  far. 
