HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 
1914 
191 
Do Old Buildings Pay ? 
It has been said that you can buy old 
buildings cheaper than new ones can be 
built. Generally speaking this is false. 
An old building is always old and never 
gets any younger. You may buy them 
cheap, but they will be dear enough before 
they are brought up to date. An 
old house will need a modern porch, 
modern windows, a shifting of par¬ 
titions, raising the west side, new floors, 
new doors and a hundred and one 
other things that will cost, usually, 
nearly as much as a new house. It is true 
enough that old houses, in good repair, 
can be purchased at bargain prices. But 
this is only now and then. If you look the 
average old house over closely you can 
easily see where a couple of thousand dol¬ 
lars will go for repairs and alterations. 
The shingles may be rotten, the sills sag¬ 
ging and breaking down, the foundations 
frost-heaved. The chimneys are old and 
dangerous, the floors warped and worn, 
and a dozen other things need fixing. All 
this costs money. Even when repaired the 
old house is not new and modern. Remem¬ 
ber, you city dwellers, that you are used 
to running water in the house, to furnaces 
to warm every room, to bath and toilet in¬ 
doors, to electricity and gas. Most coun¬ 
try folk never enjoyed these conveniences 
and, consequently, they do not miss them. 
Blit you will — oh, you will! Installing 
these things in an old house costs real 
money and plenty of it. Gas and electric¬ 
ity may not be available at all. Running 
water may not be possible, except a pump- 
ing plant be installed with engine, pump, 
tank, pipes, etc., etc., world without end. 
A few farms have these things, but they 
are few — all too few. 
Outbuildings are generally in worse 
condition than the house. It is almost im¬ 
possible to repair old, weather-beaten 
barns. It is cheaper to strip them down 
to their frame, if that be firm and solid, 
and rebuild. This also costs considerable. 
Examine the fences. It is essential that 
line fences, as well as others, should be in 
good condition. You will be surprised to 
see how much it will cost to build new 
fences. Posts, wire and labor are not 
cheap, even in the country. 
N OW is the time to plan the trip. 
Delay may mean loss of just the 
accommodations you are after. Write us to¬ 
day and let us tell you how to secure maximum com¬ 
fort at minimum cost. Everything has been done to 
make the service this season better than ever. You 
can have a luxurious stateroom with twin beds and 
private bath; a stateroom without bath but with pri¬ 
vate toilet, or more modest quarters where the service 
is just as perfect but the cost a little less. As for the 
table service and cuisine, you will find them both 
faultless. There are broad sunny decks for recreation, 
spacious social halls, the latest magazines; in fact, 
everything for your security, ease and comfort. 
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E W YORK 
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Buying in Haste 
Never be in a hurry about buying. Tn 
my own experience I went out to look at 
a twenty-acre place which was offered at 
a great sacrifice ’ for $2,500. I took one 
look and hurried away from there. The 
next summer the owner looked me up and 
offered me the place for $1,200, easy 
terms. But even that is a big price for 
a ruin. Another man offered me his 
small farm for $3,500, which was a good 
round figure. A few months later he 
WHY ULSTER REBELS 
Irish Land and Irish Liberty 
By MICHAEL J. F. McCARTHY, Author of “ Five Years in Ireland." 
The ownership of eighteen million acres of Irish land changing from 
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—the gentleman, the farmer and the laborer. 38 Illustrations. 
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McBIRDE, NAST & CO., Publishers, Union Sq., NEW YORK 
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