Evening star., 1915-02-20

the time of year now when even old
hens will begin to lay. and pretty soon
the price of eggs will hit the toboggan.
There are lot of pullets in our flock,
hatched last March and April, that
even now are not showing any dispo-
sition to respond to the wherefore of
their existence. There isn't any money
in keeping that kind of chickens. and
identity their heads are coming off.
Even when we eat them, they make
mighty expensive meat. A pullet
Matched last spring will represent now
an investment of not less than 81 for
feed alone. That's a pretty fancy price
to pay for table fowls. but it's cheaper
to eat her than to keep on feeding her
and getting no return in the way OF
eggs.
There also enters in the considera-
tion that we don't want to breed from
producers. and unless we get the
flock thinned out now by next year we
would not be able to tell those which
laid eggs from those which didn't.
Discuss Buying Farm.
We have held lately several family
councils on the question of buying
Sunny Knoll The lease expires April
/ and our contract gives us the option
to renew for another year at the same
rental. 5000, or We can buy for $3.50.
one-haIf cash and the other half to run
as a trust for three years at per cent.
1t already is decided that we Will re-
new the lease if we don't buy. but Jane
and / both feel very strongly the I'M
pulse to take title to the property.
There are lot of things we would
like to do in the way of making i'm
provements. but most of them are too
expensive to make on rented place
Jane has $4,000, which she inherited
from an uncle soon after we were mar
ried. 1t is invested in listed railroad
bond and it always has been agreed
that the principal would never be
touched until we bought home. The
present is not an especially good time
to sell securities, but this particular
bond is quoted at a fraction above par.
Should we decide to buy. there will
will pay all cash or carry half of the
purchase price on trust. If we paid all
cash. we would have $3.50 left with
which to make improvements. BY pay
s3,125, which would make the improve
ments and still leave us moderate
fund
The improvements we would want TO
heating plant and running hot and
cold water with bath. Then, with
the house repapered and painted inside
and out, it would make as attractive
people in our financial circumstances
could reasonably expect to have.
Eight Acres Enough Land.
Eight acres don't make farm in
any proper sense of the word, but 1t
will afford me opportunity for all the
farming I care to undertake as long as
1 go to town to Office six days a week.
Any more land, am convinced. would
be a handicap under these circum-
stances rather than an advantage.
We are not prepared. even now. to
answer the question as to whether 1t
has paid or will pay in dollars and
cents to live in the country. though we
have by no means lost faith that we
can make it pay. But we are prepared
to answer the query whether we pre-
fer life in the country to life in town.
and to answer 1t with an emphatic yes.
Jane says YES" and Jim says YES"
and Ned says yes" and Margery goes
them little better and makes it yes,
indeedee." AS my yes makes it
unanimous, We can't see any good and
sufficient reason why we should hesi-
tate longer about buying. A lot of
people might think that we could find
more desirable home than Sunny
Knoll, butt suits us. E. S. NJ.