Feb. 3, 1908.J Agricultural Gazette <f N.S,W, 159 



A large yard of maize will be seen in Fi^;-. (;, where it affords a background 

 for tlie breeding ducks. In the lower portion of tiie ground, and adjacent 

 ^o where the food is cooked, is a large iron feed-house 36 feet long by a 

 great width, l)uilt on rock, and caj^able of holding 50 tons of foods. When 

 the late rise to Is. (3d. per bushel for bran and pollard took place, tliere 

 Tvas in store 10 tons of pollard, about the same of Ijrau, and about 100 

 sacks of wheat and maize. The lowest price paid for pollard and bran 

 during the year was 8Jd. per bushel, and the highest lOd., thus showing 

 that the big man in any business, if he cannot sell better than the small 

 •can sell more profitably through being able to buy more cheaply. The 

 bulk of the maize bought tliroughout the year was from 2s. 4d. to 3s. Gd., 

 the late price l^eing 4s. 9d. 



To keep a place like this going from one year's end to another naturally 

 involves a great deal of both manual and horse labour. Four men are 

 t-mployed all the year round, and one casual ; four horses are also reijuired 

 to kee]) the j^Iace going, one as has already been shown in daily carting 

 food to the place, and a second one to assist him in the haulage. Then 

 there is tlie food to be conveyed to the different runs by horse-power, while 

 another one sjjends the half of its time in making several journeys in the 

 week to Sydney with eggs, ducklings, and fowls. 



The farm throughout is clean and free from smells, and although cook- 

 ing is done on the place, in the absence of offal it does not come within 

 the region of a boiling-down establishment. 



Chapter IX. 



Financial. 



Izi the earlier portion of tliis paper, Mr. McComb speaks lightly of 

 some poultry-men foolisldy making public the financial part of their opera- 

 tions. With him the writer thoroughly agrees. If a njan opens a 

 butcher's or grocer's shop, he does not run off to the Press telling all and 

 sundry how much profit he made. Indeed, if his venture was a profitable 

 one, that is the Ijetter commercial reason why such should be known only 

 to himself. Frenuently when balance-siieets are published tlie place has 

 not had more than one or two years' existence, and it often happens that 

 it takes the third or fourth year to find the stability of a poultry farm. 

 Holding this view in common with the ownier of the Glenbrook establish- 

 ment, I was a l)it chary in making advances with the purport of drawing 

 him on the financial results. 1 liowever, ventured, "Would you care to 

 tell the readers of the Gazette anything about the profits of the concern '? " 

 " I thought it would come," lie replied ; " you poultry writers are all alike. 

 Why don't you ask me straight out does it pay? when I would tell you 

 ' No ; I only keep the men for the sake of paying them wages, and work 

 myself twelve hours a day for amusement.' But, seriously, had anyone 

 the clieek to go into one of the large drapers or grocers in Sydney and 

 ask them if their business paid, and what profits they made, he would 



