434 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



What about the house? It doesn't matter much. My first house 

 was a piano-box in the back yard — my first breeding pen a cockerel 

 and four pullets. Inside of four years the descendants of that pen 

 were bringing me |10 each for eggs for hatching and they never had 

 a fine house and they never had a large yard. I know a man to-day 

 who produces more than $1,000 worth of stock each year, and his 

 entire premises are only 40 by 120 feet. 



Biddy is not an exacting tenant. The three C's are what she de- 

 mands: Comfort, Convenience, Cleanliness. Comfort means free- 

 dom from cracks and draughts in winter, and shade, with a chance 

 to dig in the earth in summer. Convenience means constant access 

 to bone, shell, gravel, dust and water. With all these it does not 

 matter so much what you feed her so she has enough and must work 

 for it. A variety of grain, together with some meat and green stuff, 

 in decidedly of advantage. Cleanliness means no damp nastiness; 

 no lice; lots of dry litter to compel exercise. 



Yards? Yes, the larger the better in mild weather, provided the 

 hens work for their feed in the farther end of the lot. A big space 

 ip desirable provided it is used. It is not an essential. 



NoW' that you and your birds are on intimate terms, how are you 

 going to get them before the public? 



1. You must be so in love with the business that you will be an 

 enthusiast — a crank, if you please, and keep turning. You will think 

 chicken, talk chicken, dream chicken. People will call you chicken 

 crazy. No matter; plead "guilty" and go ahead. Prove to them 

 that you have something worth talking about. At first they will 

 laugh at you, next they will stop and look at your chickens and per- 

 haps be reckless enough to offer to "swap a setting of eggs with you." 

 Keep right on. When they see your cash orders coming in from a 

 distance they will be crazy for your stock. Then treat them rather 

 indifferently. Take care of the foreign customer first. Make your 

 local man lav down his cash like the others. Don't trust him, even if 

 he is wealthy. He'll respect you all the more for it. 



2. You must patronize the show room, at first as a visitor and then 

 as an exhibitor. As a visitor you are sure to say, "I have better birds 

 at home." Bring them out and see if you have. Let the judge and 

 the public decide that point. Go to the show confident that you will 

 win, but before you come home be sure to know why you lost. Don't 

 be a kicker. If you lose at first, keep on. It is a good investment. 

 If you win at first at a small show, send to a large one before you 

 allow your head to swell. Pay |1 or $2 per bird as entry fee and get 

 in among the "big guns." If you win there "you're it." Then you 

 can begin to let the people know it in good earnest. 



3. Your main hope for publicity must be printer's ink. Other 

 things are good but they do not go far enough. The one thing on 



