No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICIJL.TURE. 249 



poultry is beir to. No, sir, such pure-bred stock is of no account 

 to the farmer. And wben tbe farmer buys the so called utility 

 stock of the small chicken fancier, he is getting little better, for he 

 is getting birds the other fellow simply wants to get rid of. Would 

 get rid of by sending to market if he could not push off these scour- 

 ings as cheap utility birds. 



Now the hens on our average farms, may perhaps lay 50 eggs per 

 year per hen. On the other hand there are men in the poultry 

 business, at egg farming, who have large flocks of hens that run 

 near to 200 eggs per year per hen. Think of your 50 egg hen and 

 then of the 200 egg hen of these men by comparison. Oan you 

 figure the difference between the profit of a. hen that just lays 

 (mostly does not lay) and one that is bred to lay. And don't you 

 think if you wanted to buy better poultry you would be pretty safe 

 in buying said poultry from a man whose bread and butter depends 

 upon his poultry being the right sort? 



I place as the first essential, that our farmers have better poultry 

 and have it the quicker the better. Have pure bred poultry of 

 the sort they should have. 



Next comes housing. And I will have to cut this very short. But 

 those of you who have heard me before, know how strongly I am 

 prejudiced in favor of more sensible poultry buildings, more ration- 

 ally located on our farms. Of how strongly I favor the fresh air 

 type of poultry building, with its clean board floor and foot of litter 

 as a feed bed. With sunshine, light and air flooding it, and of how 

 I am dead against the poultry having access to your manure piles 

 and pig pens. 



Now, see here: — While we are on the subject of housing, I sup- 

 pose everyone in front of me owns a poultry house? Have you 

 removed the sashes yet? If you have not, some of you at least, 

 deserve attention from the society with the long name. 



How can you be so foolish, so cruel. Take them out. Give your 

 poultry a chance to live. Perhaps you cannot take them out with- 

 out producing a draft over the roosts. If your chicken house is 

 ©f that kind, take down your chicken house. Its no good — if you 

 are in earnest about having your share of the rich profits coming 

 out of the poultry business. 



If you want more eggs this summer, want less hens to die, want 

 earlier moulted hens going into winter in the best possible laying 

 condition, keep them out of that sweat box hen house of yours this 

 summer. And if you will not take out those sashes the first thing 

 after you get back, then I want you to raise your hand now, and I 

 will ask you to stay in after this session for further effort on my 

 part with you along this line. 



Now, third and last, feed. You can have the proper machinery 

 and the proper buildings, but you cannot run without the proper oil 

 and fuel, properly fed, and there you have the chicken business. 

 Show me a good feeder — I use the word "good" in its broadest 

 sense, and I will show you a man who is making good with his 

 poultry. A hen to be happy, and to be happy and to be profitable 

 are synonymous here, wants to be busy all day long and wants to 

 get her food bit by bit and wants a variety of food. This means 

 yards so large that you hav« practically free range — yes, I believe 

 17 



