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chicks are old enough to lay, le1 him exchange, borrow, or buy a pure 

 bred rooster of some sort; and the stock he will get from him, with 



the birds lie has reared liimsrl I', will lay the foundation for a very 



good flock. Then, by degrees, he can either sell or exchange the 



remainder of his mongrels till his yard begins to present quite a well- 

 bred appearance. In a short time we have seen a pen ot weedy mon- 

 grels transformed into one of handsome half-bred. 



WHERE TO BUILD THE HOUSE. 



"Many poultry-keepers have little choice of location, owing pos- 

 sibly to the had lay of the ground on which they are compelled to put 

 up their fowl houses. But when it is possible to choose, select dry land, 

 sloping towards the east or south and with natural drainage. If 

 forced to build on level land, it will pay in the long run to have it well 

 drained. There is no greater breeder of disease than a damp house. 

 Sandy soil, or soil underlaid with gravel, is the best on which to build. 

 It is folly to say that the poorest land will do for chickens. They, as 

 much as other live stock, require good land to range over, considering 

 that the product of the soil in the shape of vegetation and its natural 

 accompaniment of insect life have so much to do in the development 

 of healthy, strong, and profitable fowls. 



LEARN TO KNOW THE BREEDS. 



" Every breeder should study the breed he keeps ; there is no 

 reason why a breeder should not be as good a judge as the majority of 

 authorised judges, and he should learn to be so for his own satisfaction 

 and protection ; he only needs to take the standard as his guide, and 

 then pick up experience by observation at the shows, markets, and 

 neighbouring yards. There is nothing exclusive about the matter of 

 judging, though some men, of more assurance than knowledge, succeed 

 in impressing the public with the notion that they are endowed above 

 all others with a faculty of judging fowls. It is nonsense; any 

 thoughtful man who reads up the subject and takes the standard as 

 his guide will very soon become a good judge of the breeds he is 

 interested in. In fact he may set the " Fancy." 



KEEP GOOD BIRDS. 



If going in for a pure breed, it is no economy to buy second 

 class stock, whether it be as birds or as eggs — get the very best to 

 be bought, and then you have the opportunity of making your money 

 twice over in a year or two. In many districts, the breeder who 

 starts with first-class stock and establishes a successful strain has the 

 chance of making money, particularly if he succeeds in identifying 

 his name with the breed he takes up. To get the best return from 

 the poultry yard, as much as possible of the food should be grown 

 at home. Four acres properly, and systematically cultivated will 

 supply a very large poultry yard. 



" Everything depends on getting a good strain of fowls ; and for 

 marketing eggs, it should be one of the non-setting strains. Judging 

 from experiments made lately in the matter of feeding for eggs, I 

 believe the White Leghorns can be made to give a far better record 

 as egg-producers than poultry farmers have any idea of at present,, 

 and I don't doubt but other non-setting varieties are equally prolific. 



