TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 625 



of the way building. To make poultry raising a success, we must see 

 that the fowls are kept comfortable. Good housing, good breeding and 

 good feeding go hand in hand in this business. In building a chicken 

 house select a dry place, and if possible have it face the south, as sun- 

 light and warmth are essential to the best success with poultry. In 

 building this house use only the best of wood as it will be the cheapest in 

 the long run. The size of the house may depend upon the number of 

 fowls to be kept. The scratching shed, almost explains itself, and al- 

 though cheap, costing but very little, no hen house is complete without 

 it. The average farmer wants chickens for both eggs and meat, and 

 there are several good varieties and breeds that can be classed as an all 

 purpose fowl. Watch the young stock as it grows and note and keep 

 track of the ones that make the fastest and most uniform growth. Those 

 are the ones to breed from next year if the intention is to improve the 

 flock from year to year. But, remember it is not always the handsomest 

 hens that are the best layers. Therefore see that you breed from a stock 

 that has a I'bcord for laying as well. Feeding is something we have 

 all got to learn a good deal about. It is unprofitable to feed poultry and 

 not get returns from the food and labor, but in most cases the fault is 

 with the poultryman, not the fowls. 



One must feed different kinds of food and change every few days, so 

 as to afford a variety, such as wheat, oats, corn, barley, buckwheat, etc. 

 There are many vegetables on the farm whch are not salable and are 

 not fit for the table, such as imperfect heads of cabbage, beets, carrots, 

 small potatoes and turnips which will be relished by the fowls. Make 

 your hens work for all they get to eat, by throwing their feed into chaff, 

 straw, clover, hay, or shredded corn fodder, for it is the working hen 

 that pays. Above all things keep your hen house clean. Almost all of 

 the diseases of poultry are caused by carelessness and unsanitary sur- 

 roundings. The farmer who cleans his hen house only once or twice a 

 year invites disease among his flock. We can't blame hens for not lay- 

 ing, sometimes. Just to look into some of the nest boxes is enough to 

 make a hen turn away in disgust. It takes a little more time and work 

 to keep the nests clean, but it pays. Impure drinking water and filthy 

 ■drinking vessels cause and spread more diseases than anything else. 

 Keep the drinking vessels clean, and fill at least once a day with clean 

 fresh water. Of course, in the raising of poultry, we all have more or 

 less to contend with. A poultry raiser at a farmers' institute once gave 

 his experience as follows: The poultry business is bounded on the north 

 by roup and blood sucking vermin; on the east by dishonest and unreli- 

 able poultry breeders; on the south by weasels, cats, badgers and hawks, 

 on the west by rainbow chasing incubator advertisements, and overdrawn 

 statements in poultry journals. 



We have read of Maud on a summer day, 

 Who raked, barefooted, the new-mown hay. 

 We have read of the maid in the early morn. 

 Who milked the cow with the crumpled horn. 

 And we've read the lays the poets sing, 

 Of the rustling corn and the flowers of Spring. 

 But of all the lays of tongue or pen, 

 40 There's naught like the lay of the farmer's hen. 



