OTHER USES Oi^LAND 115 



he drove them in and would remain only so long as he stood 

 over them. 



Ducks are easier to raise than any other fowl and are 

 freer from disease. They are ready for market when eight 

 weeks old. 



The industry is assuming large proportions, and ranches 

 are now raising ducks by the tens of thousands and are 

 finding better markets each year. 



In starting any poultry business, it is better to begin 

 with twenty-five fowls and master details with those, then 

 double the number as fast as they have been made to return 

 profits. 



The Atlantic Squab Company, of Hammonton, N. J., 

 says " it is a simple matter for the beginner to figure out on 

 paper net profits of four or five dollars per year from each 

 pair of breeders, but we doubt if it can be made. It is, 

 however, 'pigeon nature' to lay ten or eleven times a year, 

 but hardly natural to presume that each and every egg will 

 ultimately mean a Jumbo squab in the commission man's 

 hands. 



"A loft [that is, a pair] of high-class Homers, properly 

 mated, should average six pair of squabs per year. For 

 one year our squabs averaged us a fraction over 60c. per 

 pair ; say $3.60 has been the returns from each pair of breed- 

 ers. It has cost us 90c. per pair to feed for twelve months ; 

 remember, we buy in large quantities; it would cost the 

 small breeder $1 a year per pair to feed. It would be well 

 to allow 60c. a pair for labor and supplies, such as grit, 

 charcoal, tobacco stems, etc., although the bird manure, 

 which we find ready sale for at 55c. per bushel, has covered 

 these incidental expenses for us. The inexperienced begin- 

 ner, with good management and close attention to details, 



