58 Poultry that Pay a Profit. 



food and drink, combined with regularity and common sense. 

 are his remedies for, or, rather, preventives of, disease of all 

 kinds. He rarely has a sick hen, and raises a large percentage 

 of his chickens. In incubators a larger percentage of healthy 

 chickens are hatched than would be hatched by hens, and in 

 brooders, where they are kept perfectly free from vermin and 

 gapes, exposure to changes of temperature, accidents and un- 

 suitable food, they grow better than in the care of hens. 



The houses are six in number, and have a partition through 

 the center, each end being sufficient for 50 hens. Long yards 

 the width of the building are attached to the house on both 

 sides, thus giving one yard for each flock. The hens are never 

 let out of the house and yards, and are confined to the house 

 when cold fall rains begin. Mr. Wyckoff stated that they had 

 never seen snow. A cold hen never lays; and " hemlock lum- 

 ber is cheaper than food. " There will always be a falling off in 

 the eggs in cold weather, if the hens get their feet wet. 

 The hen herself is an important factor, and considerable at- 

 tention has been given to the breeding of a producing type, 

 the result being to discard the standard first-premium style. 



One hundred pullets, hatched at one time and raised to- 

 gether, were placed in one house, and when one laid she was 

 taken out. This was continued until there were 50 in each 

 house. A critical examination showed that nearly all that 

 were laying were of a certain type, while those that were still 

 unproductive were of another type a longer-legged, ungainly, 

 slim-bodied hen, that spends her time looking for something to 

 get scared at. A record of the two flocks showed a difference of 

 20 per cent in the number of eggs laid. No. i kept laying until 

 nearly denuded of feathers, and after moulting, began laying 

 quicker than No. 2. A short-legged, deep-bodied, full-breasted, 

 wedge-shaped, large-combed hen, with a quiet disposition, has 

 capacity to consume large quantities of food, and return eggs 

 instead of noise and flutter. Mr Wyckoff is confident that his 

 flock, grown from selected mothers, will average 200 eggs each 

 for 1891. The 20 per cent, advance already obtained makes a 



