The Roaster and the Broiler. 71 



and if too warm the inside ones will be in a sorry plight before 

 morning. It is necessary to examine them just before dark 

 when large numbers of the chicks are put together, and gently 

 push them apart with the hand for a week or so until they get 

 over the tendency to crowd. Be sure to keep your brooders clean 

 and well disinfected. A great deal depends upon this, and if 

 the chicks are necessarily confined during cold and snowy 

 weather keep plenty of green stuff by them in the shape of 

 green rye or refuse cabbage chopped fine ; in fact, no kinds of 

 vegetables come amiss. It is a good rule to keep the chicks a 

 little hungry when confined, and not to feed too highly of con- 

 centrated foods, as the youngsters are apt to get weak in the 

 legs. They can be put upon the market at a weight of from 

 four to six pounds. 



I usually watch my opportunity and sell during a scarcity. 

 A good Brahma chick when four months old should dress from 

 five to six pounds, and if well-fattened and nicely dressed will 

 readily command from 20 to 40 cents per pound. During one 

 week in June last season roasters sold quickly at 44 cents per 

 pound in Boston. Now, as these chicks can be grown for 

 from five to six cents per pound, the margin of profit is large. 

 Too much cannot be said in favor of dressing chicks neatly 

 and putting them up in clean, tasty packages and assorting 

 them carefully, as one or two inferior chicks is a package will 

 oftentimes cut the price of the whole. 



THE BROILER. 



As all the world should know, a "broiler" is a young 

 chicken that has been pushed and petted through the eight or 

 ten weeks of its life till it is fat and fit for the frying-pan. So 

 much has been written in detail about the business of hatch- 

 ing and feeding broilers, that we merely give here the follow- 

 ing brief synopsis of the business, which has been prepared 

 by Mr. P. H Jacobs. If one is going into the business ex- 

 tensively, he should not be satisfied with what he can read on 



