14 "A LITTLE JOURNEY 



Sheppard's files, will convey our meaning. Take first the matter of long- 

 distance shipments of eggs for hatching: a customer named Fred J. Saunders, 

 living at Nicholton, Ontario, wrote Mr. Sheppard as follows: 



"It affords me great pleasure to write and tell you of the wonderful hatch 

 I had from your eggs. I set thirty-four under three hens and got thirty- 

 three nice strong chicks, and they are now over a month old and doing fine. 

 Not a dwarf or runt in the whole hatch, and, best of all, out of the thirty-three 

 there appear to be twenty-five pullets and eight cockerels. How about that 

 for luck?" 



Let us ask in passing: How severe a blow would it be to the standard-bred 

 poultry industry of the United States and Canada if it were impractical to 

 ship eggs for hatching to far distant points? Not only are we able to ship 

 them from different states of the Union into every other state, but also into 

 all parts of Canada, and with success. Moreover, our enterprising poultry- 

 men are now making shipments of hatching eggs at an increasing rate, as to 

 number of orders and quantity of eggs, to England, Denmark, Holland, 

 Belgium, France, etc., also to the West Indies, to Cuba and to Mexico. 



DISTRIBUTION OF BABY CHICKS BY MAIL 



Then comes the recently established advantage of shipping baby chicks 

 long distances by parcel post with truly wonderful success, both with reference 

 to the small percentage of deaths when they are properly boxed, also as to how 

 well they live and develop when brooded right, properly fed, etc. Here is a 

 sample case from Mr. Sheppard's files on that foundation fact. Miss W. T. 

 Shurley, Bayland, Miss., last season wrote Mr. Sheppard as follows: 



"Chicks arrived here on record time. Came about 1200 miles and every 

 one alive and lively. All a bouquet of American beauties! All alive today, 

 Saturday, and growing fast. Are fine individuals, subjects for the prize pens, 

 where they will go when our October Fair opens. This makes my Ancona 

 Miniature Farm complete for a big start. You will accept my thanks for the 

 shipment." 



Next, in regard to the actual or intrinsic value of the Anconas as bred by 

 Mr. Sheppard and others, is the question of how good they are as layers 

 of how soon they begin to lay, meaning at what age, of the kind of eggs they 

 lay, as to their marketable qualities and of how well they lay, meaning their 

 annual egg production, as compared with other breeds or varieties. Last 

 August, Mr. Joseph Kohlmeyer, 806 Devine St., Alliance, Ohio, wrote Mr. 

 Sheppard to this effect: 



"On March 15th I received 25 day-old chicks from you. I raised ten pullets 

 and ten cockerels. They sure are beauties. The whole neighborhood came 

 to see my chicks. To my surprise one of the pullets started to lay July 23rd, 

 age four months and eight days." 



