POULTRY. 



1093 



FIG. 26. FKEDINCJ-PKN 



as follows : " Get out fourteen strips one-inch thick, two inches 

 wide, and six feet long ; upon the edges of these strips nail 

 plastering lath cut to half lengths 

 (two feet), so as to make seven 

 hurdles, each two feet wide by 

 six feet long, nailing the lath 

 two inches apart. Set four of 

 these hurdles together so as to 

 form a square pen, nailing them 

 together at the corners, and cover 

 with the remaining hurdles. This makes a pen where the little 

 chicks can be fed, and they will soon learn to run to it when called." 

 When, Where, and How to Market Spring Chick- 

 ens. Commence sending to market as soon as they are well 

 feathered and will weigh from one and a half to two pounds, 

 each, live weight. Sell where you can get the best prices, and 

 you must find that place by watching the market reports of the 

 places within your reach. If on a line of railroad, within rea- 

 sonable distance of a city, try that market. A " reasonable dis. 

 tance " is one that is not so great that the cost of transportation 

 will eat up all the profits. If near a large village where there 

 is a demand for spring chickens, take a load and sell from house 

 to house. We know one farmer who lives near a large manu- 

 facturing village who has built up quite a business in this man- 

 ner. The first load was hard to get rid of, but he kept on going 

 regularly, always selling good poultry, until at last he secured 

 as many regular customers as he could supply. Village custom- 

 ers usually call for greater weight than city markets demand, 

 and, of course, do not often pay New York prices; but still, at 

 the prices obtained, there is a large margin for profit, and it 

 sometimes happens that the poultry raiser can obtain better 

 prices in a densely populated manufacturing or mining district 

 than he could in any city market within his reach. In Western 

 markets spring chickens are usually sold by the pair or dozen 

 alive ; in the East they are usually sold by weight, either alive 

 or dressed, but the dressed are preferred, and bring much the 

 best prices. 



