254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



in the business, and soon find that experience is sometimes ex- 

 pensive. After a few years they gain considerable knowledge 

 and skill, but by this time their finances are in such a deplorable 

 condition that they are unable to continue. 



4. Ignorance of the business principles and methods under- 

 lying a large poultry project. I know nothing about the manu- 

 facturing of shoes, where to get the leather, the machinery, 

 amount of capital necessary, the profits, etc., and I have often 

 wondered what people would think of me if I were to buy a lot, 

 build a factory and advertise for a manager. I am sure they 

 would think I was crazy, yet scores of people engage in the 

 poultry business under just such conditions and hope to suc- 

 ceed. We find plungers in every line of human activity, and 

 poultry keeping is no exception to the rule, but in the past has 

 furnished a fertile field for them. It is gradually coming to 

 light that these are not the money makers in poultry keeping, 

 and they are becoming fewer each year. Most of these who 

 stay in the business are enabled to do so either by writing a 

 book, establishing a commercial business of poultry equipment 

 or supplies, and using the farm as an advertising agency. On 

 the other hand, the successful poultry raisers are the farmers 

 and poultrymen who begin in a small way, increasing the 

 magnitude of their operations as they grow in knowledge, skill 

 and experience. Their success demonstrates that it is not neces- 

 sary to keep thousands of hens and raise thousands of chicks to 

 make a living, but that better results are obtained by most peo- 

 ple from a few hundred hens well kept. 



State Assistance. 

 Opportunities for Preparation and Guidance. 

 The combined efforts of a number of agencies in the State are 

 doing much to foster the poultry industry and assist poultry 

 raisers to put their business on a good sound basis, and the 

 work is so distributed that it reaches every nook and corner 

 of the State and gives assistance to all classes. 



