poise, purpose, physical buoyancy, health and a keen appreciation 

 seem to be characteristic of all animals except man or those man has 

 perverted by domestication. 



Man has wandered so far from nature and natural ways of living 

 that he has lost his way and tosses helplessly on a sea of doubt and 

 indecision, drifting, as it were, until a whole life is spent without once 

 doing the thing that is so much desired. Strong minds take advantage 

 of purposeless lives and set them to work; thus it is that most men 

 work for someone else and never have true independence. Birds and 

 squirrels would disdain to be bossed, or labor long hours for their mere 

 keep for others of their kind. All nature seems to preach sermons to 

 our tardy and imperfect lives. 



On that old Indiana farm we kept horses and cows and hogs and 

 sheep. The young of all these animals were my pets. I fed the mother- 

 less lamb from the bottle and of all pets it seemed the most human, so 

 gentle and lovable. The little pig that was crowded out by the rest 

 of the litter found a home in our old wood-shed and was fed with milk 

 warm from the cow. Pigs were made to consume things, and of all 

 the feeds my pet pig received it was a wonder that it lived. 



Then the little calves were my charge and I taught them how to 

 drink warm milk from the pail by letting them suck my fingers down 

 in the milk pail. Thus it was that I learned to love animal life. I 

 believe every boy should have the care of animals and learn to feed 

 and care for them. It is a wholesome outdoor life that is much more 

 real than streets and houses. 



I also had cages of the different kinds of squirrels which I had 

 caught in the crude traps that I had made. These traps were a source 

 of great pleasure, and with what excitement I went the rounds through 

 the deep forest to see if I had trapped any venturesome squirrel. 



I will never forget the time my cage of chipmunks gnawed out 

 during the night and all were gone next morning. I could see them 

 hiding around the old wood-shed and corn-cribs, but they were too 

 sharp to be trapped again. What a fairyland to a boy were our old 

 Indiana forests in those days, with chipmunks or ground squirrels, red 

 squirrels, grey squirrels, fox squirrels and, strangest of all, flying 

 squirrels. Once in a long while we might find a black squirrel which 

 was a marvel. Then there were woodchucks or ground hogs, and coon 

 which made our hair stand on end to even hear about them. 



I have dwelt at length upon my boyhood and the pets I had so that 

 you may understand why I have chosen the poultry business as my 

 life work. It is my natural calling. Blessed is the man who has found 

 his work, for then every day will be a holiday and real pleasure will be 

 found. But I had to pass through a terrible ordeal to find out just 

 what was the healthiest, sanest, truest life for me. My free, happy, 

 independent boyhood days caring for animals and cultivating plants 

 out in the open air under the blue sky in the sunshine was the real life. 



"Better than grandeur, better than gold, 

 Better than wealth a hundred fold, 

 Are a healthful body, a mind at ease, 

 And simple pleasures that always please." 



14 



