No. 4.] F-ARM POULTRY. 405 



The weakly lot will eat nearly if not quite as much as the 

 others, and hardly grow at all ; while the others are gaining 

 perhaps over an ounce a day. When finally the weak ones 

 that live have attained marketable size, they will in most 

 cases have cost more than they will bring, and they never 

 make good poultry. The loss on them is least when they 

 are cleared out as early as possible. Not one time in ten is 

 anything gained by keeping them, in the expectation of 

 finally realizing a little something on them. It is safe to 

 say that this class of losses cuts the profits of nearly all 

 poultry keepers far more severely than they realize. 



The matter of overcrowding has been mentioned. It is a 

 thing to be avoided as one would avoid a contagious disease. 

 People do not comprehend how injurious overcrowding is, 

 unless they have opportunity to compare results when tAvo 

 similar lots of chickens are kept, one in crowded quarters, 

 the other with abundant room ; and this opportunity for 

 comparison seldom comes except to those who intentionally 

 make it, 



' ' Farm range " for growing chicks ought to mean a great 

 deal. Too often it means very little, — means only that the 

 chicks are on a farm, and are not confined. The "range" 

 is so overstocked that they get next to nothing of what they 

 are supposed to get on a range, — green food and insect 

 food ; and, these not being supplied to them (because, being, 

 on "free range," (?) they can procure them by foraging), 

 they are in effect worse off than yarded fowls, to which 

 these things are supplied. If one desires to use free-range 

 methods, he must take care not to overstock his range. If 

 he desires to keep more fowls than can be suitably kept on 

 his place by such methods, he must to some extent adopt the 

 methods of intensive poultry culture. 



Overcrowding, overstocking premises with poultry is a 

 fault common to all classes of poultry keepers. It is only 

 here and there that you find one avoiding it entirely. Fan- 

 ciers are most likely, Avliile giving fowls sufficient house 

 room, to limit them too much in the matter of yard room ; 

 while with farmers it is apt to be the other way. Between 

 the two evils there is nothing to choose, and no choice 



