AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 



Starting by Buying Stock. Buying the fowls is 

 quite sure to require a heavier original outlay, but 

 you know then just what you are getting, and are 

 taking no chances on the hatchability of eggs or on 

 disease and accident while raising the chicks. You 

 are paying your chosen breeder for the actual 

 results of his years of experience as a fancier, and 

 are taking advantage of that in getting him thus 

 to select and mate your foundation stock. 



The amount of money that would have to be ex- 

 pended in making such a start would depend both 

 on the number of birds and the quality desired. A 

 trio (that is, two females and one male) can be pur- 

 chased for ten dollars or fifteen dollars that would 

 give very satisfactory results, unless exhibition 

 stock were desired, when the prices would run any- 

 where from ten dollars or fifteen dollars apiece 

 to double and treble those figures. When birds 

 are taken in pen lots (that is, eight or ten females 

 and one male) considerable reduction is usually 

 made on the price per head. Fifty dollars would 

 secure ten excellent birds of any breed. Fairly 

 good breeding and utility stock, entirely satisfac- 

 tory to all who do not value or cannot appreciate 

 the fine and technical points of a breed, can be 

 secured at a cost of from one to three dollars each. 



The beginner' should always start with the best 

 stock he can, for he will save time and money by 

 so doing if he wants to work himself up toward 



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