A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



bright bantam, which earned the name of 

 "Little Mother" because of her abnormal 

 spirit of maternity, hatched four of the five 

 Ring-neck eggs purchased in April of our first 

 year on the farm. Not knowing the extraordi- 

 nary capacity of this special baby for dis- 

 appearing through any available crack as 

 soon as hatched, only one was rescued alive; 

 but another banty was set late in May on 

 another five eggs, and she brought off three, 

 which were given to the "Little Mother" to 

 brood. One got killed, but the other two and 

 the "solitary suvivor" of the first brood safely 

 reached maturity. The "survivor" being a 

 male and the other two sisters, they were 

 kept together and demonstrated that a trio do 

 as well as pairs when in captivity. The ten 

 eggs cost $3, the enclosure $3, a year's feed 

 probably $2. 



The next summer we sold fifteen eggs at 

 25 cents each, and raised twelve birds. Two 

 males sold for stock at $3 each, three hens 

 for $2 each ; two pairs were exchanged to pre- 

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