THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 161 



the roup, for he arrived snuffling - . Called away 

 most inopportunely I went, leaving strict injunc- 

 tions for the immuring of the royally bred bird un- 

 til my return, when I would diagnose his case. I 

 returned, after an unexpectedly prolonged absence, 

 to find that half of the chickens running around be- 

 longed to the new comer and that fully two-thirds 

 of them had the snuffles. Their heads were prompt- 

 ly laid on the block, but not before that of the roy- 

 ally bred author of my woe. The remaining third 

 came as near to perfection as Minorca may; yet I 

 had proved the truth of the saying that when com- 

 pelled by fear of inbreeding to seek outside stock, 

 the hen-person's future trembles in the balance. As 

 for cholera and other diseases, all alike were stran- 

 gers to my hen home. I should make but a poor 

 physician for "diseases peculiar to this climate." 



Forcing or patent foods were banned. Alfalfa, 

 milk, and in winter ground green bone, amply filled 

 their place. In winter, too, pans of milk were put 

 in the houses at night for early morning refresh- 

 ment. Grain was fed with discrimination and fore- 

 sight. The chicks were raised largely on corn meal 

 and milk, enjoying a private lunch counter un- 

 molested by greedy hens. During the hatching pro- 

 cess I let the old hen severely alone in the specially 

 appointed quarters for setting hens, feeling that a 

 specialist should know more about her own business 

 than a rank outsider. I also threw to the winds the 

 red tape notion that chicks must not be fed until 

 they are twenty-four hours old. I would like to see 

 such a course pursued with the vigorous Minorca 



