18 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



ments calculated to deter any poultry-keeping aspirant, and give weight 

 to their contention by citing hundreds of cases where men have tried 

 and failed. Truly the mass of evidence appears to be with the latter 

 belief, for it is an indubitable fact that for every person who succeeds 

 in this business a hundred fail. But, looking at the matter from a logical 

 point of view, the fact that a minority rely on poultry for their daily 

 bread, is ample evidence that it is quite possible to make a living out of 

 poultry-keeping, and the abnormal number of failures merely proves 

 that the business is a difficult one. 



"The fact that a man who has failed in some other business takes 

 up poultry-keeping with a like result in no sense proves that poultry- 

 keeping does not pay; it is only what could be expected, and any ex- 

 perienced aviculturist would have prophesied such a result. It is, 

 however, useless to explain such things to the man who is contemplating 

 starting a poultry farm. To suggest that he is unfit for the task would 

 be taken by him as an insult, for the public, in its ignorance, has con- 

 ceived the idea that poultry management is the simplest work that 

 anyone can think of in fact, I question whether an outsider considers 

 it to be work at all. 



"Such a hold has this belief obtained on the man in the street that 

 it almost amounts to a superstition, and until the fallacy is exploded 

 the number of the unsuccessful will be constantly increased. The public, 

 apparently, cannot understand the difference between keeping a few 

 fowls as a paying hobby and managing a poultry farm is an enormous 

 one, and that the minor difficulties to be met with in the former case 

 are increased a thousand fold in the latter. 



"Probably there is no other business which calls for so many qual- 

 ifications as that of the poultry-farmer, and to say that the man who 

 has been successful in any other walk in life is totally unfitted for this 

 business, though somewhat exaggerated, will give the tyro some idea of 

 what is wanted. An intimate detailed knowledge of poultry manage- 

 ment, an unlimited reserve of perseverance, determination, and resource, 

 a genuine love for fowls, the capacity for hard, continuous work for 

 seven days a week, combined with business knowledge and thrifty man- 

 agement, are all essential, and will, with ordinary luck, lead one to the 

 desired goal. 



"I am very dubious as to whether a living can be made from utility 

 poultry-keeping, pure and simple that is to say, by selling eggs and 

 birds solely for edible purposes. A profit can undoubtedly be made, 

 but it is so infinitesimal that the income derived from this source alone 

 would, I am afraid, scarcely suffice for the needs of the most parsimonious. 

 If it is decided to specialize in utility points, pure-bred stock must be 

 kept of the popular varieties, and eggs for hatching, day-old chicks, 

 and stock birds must be sold. This will make all the difference, and 

 once a connection has been worked up, there is no reason why the busi- 

 ness should not pay, and pay well. 



"The breeding of exhibition birds is, without doubt, the most 

 profitable branch, and when once a name has been made, stock and eggs 

 can be disposed of at most remunerative prices. Success, however, 

 cannot be attained at once; it is often the work of years; and many 

 breeders never rise from the ranks of mediocrity. Moreover, much 

 capital is required to start an exhibition poultry farm, and one's expenses 



