20 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



31 cents a dozen, because the proprietor arranged to have his hens 

 laying when eggs cost most, in the fall and winter months. 



1 'Sixteen dozen eggs at 31 cents a dozen means each hen brings in 

 $4.96 in eggs, whilst her food costs 10 cents per month or $1.20 per year, 

 leaving $3.76 as profit for eggs. 



"There is still another source of profit in the hen, and that is in 

 the droppings. At several of the experiment stations it has been found 

 that a hen voids about 100 pounds of droppings per year in the fresh, 

 moist state. These droppings have been analyzed and show a value as 

 fertilizer of from 30 to 35 cents per hen; the value being controlled not 

 only by the market demand, but also by the quality; the droppings being 

 richer as fertilizer where the food was rich in protein and where the hens 

 are fed the 'full and plenty' method. 



'What do you do with the hen droppings?' I asked a beginner. 

 'Throw them away; glad to get rid of them,' was the reply. At the 

 rate of $10.00 per ton, that was a waste of 50 cents per hen. Two of 

 our neighbors had lawns which were in so bad a condition from the soil 

 being worn out that they were on the point of having them dug out 

 and new soil put in and the whole re-sowed, when they thought of their 

 hen droppings; these they had spread over the lawns and then raked off 

 again and the lawns well watered. In a month's time those lawns 

 looked beautiful better far than if they had been re-made, and at far 

 less cost. 



"When I lived in the Eastern States, my window garden was the 

 envy and admiration of everyone that passed ; there were flowers galore 

 all through the dark winter gloom and cold frosty days. I loved my 

 plants, took good care of them in every way, but the secret of the won- 

 derful blossoms was hen manure. 



"Once a month I half-filled a bucket with hen droppings, poured 

 a kettleful of boiling water on it, filled the bucket with the water, stirred 

 it with a stick, let it settle and cool, and watered the plants with that 

 liquid. I found that hen droppings enrich the ground for almost all 

 plants better than anything; roses are the only exception that I have 

 found, they doing much better when fertilized with well-rotted cow 

 manure. 



"But to return to our hen. She gives 26 pounds' weight of eggs, 

 or sixteen dozen, valued at $4.96; she also gives 100 pounds of valuable 

 fertilizer, worth here $10 a ton, or 50 cents per hen, which brings the 

 amount of her earnings to $5.40, and at the end of the year we still have 

 the hen to eat or sell at market value, about 75 cents or $1.00. If we 

 eat her, we have the feathers, which are easily saved, and can be sold or 

 made into pillows, the bones pounded up and fed to the other fowls. 



"Poultry pays, and pays better than any other legitimate business, 

 considering the amount invested. Why then are there any failures? 

 I will tell you why: The failures are not the fault of the good little 

 hen. She will always do her duty; she will always respond to the treat- 

 ment she gets. The failures are the people who care for the hen. The 

 owners are the failures, and not the fowls. 



"Success is what we all want to attain in whatever we undertake: 

 and, -'lest we forget' some of the things which lead to success, may I 

 repeat that there are three essentials to egg-production. These are: 

 Comfort, Exercise, and Proper Food. I would like to review these." 



