xl BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and management. So strong is the belief that some such 

 feed can be found, that thousands of dollars are still "being 

 wasted every year in this State in buying patented feeds 

 and many so-called poultry foods that are not in themselves 

 foods at all. But condiments and stimulants have about had 

 their day in the poultry business. 



Many experiments have been carried on at our various 

 agricultural experiment stations to determine the value of 

 certain types of houses, feeds, etc., but in almost every case 

 it was found that more depended upon the individual hen 

 than on the house or the feed. This naturally led to a study 

 of the hens themselves, irrespective of the house, feed or 

 variety. So we now have our tested hen just as the dairy- 

 man has his tested cow. She is tested for egg production, 

 fertility, hatchability of eggs and viability and growth of 

 chicks. 



It must be kept in mind that we are not belittling the 

 breed, the house or the feed. We consider these important 

 factors in poultry culture, but we believe undue emphasis 

 has been laid upon them in the past. They are simply tools 

 in the hands of the poultryman. What is of much greater 

 importance than the particular tool selected is that these 

 tools are handled by men who possess considerable knowl- 

 edge and skill. In other words, success in poultry keeping 

 depends largely upon the human element involved, the same 

 as in any other line of effort. 



Co-operation. 



We are at present hearing a great deal about co-operation 

 in all kinds of business, and particularly so in regard to agri- 

 culture ; so much so that the American commission, consist- 

 ing of delegates from all over the country, was sent to Eu- 

 rope this past summer to make a study of agricultural 

 co-operation and rural credits, and many of their findings 

 are exceedingly interesting. 



Apparently there are many ways in which our farmers 

 might co-operate to their mutual advantage, but there ap- 

 pears to be a spirit of independence among us which is detri- 



