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is justly considered as one of the advantages of keeping- 

 fowls, to be added to the net gains of eggs and chickens. 



But the chief motive of the poultry raiser is the pe- 

 cuniary profit to be derived from it, and without this 

 stimulant we may be pretty sure that the hen-house 

 w^ould be fiir less popular than the dove-cote, the bird- 

 cage, or the dog-kennel. But with care and attention 

 the raising of poultry may undoubtedly be made to pay 

 as well as most investments of this nature, and perhaps 

 better than most of the incidental pursuits of farming. 

 And without care and attention, neither this nor any oth- 

 er pursuit can be followed with success. There are no 

 very accurate statistics upon this subject, but a compari- 

 son of numerous statements which have been published 

 in agricultural reports and newspapers, warrants the es- 

 timate that a flock of hens, under economical manage- 

 ment, will yield an annual profit of from one to two dol- 

 lars each. Doubtless a few choice hens, properly kept 

 and carefully nursed, will yield a larger relative income 

 than a great flock kept indiflerently well. Of course 

 such gains cannot be made upon fowls bought at fancy 

 prices, such as prevail during "hen manias." Those 

 who, fifteen or twent}^ years ago or more, paid from $25 

 to 1 50 a pair for the enormous and ungainly birds then 

 imported from foreign stocks, did not look for remunera- 

 tion. Nor do those who to-day pay absurd prices for 

 Crevecoeurs or Houdans. In 1854, at an auction sale in 

 England, a single Spanish hen brought $55, and a lemon- 

 colored hen, $77, and a cock, weighing 13 lbs., brought 

 $215; but these foolish purchases were not made for 

 profit, but to gratify a whimsical excitement. 



Quality of Stock. — Our American poultry has been 



