28 



On another occasion, after faithful attendance at church ser- 

 vices, one beautiful Sunday morning in spring the same amateur 

 poultryman returned home to find about forty fine Brown Leghorn 

 chickens, dead or dying, scattered about the yard. The morning 

 mash for the chicks had unwittingly been mixed with water in 

 which some salt meat had been boiled, and they rendered con- 

 vincing testimony of the deathly danger to chicken life of too 

 much salt in the food. 



The third catastrophe, which also brought its lesson, was the 

 destruction in one night, by an army of invading rats, of some 

 forty pigeons, practically cleaning out the loft. 



Experience is a dear if not altogether a lovable teacher, and we 

 all have to learn from her to a greater or less extent. I have no 

 great or appreciative respect for the poultryman who " knows it 

 all," and has closed his course in learning ; but my sympathy goes 

 out to the one who is studying and advancing in poultry knowl- 

 edge, particularly if he be an ambitious and enthusiastic beginner 

 in poultry keeping. 



On nearly every farm fowls are kept or found. Too often they 

 are allowed to shift for themselves. Some farmers detest hens. 

 Usually on every farm there is, however, some one who is inter- 

 ested in fowls, or at least desirous of the pocket-money which 

 poultry may supply. I know well a Massachusetts dairy farmer 

 who combines very successful poultry keeping with his dairy busi- 

 ness. He is one of many such. Lately a Massachusetts farmer 

 told me with great satisfaction of the copartnership which his two 

 boys, one thirteen and the other nine years old, had formed for 

 conducting the poultry business of the farm. These farmer boys 

 are chips of the old block, and are making a success of the busi- 

 ness. Sometimes it is the wife or daughter who takes care of the 

 biddies, usually very successfully. Among the poultry women of 

 my acquaintance I will mention one in New Jersey, who took the 

 special course of instruction, with the pioneer class of 1898, at 

 the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. 

 Although not possessed of the best of health, she has made a 

 success of poultry keeping, and, willing to share her success, has, 

 among other helpful things, written a nice booklet for women, 

 entitled "Pocket-money in poultry culture," which I can heartily 

 recommend to the wives and daughters on the farms of Massa- 

 chusetts. 



The idea of special poultry farming on a large scale is extending, 

 and large poultry plants are being quite freely established ; but 

 the great bulk of poultry products for the market will continue to 

 come from the numberless small flocks scattered through the coun- 



