144 



THE KIND OF FARM. 



(Rud H. Hickson, Ames, Iowa.) 



All poultry plants may be divided into three classes, or a com- 

 bination of these three classes. These are, a strictly fancy poultry 

 farm, a farm on which the main object is to supply meat to the mar- 

 ket, or an egg farm. A strictly fancy poultry farm involves .a great 

 risk to the beginner, and, in my estimation, cannot be built up to a 

 paying business in a very short time by anyone who has not had a 

 great deal of .experience. Breeding poultry for fancy points is an art 

 and can be successfully done by comparatively few men. The second 

 class of farms also offers a few objections in the central and western 

 states. In the eastern states, duck plants, roaster plants and broiler 

 plants have been proven a very good paying business, but in this sec- 

 tion of the country such plants have not proven as successful as some 

 others, due, no doubt, to the difference in the market. 



THE BREED OF CHICKENS. 



The only kind of a farm now remaining is an egg farm, and the 

 question is, what breed of chickens shall be raised? I have raised a 

 few of the leading breeds of chickens, but in my estimation the Single 

 Combed "White Leghorns are the best chickens on an egg farm. I 

 will not say that they will lay more eggs than any other breed, but 

 they have several very good points in their favor. They are very 

 early maturing birds and are hustlers. They may not be valuable 

 when marketed, as mature birds, but they do not consume as much 

 food as do the larger breeds, and above all, they lay large white eggs 

 of a uniform shape and size which, when fresh, are seldom refused 

 a premium on a good market. 



Cloth 



Tr" 



Front view. 

 COLONY HOUSE AND ITS USE. 



The colony house is twelve feet square and is built on the fresh 

 air plan, as the drawings indicate. It is built on 4x6 runners so that 



