90 



EGGS FOR HATCHING. How -long may eggs for hatching 

 safely be kept ? To find out, go and ask the old hen that has 

 stolen her nest. She will tell you that she has been hiding away 

 eggs in the haymow or under the barn for at least three weeks, 

 and that she expects every egg to hatch a chick. In a tempera- 

 ture of from 40 to 60 degrees, eggs may safely be kept at least 

 three weeks before they are put in an incubator or under a hen. 

 They should be turned every day. 



MEDIUM-SIZED FOWL CALLED FOR. The market now calls 

 for a medium-sized fowl. There was a time when the demand 

 was for "old hoosiers," but that day has gone forever. I will tell 

 you why. A bird dressing ten pounds has no more legs or wings 

 than a bird dressing four or five. In the case of a large fowl 

 part of the meat is left uneaten on the plate. In the case of a 

 medium-sized fowl, a leg or wing is just right for an order. 

 Shrewd buyers have learned that it is more profitable to buy two 

 medium-sized fowls than one large one. There is still an occa- 

 sional call for a large fowl, but the smaller ones are the better 

 sellers. 



BE GENTLE. Be gentle with your birds. The hen is natur- 

 ally timid and easily scared. When kindly treated however she 

 becomes tame. Much of the pleasure in keeping fowls comes 

 from having them so tame that they will let their owner work 

 among them and even handle them at his will. One should never 

 lose his temper, no matter how great the provocation. The hen is 

 not a reasoning creature and often sorely tries her owner's 

 patience. But if he never allows himself to get angry or treat her 

 unkindly no matter what she may do, poultry keeping becomes 

 not only a source of pleasure and profit but a means of moral dis- 

 cipline not to be despised. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall 

 inherit the earth," is a beatitude as true in the poultry business as 

 it is elsewhere. 



-Precocious pullets seldom make phenomenal layers. 



Dry planer shavings make the best material for nests. 



Select a breed of fowl as you do a wife to please yourself. 



Don't go into the poultry business unless you have a "call" 

 to it. 



There is little danger of overfeeding hens after they begin 

 to lay. 



Clear poultry manure, lightly sprinkled with coal ashes or land 

 plaster to fix the ammonia, is worth a dollar a barrel. 



