THE CALL OF THE HEN. 15 



have started a fine poultry plant and the good little hens 

 would have brought in a living for their owners. 



"There is money in poultry! Every inch of a hen is 

 valuable. I would like to give you one of the values of the 

 hen and what it costs to keep her. 



"First, there are the eggs she will lay, if properly fed 

 and treated. Twelve dozen eggs per year is the average, 

 although I personally know poultry plants now being operated 

 in Southern California where the output, as shown by care- 

 fully kept records, is sixteen dozen per year. The average 

 price at the Arlington Egg Ranch for the past year was 31 

 cents a dozen, because the proprietor arranged to have his 

 hens laying when eggs cost the most, in the fall and winter 

 months. 



"Sixteen dozen eggs at 31 cents a dozen means each hen 

 brings in $4.96 in eggs, whilst her food costs 10 cents per 

 month or $1.20 per year, leaving $3.76 as profit for eggs. 



"There is still another source of profit in the hen, and 

 that is in the droppings. At several of the experiment 

 stations it has been found that a hen voids about 100 pounds 

 of droppings per year. These droppings have been analyzed 

 and show a value as fertilizer of from 30 to 35 cents per hen ; 

 the value being controlled not only by the market demand, 

 but also by the quality ; the droppings being richer as fertilizer 

 where the food was rich in protein and where the hens are 

 fed the 'full and plenty' method. 



'What do you do with the hen droppings?' I asked a 

 beginner. 'Throw them away; glad to get rid of them,' was 

 the reply. At the rate of $10.00 per ton, that was a waste 

 of 50 cents per hen. Two of our neighbors had lawns which 

 were in so bad a condition from the soil being worn out that 

 they were on the point of having them dug out and new soil 

 put in and the whole re-sowed, when they thought of their hen 

 droppings; these they had spread over the lawns and then 

 raked off again and the lawns well watered. In a month's 

 time those lawns looked beautiful better far than if they 

 had been re-made, and at far less cost. 



When I lived in the Eastern States, my window garden 

 was the envy and admiration of everyone that passed; there 

 were flowers galore all through the dark winter gloom and 

 cold frosty days. I loved my plants, took good care of them 



