12 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



as many fowls as they can attend to properly in their /spare 

 hours, and see what profits they can make from the birds. 

 Above all, they must find out if they have a genuine love for 

 the work, for without this nothing can be done. When a 

 name has been made as a breeder of good stock, then and then 

 only, is it time for the amateur to consider the advisability of 

 adopting poultry keeping as a business; and long before this 

 point is reached the glamor of the idea may have faded, for 

 the life of a poultry keeper is, contrary to popular belief, far 

 from being a bed of roses. Practically all the men who are 

 today making a living from poultry commenced keeping fowls 

 as a hobby, and the knowledge and experience which they 

 gained in this way enabled them to found the establishments 

 which are today of world wide reputation. 



To those who are qualified for the work poultry keeping of- 

 fers a good living, but to the idle, the thriftless, or the pleasure 

 seekers of this holiday-making age, it offers more desolate 

 prospects than any other trade or profession. In this business, 

 nothing but dogged determination will enable the beginner to 

 climb the rugged, precipitous path to success, and anyone who 

 is lacking in this essential, or who is afraid of hard, continuous 

 work, will save himself the obloquy of failure by choosing 

 some other field in which to exercise his powers. 



THE GOOD LITTLE HEN. 



What She Will Do For You If You Will Treat Her Right. 

 By Mrs. A. Basley 



There is money in poultry for the man and especially for the 

 woman that will dig it out. This I can assure the Fanciers 

 Monthly readers if they are in doubt. 



"Dig it out," seems a curious way of putting it. When I 

 spent a summer in a big mining camp in Colorado I noticed a 

 great many holes in the sides of the mountains. "Yes," said a 

 miner, "and not five percent of those holes have paid." It was 

 appalling to think of the thousands of dollars lost in those holes. 

 "Give me a hundred hens," said I. The money it took to dig 



