THE HEN FEVER. 159 



of gentlemen and amateur fanciers found themselves in a 

 similar predicament, at the end of one or two or three yeara 

 Without possessing a single particle of knowledge requisitb 

 to the successful accomplishment of their purpose, — utterly 

 ignorant of the first rudiments of the business, — they 

 jumped into it, without reason, forgetting the wholesome 

 advice contained in the musty adage, "look before you leap." 

 And, after sinking tens and hundreds or (in some cases) 

 thousands of dollars in experiments, they woke up to find 

 that they had had the fever badly, but, fortunately, were 

 at last convalescent ! 



I was busy, all this time, in supplying my friends with 

 " pure-bred" stock, however, and had very little leisure to 

 tarry to sympathize with these " poor creeturs." The 

 demand for my stock continued, and the best year's busi- 

 ness I ever enjoyed, was from the spring of 1853 to May 

 and June, 1854 ; when it commenced to fall off very sensi- 

 bly, and the prospect became dubious, f5r future operations, 

 even with me. 



