A COMMERCIAL POINT OF VIEW. 97 



Now, when the above well-known facts are considered 

 in connection with poultry breeding, it must become evi- 

 dent to the most superficial observer that to render it a 

 commercial success, we must follow more closely the great 

 teachings of Nature : in truth, the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms are so closely allied, and so dependent the one 

 on the other, that to treat each as a distinct undertaking 

 must necessarily increase the expense of production, and 

 consequently decrease the profit. 



I will now briefly review poultry breeding and vegeta- 

 ble growing as separate undertakings, in a commercial 

 point of view, in order to show that in sound rural econ- 

 omy the two ought to be combined, both for sanitary and 

 economical purposes. 



Poultry Breeding. 



In any establishment where large numbers of poultry 

 are kept, the gi'ound must often be renewed to prevent it 

 getting tainted ; this requires labor and materials. Now, 

 tiiere is only one material which combines all the require- 

 ments for the floor of a poultry home, and with which 

 Providence has supplied us bountifully, namely, earth. 

 It is composed of all the necessary materials to the an- 

 imal economy of- the poultry ; it is of a deodorizing 

 nature ; and, when tainted with the manure, becomes 

 a valuable fertilizer ; but even earth can absorb but a 

 moderate amount of decaying matters without losing its 

 valuable properties ; and, in this again, Nature teaches 

 us that what is beneficial in moderation becomes injurious 

 in excess. Then comes the question of a cheap supply 

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