THE DOLLAR HEN FARM 
Five Acre Poultry Farms. 
Can a living for a family be made from a five acre poultry 
farm? Yes; by individual effort, where the marketing oppor- 
tunities are good; by corporate or co-operate effort, any place 
where the fundamental conditions are right. 
This type of poultry farm is well suited for development 
near our large cities, where the cry of “back to the land” has 
filled with new hope the discouraged dweller in flat and tene- 
ment. No greater chance for humanitarian work, and at the 
same time no greater business opportunity, is open to-day than 
that of the promotion of colonies of small poultry and truck 
farms where the parent colony not only sells the land, but 
helps the settler to establish himself in the business and to 
successfully market the product. The natural location for 
such projects is in the sandy soils of New Jersey, Delaware, 
Maryland and Virginia. 
We have already discussed the twenty-five acre farm, repre- 
senting the largest probable unit for such an enterprise. We 
will now discuss the five acre farm which represents the small- 
est probable unit. 
On the five-acre farm a considerable difference of methods 
will be necesary. In the first place, it is to be a horseless 
farm. All hauling and plowing must be attended to by the 
central company, or the same results could be obtained by a 
team owned in common by a small group, say of six farmers, 
each of whom is to use the team one day of the week. 
A single isolated farmer in 2 community of farms or market 
gardeners, could hire a team by the day as he needed it. I 
do not recommend this scheme, however, but would suggest 
that the single individual get a larger plot of ground, at least 
ten acres, and a team of his own. In the co-operative com- 
munity the five-acre teamless farm is entirely feasible. 
The tract should be surveyed about twice as long as wide, 
which, for five acres, makes it 20 by 40 rods, or 330 by 660 
feet. Measure off a strip one hundred feet back from the road. 
Fence the remainder of the tract. Now run a partition fence 
down the center until we have come to within twelve rods 
of the back side. Here run across fence. This gives us three 
yards of about one and one-half acres each. The gates are ar- 
ranged so that one passes through the three yards in a single 
trip. 
Where the middle partition fence adjoins the front fence, a 
well is driven. A water line is run down the partition fence 
to the rear yard. 
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