ox A TOWN LOT. 33 



should be sprayed once a month during the Winter season. Tlie 

 roosts should be painted with some good disinfectant every week. 

 A mixture of slack limo and crude carbolic acid will make protection 

 against vermin and diseases, but as the lime will affect the color 

 of the legs, spraying will be found more satisfactory where show 

 birds are being raised. 



My First Eggs in Four Months 



My first chicks were hatched May 1st. On September 2nd I got 

 three eggs from my Ancona pullets. It was the first work they had 

 done, and I certainly was proud of them starting in so early in life. 

 They were just four months and two days old. I was not expecting 

 them to lay for some time to come, so naturally was surprised to find 

 the eggs. 



I had raised the chickens in little parks on the back of my lot 

 and had just transferred them from the colony houses to the Winter 

 quarters, which I had just completed. This building was a house 

 16x32 feet, which cost me four hundred dollars. Before it was 

 finished I had discovered my mistake. I found that I had built too 

 expensive a building for the number of birds it would accommodate. 

 A picture of the house is shown on page 34. There was room for 

 one iiundred and fifty birds, and a house accommodating this number 

 ought to be built for one hundred and fifty dollars and ought not to 

 exceed two hundred dollars. I had the building ready in August. 

 It contained four pens and I separated the pullets from the cockerels 

 and kept the pullets in a separate pen from the heavier breeds. 



Imported the Best Stock Obtainable 



I was attracted by the beauty and heavy laying qualities of the 

 other breeds, so I decided to get the best I could possibly secure. 

 I at once got into communication with the leading breeders of 

 Europe and America. After a thorough canvass I imported the best 

 birds money would buy from a prominent English breeder. I for- 

 warded my money by postal order for the required amount, and sent 

 a little extra to secure as good as I was expecting, and, if possible, a 

 little better. It took almost four weeks from the time the birds were 

 shipped until they arrived. It was a long time for them to he con- 

 fined in a small box. They came in splendid condition, and it is 

 needless to say I was pleased. I was expecting some magnificent 

 birds and they were even better than I expected. 



