National Standard Squab Book. 23 



by freight without previous uotice to the American Iriiile ;iud Leather 

 Company at Lcwei!, Mass., and are jiaid tor it at the rate of sixty cents 

 a bushel. 



A peculiarity about pigeou manure is that it is uot foul-smelling like 

 hen mauure, and wlien it is mixed witii water you get a Ivind of crude 

 soap. In washing the nappies, no soap is necessary. Use warm water in 

 washing them and the manure caked to them forms a cleansing soap in 

 conjunction with the water. If you have a basket in which you have 

 transported pigeons, and whose bottom is caked with the hard droppings, 

 lay the basket face down and sprinkle water liberally on the underside 

 and the manure will drop oft in large pieces from the inside and the 

 basket will become perfectly clean. 



In raising live stock of 'any kirul, arrange matters so the animals will 

 look after themselves as much as possible. We all know that automatic 

 machinery has cheapened many articles formerly dear, and the perfect 

 breeding outfit is automatic, neeiMng only a supply of feed and water. 

 Aim to cut down the factor of personal drudgery, so as to leave your 

 time clear to observe and plan, and execute intelligently. Beginners who 

 load themselves down with a daily round of exacting duties soon lose 

 heart, their patience gives out and they become disgusted. We have 

 known breeders of rabbits to fail simply because they raised them in 

 hutches. Each hutch had a door and two dishes, one for feed, the other 

 for water. Every day, the door of the hatch had to 'be opened, the hutch 

 cleaned, the dishes refilled (and often defined), and the door closed. It 

 Look 15 or 20 motions to do this for each hutch. Multiply this by 20 to 30 

 (.the number of the hutches), and the burden grew unbearable. It was not 

 surprising that in three or four months the breeder's patience was worn 

 out. The factor of personal drudgery had become greater than the rab- 

 bits. The thoughtful breeder would have turned his rabbits into two or 

 three enclosures on the ground and let them shift for themselves. Then 

 one set of motions in feeding would have auswcred for all, and there 

 would have been no diit to clean up. Infinite patience as well as skill is 

 required to make a success of animals given individual attention. The 

 aim of every breeder should be to make one minute of his time serve the 

 greatest possible number of animals. When you think and reason for 

 yourself, you understand how much more practical it is to give sixty ani- 

 mals one minute of your time than one animal one minute. Time is money 

 and if you are too particular, and too fnssy, and thoughtless about these 

 details, "it is a clear ease of the chances being sixty to oue against you. 



At the start, the problem of breeding squabs for market is in your favor, 

 because one hundred pairs of breeding pigeons may be handled as easily 

 and as rapidly as one pair. Try to keep this numerical advantage in your 

 favor all the" time. Discard every plan that cuts down the efficiency of 

 your own labor, and adopt every device that will give you control in the 

 same time over a greater number of pigeons. 



It takes brains and skilled labor to run a poultry plant successfully. 



