BRANCHES OF THE POULTRY BUSINESS 23 



sure to conclude that the paper in which he adver- 

 tises is not as good a medium for selling stock 

 as it really is ; whereas, the trouble arises in his 

 indefinite wording or use of initials. 



Nothing but what will interest the purchaser 

 should be included in an advertisement. The great 

 majority of readers of farm papers are interested 

 more in business poultry than show birds and, 

 therefore, are not attracted nearly so much by state- 

 ments that the birds are prize winners, as they are 

 by the fact that the fowls are good layers or of 

 heavy weight. The buyer is looking for good stock 

 or eggs, and naturally concludes that advertisers 

 sell such. If scores, pedigrees and show records 

 are desired they can be learned through correspond- 

 ence, since most readers are interested from the 

 market standpoint and people who seek such fowls 

 are much slower in deciding to buy than farm read- 

 ers generally are, and do not look for these items. 

 Of course, with fancy fowls advertised in poultry 

 papers the case would be different. 



Another common error which tends to reduce 

 advertisers' sales is the practice of mentioning some 

 other man's strain. The prospective purchaser is 

 almost sure to conclude that the advertisers' stock 

 is not as good as that of the man whose strain he 

 advertises, and will make effort to discover the 

 address of the man whose strain is mentioned. 

 When a poultry raiser buys fowls from a well- 

 known breeder he does so to improve his own 

 strain, and from the moment the birds enter his 

 j^ards they become a part of his manufactory, and 

 help to turn out his improved product. He, there- 

 fore, should advertise his stock as his own, and not 

 as that of another man. 



