AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 
Starting by Buying Stock. Buying the fowls is 
quite sure to require a heavier original outlay, but 
you know then just what you are getting, and are 
taking no chances on the hatchability of eggs or on 
disease and accident while raising the chicks. You 
are paying your chosen breeder for the actual 
results of his years of experience as a fancier, and 
are taking advantage of that in getting him thus 
to select and mate your foundation stock. 
The amount of money that would have to be ex- 
pended in making such a start would depend both 
on the number of birds and the quality desired. A 
trio (that is, two females and one male) can be pur- 
chased for ten dollars or fifteen dollars that would 
give very satisfactory results, unless exhibition 
stock were desired, when the prices would run any- 
where from ten dollars or fifteen dollars apiece 
to double and treble those figures. When birds 
are taken in pen lots (that is, eight or ten females 
and one male) considerable reduction is usually 
made on the price per head. Fifty dollars would 
secure ten excellent birds of any breed. Fairly 
good breeding and utility stock, entirely satisfac- 
tory to all who do not value or cannot appreciate 
the fine and technical points of a breed, can be 
secured at a cost of from one to three dollars each. 
The beginner should always start with the best 
stock he can, for he will save time and money by 
so doing if he wants to work himself up toward 
110 
