SELECTING A BREED 
the top. Pullets or yearling hens usually make the 
best investment for the beginner, because a hen 
that is two or more years old when bought usually 
cannot profitably be kept in service longer than 
one more season. 
The best time to buy fowls is in the fall. Stock 
can be purchased for less money at this time than 
at any other, and the early buyer gets the selection. 
After the first of June in each year there are many 
opportunities to buy at very low prices some of the 
stock which breeders have used in their breeding 
pens, because they must make room for the crop - 
of youngsters coming on. Most of these young 
birds will also be offered for sale after September 
first, ranging from four to six months in age at that 
time; they, too, are quite desirable, and if one is 
prepared to winter them properly, he will find that 
his stock will have almost doubled in value by 
spring. 
Not only will you get the greatest value for 
your money in the fall, but you will also have 
the time and opportunity to study your fowls, to 
learn their individual characteristics and peculiari- 
ties and to learn how best to feed and manage them, 
so that you may be sure everything will be in 
smooth working order by the time eggs are desired 
for hatching. It always requires some time for 
fowls to become accustomed to new surroundings 
and a new feeding system and rations, and for this 
Ill 
