STARTING IN THE BUSINESS 



A. 15. Place his money on interest and invest only a 

 small amount in birds until he becomes thoroughly acquainted 

 ■with the business. ' 



A. 17. Barred Plymouth Rocks. 



A. 18. They are conceded to be the most popular variety 

 by both fanner and fancier. From a practical point of view 

 they stand at the head as the best general purpose fowl which 

 rank they have long held, and the indications are that they will 

 continue to hold it for some time to come. Wherever you go 

 you are sure to find Barred Rocks or fowls that resemble them 

 very much. The farmer's wives each year, being anxious to 

 improve their flocks, usually select some progressive breeder 

 from whom to buy new blood, generally buying cockerels. At 

 a result you seldom ever find a breeder of Barred Rocks thas 

 has enough good birds to supply his demand. 



From the fancy point of view there is no variety that when 

 bred up to its highest state of perfection more appeals to one's 

 fancy for the beauty in its markings and feathers. They have 

 always taxed the minds "of the best breeders to raise them to 

 their present perfection, and the indications are that they will 

 continue to require the most careful breeding to improve them. 



A. 19. I would cross Cornish Indian's with Barred Ply- 

 mouth Rocks. 



A. 20. I have found by experience and believe that it is 

 generally conceded by those who have tried them that the 

 Cornish Indians stand easily at the head of all varieties as a 

 table fowl, and when crossed on the American varieties they 

 seem to transmit that quality, and I found that they grow very 

 rapidly into big, fine table fowls. 



A. 21. Barred Plymouth Rocks and Single Comb Brown 

 Leghorns. 



A. 22. Consider the practical qualities that they have — 

 the Barred Rock being a good, general purpose fowl and the 

 Leghorn an excellent layer. The great numbers that are bred 

 create quite a good demand for breeders. This sustains the 

 fancy side of it,thns giving one a ready market at a good price 

 for his best specimens. 



START WITH EGGS 



THEN GROW UP IN THE BUSINESS 

 ALONG WITH THE CHICKENS— GOOD 

 STOCK WORTH A GOOD PRICE 



J. W. PARKS, Ahoona, Pa. 



BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK SPECIALIST 



A. 9. Eggs. 



A. 10. My main reason would be, that by buying eggs 

 I would grow up with the business right along with the chickens. 



Second: Were I to buy stock I would not know exactly 

 what the fowls were fed on, and changing off from one system of 

 feeding right on to some other method does not always pan out. 

 I know that from experience, as one customer will write that the 

 birds were received all O. K. and are laying fine, and another 

 man that was sent full sisters right from the same pen, will com- 

 plain about poor laying. I of course cannot write each customer 

 my methods of feeding in full. 



Third: It is not advisa,ble to change fowls from one method 

 of housing to another. For instance, I use the open front coops 

 exclusively, and might sell stock to a man who was afraid fresh 

 air would hurt his stock. He might raise stock himself with 

 this system, but mine would hardly do well under the change. 



A. 11. I would advise Mr. Farmer to study his market a 

 little and see what it called for in the way of eggs and fowls. 

 Should his market call for brown eggs, it will at the same time 



call for yellow-skinned fowls, as I find everybody is after the 

 yellow skin. I would pick out the hens that come the nearest 

 to having good yellow skin, and the ones that laid the brown 

 eggs. You of course would not have much trouble selecting the 

 ones that laid the brown eggs, as most any kind of a hen except 

 the Leghorn and Minorca will lay these. 



With these I would mate male birds — cockerels — of some 

 well known breed that filled the demands of your market. I 

 would of course be sure that the breeder from whom I bought 

 kept the kind of goods I wanted. Then I would send him what- 

 ever amount I could spare, say $5, and ask him to please send 

 me the best bird he could for the money. Right here you might 

 remind him of the points you are working for. 



When selecting the breeder to buy from it might be well to 

 remember that all birds of the breed you chose are not good 

 layers. We quite often hear the remark that such and such a 

 breed are no good for laying, while it should be said instead that 

 the females of such and such a strain are not good layers, or 

 sitters or whatever the kick liiay be. A strain in our notion 

 means that such and such a person has worked and improved 

 his stock by scientific breeding, etc., until it surpasses some 

 other person's strain in some points, hence the importance in 

 selecting the breeder that satisfies your wants. 



A. 12. I would invest in selected eggs for hatching, and 

 would place them under hens well dusted with Hce powder of 

 some kind at least twice during incubation. The number of 

 eggs to buy, of course, would depend on how extensively he 

 wanted to go into the business, but above all don't invest yovir 

 hard-earned money in the cheapest fowls you find on the market. 

 I have in mind a neighbor of ours that sent clear out to Iowa to 

 get Leghorn eggs at $4. per 100, and from the 500 eggs purchased 

 he has about 30 small frys. I believe he could have sent to 

 Colorado, bought eggs from some reliable breeder that charged 

 an honest price, and had more chicks from 100 eggs. If a breeder 

 has good stock he has worked hard to get it, or paid a nice price, 

 and cannot give his goods away. 



A. 13. I would go and work on some up-to-date poultry 

 farm for a year at least, and get some knowledge of what a good 

 chicken is and learn to know that every egg from a fine hen . 

 does not hatch a winner. I would have some experience at 

 least if I had to work for merely nothing. I remember well of 

 working for seventy-five cents a week and my board while learn- 

 ing the business, and at the age of seventeen. 



Next, I would buy an incubator or two and right here the 

 cheapest is generally the dearest, as it costs money to put up a 

 good incubator with a ten or twenty year guarantee back of it. 

 Would also buy a few hens for hatching. You might buy com- 

 mon hens in the fall and as soon as they got broody set them, 

 and should you not have luck with your incubators you would 

 have hens to fall back on, and vice versa. I would next select 

 the breeders of the variety that I wanted, and choose the men 

 that had been doing the winning, and buy eggs from select stock. 

 These generally come high, as they represent years of hard work, 

 hence the importance of knowing a little about the business be- 

 fore you get too much capital invested. 



If I were buying a place to start on I would try and get 

 one with a south-eastern slope and sandy ground if possible, 

 and if you are able to get a place with a stream of water on it 

 that can be run through the yards, you are all to the good. 



I would invest in a Standard and commit the requirements 

 of my chosen breed to memory, watch my stock closely, see 

 where they lacked, and work to overcome that in my next year's 

 mating. I would take in the smaller shows first, if successful I 

 would prepare to make some of the larger shows, after winning 

 would use printer's ink liberally, let the people know I had the 

 goods, and the trade would come. 



A. 14. Just the same as the man that had the money 

 would have to do, to try and get a little knowledge of the busi- 



45 



