12 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 
31 cents a dozen, because the proprietor arranged to have his hens 
laying when eggs cost most, in the fall and winter months. 
“Sixteen dozen eggs at, 31 cents a dozen means each hen brings in 
$4.96 in eggs, whilst her food costs 10 cents per month or $1.20 per year, 
leaving $3.76 as profit for eggs. 
“There is still another source of profit in the hen, and that is in 
the droppings. At several of the experiment stations it has been found 
that a hen voids about 100 pounds of droppings per year. These drop- 
pings have been analyzed and show a value as fertilizer of from 30 to 
35 cents per hen; the value being controlled not only by the market 
demand, but also by the quality; the droppings being richer as fertilizer 
where the food was rich in protein and where the hens are fed the ‘full 
and plenty’ method. 
‘“ ‘What do you do with the hen droppings?’ I asked a beginner. 
‘Throw them away; glad to get rid of them,’ was the reply. At the 
rate of $10.00 per ton, that was a waste of 50 cents per hen. Two of 
our neighbors had lawns which were in so bad a condition from the soil 
being worn out that they were on the point of having them dug out 
and new soil put in and the whole re-sowed, when they thought of their 
hen droppings; these they had spread over the lawns and then raked off 
again and the lawns well watered. In a month’s time those lawns 
looked beautiful—better far than if they had been re-made, and at far 
less cost. 
“When I lived in the Eastern States, my window garden was the 
envy and admiration of everyone that passed; there were flowers galore 
all through the dark winter gloom and cold frosty days. I loved my 
plants, took good care of them in every way, but the secret of the won- 
derful blossoms was hen manure. 
“Once a month I half-filled a bucket with hen droppings, poured 
a kettleful of boiling water on it, filled the bucket with the water, stirred 
it with a stick, let it settle and cool, and watered the plants with that 
liquid. I found that hen droppings enrich the ground for almost all 
plants better than anything; roses are the only exception that I have 
found, they doing much better when fertilized with well-rotted cow 
manure. 
“But to return to our hen. She gives 26 pounds’ weight of eggs, 
or sixteen dozen, valued at $4.96; she also gives 100 pounds of valuable 
fertilizer, worth here $10 a ton, or 50 cents per hen, which brings the 
amount of her earnings to $5.40, and at the end of the year we still have 
the hen to eat or sell at market value, about 75 cents or $1.00. If we 
eat her, we have the feathers, which are easily saved, and can be sold or 
made into pillows, the bones pounded up and fed to the other fowls. 
‘Poultry pays, and pays better than any other legitimate business, 
considering the amount invested. Why then are there any failures? 
I will tell you why: The failures are not the fault of the good little 
hen. She will always do her duty; she will always respond to the treat- 
ment she gets. The failures are the people who care for the hen. The 
owners are the failures, and not the fowls. 
“Success is what we all want to attain in whatever we undertake: 
and, ‘lest we forget’ some of the things which lead to success, may I 
repeat that there are three essentials to egg-production. These are: 
Comfort, Exercise, and Proper Food. I would like to review these.’’ 
