AMOUNT SAFELY INVESTED 99 



Another was the case of a professional man, who de- 

 sired to buy a farm within two hours' ride of New 

 York city and engage in the squab business. He de- 

 sired to make a specialty of furnishing squabs to hos- 

 pital and physicians' trade. This gentleman had the 

 same difficulty in getting satisfactory replies to his 

 letters as the one mentioned above. He was prac- 

 tical enough to see that if he did not get the right kind 

 of a flock at the start he could not expect satisfactory 

 results. 



We have in mind a minister who was about to re- 

 move from Michigan to Massachusetts. He was 

 obliged to relinquish his pulpit duties because of 

 failing health and desired to go into the squab business 

 in connection with poultry. He wrote a very full letter, 

 asking many points about the proper way to begin. 

 He followed our suggestion and wrote to several deal- 

 ers, all of whom guaranteed to sell mated birds, at 

 least their advertisements were so worded. After re- 

 ceiving several replies, he wrote us that each dealer 

 had fought shy of giving any guarantee. They said 

 their birds were mated, but they would not guarantee 

 them to be mated. The reverend gentleman agreed 

 with us, that if a dealer said his birds were mated, 

 and was not willing to back it with a written guaran- 

 tee, no one could put any confidence in the statement. 



Requisites of success. — The question of success 

 hinges largely on one's ability to get mated birds, 

 birds which are actually raising squabs at the time of 

 purchase. Such birds will get to work, except, per- 

 haps, in the height of the molting season, within two 

 weeks after being placed in new quarters. If capital 

 cannot secure such birds, one must wait until his birds 

 mate. He must employ two persons of sufficient in- 

 telligence and honesty to catch and make records of the 



