COMMON SENSE 
IN THE POULTRY YARD. 
fjow it Came Abont. 
fg has been said that every man thinks himself competent 
to edit a newspaper. With much more truth might it be 
said that every man thinks himself competent to invest 
money to advantage. And it is hardly necessary to say that in 
both cases a large proportion of the men who think thus are mis- 
taken. ‘Thousands of men have found, by sad experience, that one 
of the most difficult things to do is to invest money to advantage 
and yet securely. I never suppused that I was specially gifted in 
this way, but having occasion to invest the saviugs of many years— 
a small sum after all, by the way—I supposed that as good a plan as 
any would be to follow in the footsteps of those who might be re- 
garded as experts at the business. I do not now speak of specula- 
tion or investment in enterprises which promise large results, with, 
of course, a corresponding risk, but of those investments which are 
supposed to be permanent and secure, and upon which a man 
may rely for a certain income for himself, or for his family if he 
should be taken away. 
‘The prosperity of the country was at high tide at the time of 
which I write. Every species of investment promised security and 
a liberal income, and the values of real estate were constantly in- 
creasing. Nor did this increase seem to be a speculative one. 
‘The people were growing richer, and-could afford to pay more for 
