32 COMMON SENSE 
structures which had attracted my attention. Unused to building 
contracts and undertakings, he made the common mistake of lay- 
ing a foundation Jarger than he could cover, and by the time his 
houses, etc., were finished, his capital was nearly exhausted, But, 
he persevered, bought several thousand fowls (three thousand, I 
think it was) and obtained his food, etc., for them on credit, in the firm 
faith that the eggs would more than pay for everything. On his little 
yard in the village, he had kept twenty or thirty hens in a’small in- 
closure, but, then they were fed on a great variety of food, much 
‘of it waste from the household, and they were allowed an occa- 
sional run through the entire lot, so that they throve very well, 
When the same dense fowl population was transferred to small 
coops, with no opportunity for an occasional run over a larger 
area, and where they were fed on grain, and nothing but grain, 
day after day, they soon ceased to lay eggs; the outgo continued 
but the income was cut short. 
Moreover, the great extent of glass roofing on such a small place 
(for four acres is a very small chicken farm) prevented the utiliza- 
tion of much of the ground for culture and plant growth, and 
these are always essential, The enterprise was a failure; the feed 
bills became due, without any means to pay them, and the sheriff 
closed out the entire concern. 
The present owner had begun in a different way. Possessed of a 
small independent income, but afflicted with an incurable disease, he 
had taken up poultry keeping as an amusement, and had devoted 
his attention to pure-bred fowls—chiefly the Light Brahma, These 
he had so improved and cared for that his birds became noted 
amongst his neighbors for their excellence, and he found a ready 
market for all the eggs and chickens he could supply. At first his 
prices were very low—merely the retail market rates, but having 
been induced to send some of his fowls to the county fair, he was 
awarded the first prize, and then, orders poured in faster than he 
could supply them, and with offers of greatly advanced prices. So 
he raised his terms, from fifty cents per setting, to $1.00, and then 
to $1.50, and $2.00, and still he could not meet the demand. 
His. poultry became a source of income, and when the tailor’s 
