54 ‘COMMON SENSE 
The breed that I should adopt occupied my first thoughts, be- 
cause on this depended to some extent the kind of houses, coops 
and yards that I should build. 
I had had personal experience with Black Spanish, White and 
Brown Leghorn, Dorking, Light Brahma, Dominiques and mon- 
grels, or so-called barn-yard fowls, but was not quite satisfied with 
any of them. Still it was upon these that I determined to place 
my chief reliance because, I would then know what I was about 
and all my former experience would be available. My former ex- 
perience, however, had not been gained under circumstances which 
led to a very close consideration of the best variety for market, and 
as iny present experiment looked to the market for its success, it 
was important that I should keep this feature prominently in view, 
and make no’ mistake. The following points occurred to me as 
being essential :— : ; 
1. The hens should be good layers of fair sized eges. The 
color of the eggs I did not care so much about, because I was sit- 
uated between two large markets, at one of which white eggs 
were all the fashion, while at the other the preference was for dark 
eges. I found that those who preferred dark eggs did so under 
the impression that they were richer, while those who chose white 
eggs did so because.they looked prettier. I also found that deal- 
ers would not give any more for one than for the other, though 
they would buy more freely of tie eggs which they preferred. 
Now, it was my purpose to secure as many private customers 
as possible; these I proposed to furnish with eggs direct from my 
yards, thus saving all middlemen’s commissions, and sending, the 
surplus to the general market, only when it became inconveniently 
large. I therefore trusted to the fact that eggs which were guaranteed 
to be not more than oné to three days old would command a 
ready sale whatever. the color. : 
2. Since a poultry yard of the size of that proposed must de- 
pend upon its own resources for raising young fowls, and since 
fully half the young birds thus raised: would be cockerels, for 
‘which the market would :be. the only outlet, it was: necessary that 
whatever breed I adopted should be a good table fowl. That:is to 
