IN THE POULTRY YARD. 185 
Some of the early hatched pullets began to lay in September, and 
they were all laying by October, so my supply of eggs kept up 
very well into the winter. I placed 125 of these pullets in the old 
house, which was kept warm by the fire used to heat the large 
kettle. For the purpose of testing the possibility of keeping these 
pullets laying during the winter, we gave them the utmost care and 
attention, and they repaid us very well. So that by the end of the 
second December I had attained the object at which I had aimed, 
and not only had my 1,000 hens, but had found that they actually 
yielded me a profit, as against interest, labor and food. ‘The profit 
may have been small, but still it was on the right side of the 
ledger, and the extent of it was a mere question of judicious man- 
agement. 
Ths third January came with brighter prospects, as we had 
greater experience, more skill, and better facilities. Our hens of 
the fall broods, and even some of the very early hatches of the pre- 
ceding January ceased laying and showed a disposition to sit, and 
this was also the case with many of our choice breeders. So we 
got our hatching room and brooding house in order, and prepared 
to raise'a. goodly lot of little chicks. In this we succeeded without 
difficulty; the hands knew just what to do, and under my super- 
vision it was thoroughly done. I found it no “halfday’s” work, 
however, but that full time was demanded. There is no eight- 
hour law in the chicken business. 
It was this season that I regarded as the test of the soundness of 
my plans and of the possibility of actual success. Fortunately for 
me real estate had again improved in value, and I found that if my 
scheme for ekeing out my income proved a failure I could at least 
dispose of the place without loss, and curtail expenses by moving 
into a smaller house. During this season, therefore, I kept very 
careful and accurate accounts of all expenditures and receipts, and 
the following is the balance sheet of this season: 
