788 COMMON SENSE 
Conclusion. 
HAVE now given the reader a history of my methods 
failures and successes, and I have endeavored to answer 
practically the question: Can a living be made from 
‘poultry alone, the entire dependence being upon eggs and fowls 
sold at ordinary market rates? My experience tells me that it can 
be done by any one that has the capital, industry and knowledge 
that are needed. The market for eggs and table fowls is always 
good; better sometimes than others, but still always remunerative. 
Stocks may go up or down; banks may break and business men 
may fail; bur old Mother Earth always pays her dividends 
promptly. And the amount of business done.in eggs and poultry 
is so large—over $265,000,000 per annum—that there is no dan- 
ger of the business being overdone. ‘Ten thousand new poultry 
farms could not perceptibly affect the market. 
If reasonable care be-taken, there need be no danger of disease 
carrying off our flocks and ruining our prospects, and we know of 
no other accident that can greatly imperil our success. But there are 
certain points upon which-we must insist, or failure will be certain. 
In the: first“place, the individual must be adapted to the business. 
It is no child’s play to take proper care of a thousand fowls, and if 
that number is doubled or trebled very good executive ability will 
be needed. ‘The care of a small flock: may prove a profitable and 
pleasant pastime for invalids and ladies who have no employment, 
but, unfortunately, a small flock will not yield the owner a living, 
and a large flock will require not. only the care, but the labor of a 
strong man, and of one who is not afraid of exposure to storms and 
cold. Do what you will, there will be times when sudden storms 
will overtake some of your poultry, and if you are too delicate to 
take care of them, good-by to profit. 
But industry, strength and hardihood are not the only require- 
ments. Many a man, who bears amongst his neighbors the repu- 
tation of a Job for patience, will fail when he attempts to tackle.an 
old hen that persists in sitting where she is not wanted. Kindness, 
