IN THE POULTRY YARD. Ig! 
will be in these crops, the proportionate amount of food raised 
would be increased. 
It is often difficult to find land at a moderate price near the 
market, and it will require good judgment to strike the happy mean 
between land that is very cheap because it is a long way from mar- 
ket, and land that is so near market that it is very valuable. In 
the latter case the temptation to confine the fowls to small yards 
is very strong, and is sure to result in evil. Land suitable for poul- 
try raising ought to be had for $100 per acre. A higher price 
than this will load down the enterprise too heavily with interest on 
capital. At this figure it should be all under cultivation, and should 
not be in any sense run down. Some have recommended wild 
land for poultry keeping. By this is meant land that is covered 
with brush or rocks, and is so poor that it will not pay to cultivate 
it. Such land may be obtained very cheaply in some parts} but 
would make a very imprudent investment. We must bear in 
mind that the manure from 1,000 fowls is worth a good deal per 
annum, and on such poor Jand it is all lost, whereas if the land be 
good the increase in the crops due to this manure will soon pay for 
the entire investment. 
At the same time, if there should be a piece of such wild land 
laying close to the yards, and for sale at a low figure, it would not 
be a bad investment, as it would form a grand range for the birds. 
It would not yield much, but then the young birds would scratch 
in it and find plenty of insects—just the thing they want. The 
best use to make of such land, would probably be to plant it’ in 
timber. The fowls would keep down the insects. Whether some 
kinds of vines or fruit trees, might not be grown on it with profit, 
would be a question worth considering. 
In previous pages, we have stated that money made from the 
sale of pure-bred fowls, must not enter into our calculations. 
There can be no objection, however, to the poultry keeper turn- 
ing an honest penny in this way. If.he would keep his own stock 
up, he must rear pure bred birds, and as he will always have 
more than he will care to keep, it would be foolish in him not to’ 
get the best prices possible for them. And, if he will confine him- 
self to two or at the most three pure varieties, and take great pains 
