58 



LL550N5 IN POULTRY KLLF-'ING — SECOND SERIES. 



A great many poultrytnen lose time iinil money by clinging to poor methods of doing wort;. 

 Indeed, almost all poultrimen lose in lliie way. That is one of the disadvantages of liein-? 

 mostly self tauf;ht in anything. One works out a poor method, and after that becomes a hal»it 

 finds it hard to change. I have known large poultry farms developed from very small begin- 

 nings where methods which were all very well for a few dozen hens and chickens, but wholly 

 inadequate to doing the work economically lor a few hundreds, were continued when the 

 number of fowls and chicks aggregated several thousands. 



If this fault occurs only at one or two points it may not make the larger business a failure — 

 though it will surely cut the profits; but'if it is general it is sure to make a failure, and it h 

 because they do not develop methods suitable to their increased stock that so many poultrymeii 

 vpho are successful on a small scale fail to do well on a hirge scale. 



After a poultry, plant is once built and stocked the most important item of expense is the 



Capons in Colony Houses at Jordan Farm, Hingham, Mass. 



labor. The cost of feed may be greater, but the cost of labor is more important because more 

 difficult to regulate. 



A well known poultryman once said — referring to someone else's habit of getting up early 

 and having a great part of the routine morning work on his plant out of the way before break- 

 fast— that there was no need of getting up so early if one would lie awake long enough at 

 night to plan easy ways of doing his work. 



I don't think he meant this to be taken literally. I imagine his idea was to convey as forcibly 

 as possible the idea that to learn to work well — particularly where there are many difl'erent task- 

 to be fitted into a daj's work — one must do a great deal of thinkiiig and planning for the work. 



A hall an hour is not very much time; but see what a saving of time a poultryman would 

 effect who would so rearrange his work, or so improve some method that he would save a half 

 an hour a day. Most poultrymen work 365 days in the year. A halt hour saved eacli day 

 would mean in the aL'gregate three weeks of six days of ten hours each — an item worth lonk- 

 ing after. This time, properly used, would enable many a poultryman to do a great man.v 



