CHAPTER IV 
SUBURBAN POULTRY-KEEPING 
the suburbs of a large town, I give extracts from an article 
that appeared in The Journal of the Board of Agriculture. 
It is not because the profits of this particular experiment are 
exceptional that I select this article for special mention. The 
profits, as it happens, are quite normal, but as the accounts have 
been kept with special care, and have received the honour of being 
treated as an object lesson by a Government publication, there 
can be no question about the authenticity of the facts as set 
forth. 
“* At the outbreak of the war X. decided to set aside a part of 
her back garden for the keeping of poultry. As she had very 
little time to devote to her fowls, she decided from the first to 
work on rather novel lines. She decided to keep the birds for 
egg-production only, and do no rearing—hence no male bird was 
kept, and no annoyance caused to any of her neighbours. The 
ground was too small to admit of alternate runs, and yet it was 
necessary to give it a rest from time to time if used year after 
year, so X. decided to sell her fowls before they moulted, thus 
setting herself free to close the house and have a holiday. During 
the interval the run was cropped with some gross feeding greens, 
such as cabbage. The daily work consisted simp'y of feeding the 
birds three times, watering them twice, cleaning the dropping- 
board each morning, and occasionally digging the run. X. con- 
siders that for any active girl the work need only occupy thirty 
minutes a day, and may be safely undertaken, as in her own case, 
without previous experience. 
«« When she came to arrange the details X. found that the space 
at her disposal was about 50 square yards of sandy soil. On 
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I: order to show the profitable nature of poultry-keeping in 
