hatching, or stock for breeding. There were no other Ancona fowls in 

 our vicinity, and our flock created much interest among other breeders. 

 By comparison, our hens laid better, and our chicks developed quicker, 

 than those of other breeds kept by our neighbors and friends. After a 

 while we began to notice in the poultry journals that the Anconas were 

 coming to the front in the show-room, and that Ancona breeders were 

 having a big demand for their product. 



More for fun and curiosity than any other motive, we decided to send 

 some of our birds to a good show, and picked out a five-thousand-bird show 

 as a starter. You can imagine our surprise and delight when three-fourths 

 of the birds we sent won prizes, and the class was the largest of its 

 kind up to that time. There was plenty of competition, and we were 

 convinced that here was a new opening for us, and one we were not slow 

 to take advantage of. 



Our first step was to name our poultry place, and get out some at- 

 tractive stationery and a good circular; and to do a little advertising. 

 This was the best investment we ever made. We could not have done 

 better if we had been in training for this very thing for years. We had 

 the stock, we understood them, we got the orders. Our first year in the 

 fancy busmess quite serieusly interf erred with our city private trade; but 

 we managed to carry it along by cutting out the smaller customers. 



The second year we showed more birds, did more advertising, got 

 better prices, and gave up the fresh-egg customers entirely. We had to 

 turn down several orders for stock, as we raised only five hundred little 

 chicks. It seemed good to us to sell eggs at twenty cents apiece, and fowls 

 at from $3.50 to $25 each. 



We are so glad that we undertook poxiltry keeping, and thoroughly 

 enjoy the work, the freedom and the profits. Our income is. much more 

 than my salary ever was, and we are independent in every sense of the 

 word. There is no secret to our success; it just came naturally, as has 

 been recited. We have not attempted the intensive systems whereby we 

 might increase our flock four-fold on om- back lot. We have used no "sys- 

 tems" nor "secrets," but just plain common sense, and do not hesitate to 

 say that what we have done anybody can do. 



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