Personal Experiences 43 



life. Many times I would get 45 eggs from SO hens and more 

 than once I got SO eggs. The hens laid month after month, 

 but never set. The eggs were of medium size. 



The hens, however, developed a little bowel-trouble, which 

 finally caused me to give up this ration. I tried two pens on 

 bread soaked in fresh milk instead of the dry bread and milk, 

 but the hens soon stopped laying. On going back to the dry 

 bread and milk they began to lay again. 



I believe that the feed has everything to do with the laying 

 condition of a hen. The more I experimented, the surer I 

 became of this fact. I made a success of this place, but not 

 through any ability on my part. The hens that were run- 

 ning out and laying so well did not eat the mash I gave them, 

 but got their food outside. 



I next moved across the bay for a while, but I soon 

 obtained another poultry farm and started in again. I 

 bought several hundred hens. They were a remarkable lot. 

 When I got them they were not laying an egg, and it seemed 

 that some of them never took a bite of food. I worked with 

 those hens and met one disappointment after another. They 

 would eat grit and charcoal, and I tried various foods to stop 

 them; I could not, however, supply them with a mixture that 

 helped them, and I went from one thing to another without 

 success. This went on for a long time, and I finally found 

 myself without a cent. 



These hens were the wildest I ever saw in my life; if I 

 was in one corner of the block, they were always in the 

 other corner and that was the closest I ever got to them. I 

 had just read Jack London's book, "The Call of the Wild," 

 and I waei sure he got his idea from hens. On reading Mr. 

 Hogan's book on the science of breeding and selection, in 

 which different types of fowls are classified, I looked to see 

 if he had classified this variety. They might have been of 



