140 The Truth About the Poultry Business 



are then "selected" over again on their returning to the end 

 of the house where they had first been. Such non-layers as 

 may have passed through the first time with the layers are 

 now by themselves, and they are put in between the partitions 

 with the other non-layers. Thus in a short time you have 

 your non-layers separated from your layers without having 

 to handle them and without any bother whatsoever. More- 

 over, all guess-work is eliminated. By placing a few trap- 

 nests with the non-layers, they can be caught when they begin 

 to lay and be returned to the flock. The other hens can be 

 Hoganized and disposed of if worthless. 



In feeding hens I have noticed that in the same pen and 

 on the same feed there would be some hens laying and some 

 that would not be laying, although they seemed to be other- 

 wise in good condition. This led to repeated experiments 

 with the hens that were not laying. I found that by changing 

 the food on the non-layers that they could be made to lay, 

 but when I would leave the non-layers with the layers and 

 change the food — especially in the fall or early spring — the 

 result would sometimes be disastrous to the layers, causing 

 them to moult. If, however, they were separated and the food 

 was then changed, the non-laying hens could be made to lay. 



I regarded this as a matter of the greatest importance in 

 increasing profits. This feature of the business, if properly 

 handled, may turn many a poultry farm from a failure into 

 a success. 



I bought books on different poultry systems which told 

 how to select the laying hens, and began to experiment. But 

 the books I bought, with the exception of Hogan's "The 

 Call of the Hen," were worthless and I never received any 

 value from them. In making these experiments, however, 

 I discovered the "Press-the-button system" of selecting lay- 

 ing hens, which I believe to be the only practical way of 



