110 TUB THAI 1 XI5ST TEXT HOOK 



that will (In niori' harm than good; for the personal equation, which is 

 the greatest factor of all, is unknown to us and may not lie at all adapt- 

 (id to our favorite .system and theories. .Most of us have theories. To 

 us they are facts, to others they are delusions. 



If 1 believed that (en per cent, of those who appear to be successful 

 with poultry were as successful as they believe, or are willing' that others 

 should believe, I might look at this a little differently. 



I have obtained a prolit from hens when profit was the last thing 

 thought of. but there would have been no profit had I adopted the. pop- 

 ular theories with which 1 am very familiar. 



A hen will eat a pound of food in from two to live days according to 

 the hen and her productiveness. How much does our feed cost per 

 pound? I low does it figure out for the year? Mow many eggs must she 

 lay at market prices to pay for the food, interest on investment, and 

 our time? Any answer to the latter question must be modified by local 

 conditions, but it will probably figure out. about double the product of 

 the average hen. 



There are, three general ways of converting what is generally a losing- 

 proposition into an occasionally profitable one. 



First: keeping the. amount invested ill slock and equipment, and the 

 cost of maintenance, down 1o the lowest possible figure and marketing 

 what product there is as favorably as is consistent with the general plan 

 of the business. The welfare of the stock or the interests of the con- 

 sumer, ••sentiment," do not enter into such a proposition to a sufficient 

 extent to occasion any outlay of money. A man with the faculty for 

 making money without spending money often succeeds by this method. 

 Such a man will sometimes provide his mongrel hens with a rotting pile 

 of stable manure, renewed frequently, in which they revel in filth and 

 sing contentedly. He boasts of his mongrel flock, their c<£ii yield, and 

 the low cost of maintenance Much of the grain that the hens get is 

 first passed through the other stock, so costs nothing. (?) 



He is welcome to his mongrel hen and her stinking flesh and egg'-. 

 I want none of them. During eighteen years of city life I often found 

 it difficult, at times, to get anything else in the line of poultry and eggs. 



Second: investing in a fairly good equipment, fairly good stock, and 

 taking fairly good care of the stock; endeavoring to produce goods of a 

 little belter quality than the average. For such goods a bright person 

 can get a little better price, in time, than the average. He will have to 

 work to gel it. People want Ihe best, but they are not particularly 

 anxious to pay more for it. Sometimes they will call at the door for 

 fresh eggs and complain because we charge "as much as (hey do at the 

 store." 



Third: investing every obtainable dollar in such a way as to make it 

 earn money. The more dollars the more money. ••Them as has, gits." 



The cosl of buildings, equipment, slock, feed, and labor is not con- 

 sidered only to the extent that everything' shall count toward obtaining 

 desired results. The aim is to produce the very best quality of salable 

 goods, in Ihe greatest possible quantity for the size of Ihe plant and the 

 money expended. The welfare of the slock and all who are concerned 

 in ils maintenance is considered to be imporlanl as a means lo an end: 

 as are also the interests of consumers who want good quality and will 

 pav for it . 



