122 chicks" 



houses about six by eight feet on the ground and which con; 

 tain outdoor brooders of some well-knoWn make. One 

 raiser uses outdoor brooders of his own make for the Septem- 

 ber chicks and a hover system brooder house afterwards. 



The writer has seen good chickens raised with all these 

 systems, but believes that those raised under hot water 

 pipes with no hovers, but with the heat automatically regu- 

 lated were the best. 



Chick feed mixtures of well-known makes are almost 

 always used for the youngest chicks. They also have beef 

 scraps, chick grit and charcoal and are also fed cut clover 

 and several kinds of green food. Some breeders a little 

 later substitute small cracked grains, such as cracked wheat, 

 corn and hulled oats for the chick feed. 



The Colony System. 



This is used universally after the chicks leave the brooder 

 at an age of two to three months. The houses are about six 

 by eight feet and house fifty chicks each. All the male 

 chicks are caponized and held until high prices prevail. 

 The pullets are sorted out and sold before they lay. 



In these houses the birds are fed principally cracked corn 

 and beef scraps, though they are given a liberal supply of 

 grit, oyster shells and charcoal. They are fed, mostly, 

 by the hopper system. These houses are supplied with a 

 door and a window. Above the window is a ventilating 

 space that is never closed except in case a storm is beating 

 in upon, the chicks. 



The amount of money expended annually for these prime 

 roasters in Boston and vicinity indicates that many people 

 are making a fair income from this source. The fact that 

 from one to two hundred thousand dollars go into the hands 

 of a few people in the vicinity of Norwell each year is proof 

 that they are making a good living from this industry, par- 

 ticularly wh^n it is known that the same people are raising 

 soft roasters year after year. 



To visit these people and see their comfortable homes 

 filled with happy and contented families is to convince oneself 

 that this branch of the poultry business yields a substantial 

 income. 



It would appear from the facts and figures presented that 



