3 (J 



THE CAM PINES 



up my calculations for this article, we will suppose that 

 the 38,651 eggs were all sold to supply the ready mar- 

 ket. In Toronto, Canada, near which my farm is situ- 

 ated, during the past season restaurants and hotels 

 were only too willing to make contracts for strictly 

 new laid eggs at the rate of 36 cents a dozen, or 3 cents 

 each, which makes the market value of my 38,651 eggs 

 $1,159,53. I have already shown that the total cost of 

 maintaining the 300 birds was $252.15, which leaves a 

 profit of $907.38, or a little over $3.00 on each bird for 

 nine months. I assure you, kind reader, I am certainly 

 very proud of these facts and figures, under the con- 

 ditions. 



I suppose, in the mind of the general public, this 

 CKg yield is nothing extraord'nary, but I think it is 

 when one considers that over two-thirds of the birds 

 were imported and one-third of them was from two to 

 five years old, saying nothing of the fact that the birds 

 had not been bred scientifically for egg production. 



I do not think anyone has kept a trap-nest record of 

 Campines for any length of time, following up the re- 

 sults solely for the production of a heavy laying strain. 

 My partner, the Rev. Jones, in England, and I here, 

 have had our hands full up to date trying to produce 

 birds enough to meet the demand of our many custom- 

 ers all over the world, so when I take into considera- 

 tion these conditions, I regard the results as very grat- 

 ifying, indeed, and much better than I anticipated. 



Small Eaters — Heavy Layers 



No one will deny that a profit of a little over $900.00 

 on 300 birds, or $3.00 a bird for nine months, was very 

 satisfactory, and yet the egg yield was nothing out of 

 the ordinary. The surprise lies in the small amount 

 of food consumed. It costs only 84.05 cents to main- 

 tain a Campine female for nine months, or a little over 

 9 cents a month. The secret of the Campine's success 

 as an egg machine is the small amount of food con- 

 sumed for the large number of eggs produced. I do 

 not consider my system of feeding perfect, and I cer- 

 tainly hope to improve on it the coming season, but 

 during the past season I have managed to feed my birds 

 at a less cost and obtained greater results than I have 

 done heretofore. 



Another thing that helps Campines to attain big 

 results is that they are non-sitters and they spread 

 their egg laying all the year round, not being sprinters 

 at certain seasons. As the season advanced I suppose 

 I had ten or fifteen birds that showed signs of brood- 

 iness. Some would be on the nest during the day, but 

 at night you would find them back on the roost. A few 

 that would stick were set, but nearly every other one 

 would give up before the 21 days were gone and wanted 

 to go back to real business again. 



During my years of experience with poultry I have 

 kept nearly every noted variety, in fact, the past sea- 

 son I had four pens of other varieties for the sole pur- 

 pose of watching and comparing results, and I must 

 say for the little Campines, although they have not as 

 yet been scientifically bred for egg production, that 

 they do, in a flock, out-class all other breeds it has been 

 my pleasure to experiment with, when it comes to lay- 

 ing large white eggs and lots of them for the small 

 amount of food consumed. -Mr. F. L. Piatt, when he 

 called the Campine hen "a heavy layer of heavy eggs," 

 told the poultry public in six words what the Campine 

 really is, but I would add, "at small cost," calling them 

 "heavy layers of heavy eggs at small cost." 



The coming season I am going to devote a lot of 

 time and study to my matings along the hnes of scien- 

 tific breeding for a heavy egg production. Campines 

 must stand or fall by their qualities as egg layers, and 

 with the foundation we already have to work upon, suc- 

 cess is sure. 



Campines As Market Fowl 



I hear a criticizing reader say, "The laying results 

 are all very well, but how about marketing your sur- 

 plus cockerels?" 



In answer to this I wish to say, the true test of the 

 table value of any bird is the percentage of meat that 

 it will yield and not its mere weight. The ideal table 

 bird then must be small and fine in bone and must be 

 trimly built with a frame suitable for carrying a lot of 

 breast meat. A pheasant will yield nearly three-quar- 

 ters as much meat as the ordinary fowl which' has dou- 

 ble its weight. The excellence of the Campine as a 

 table fowl lies in the fact that it yields as high a per- 

 centage as any other variety, and in many cases much 

 more. The young stock matures very quickly, espec- 

 ially the cockerels, and this enables the commercial 

 plant to market -them early, as they are plump as part- 

 ridges, especially when the chicks are from eight to 

 ten weeks old. Again, the pullets mature just as quickly 

 in proportion, and begin to lay, if properly raised and 

 cared for, at eighteen to twenty-two weeks old. I had 

 this season over ISO pullets begin laying at the age of 

 eighteen and twenty weeks. 



Some will say that they do not like pullets that be- 

 gin to lay too early; neither do I, if it is not their na- 

 ture, but it is the Campine's nature to mature early, and 

 it is natural for the little Campine pullet to begin to lay 

 at a very early age. Of course, there are exceptional 

 cases, just the same as you will find in every other va- 

 riety. You no doubt have read of Rocks and Wyan- 

 dottes laying at twenty weeks old. This is too early, 

 because it is not natural for them, and such precocious 

 birds can never develop the size characteristic of the 

 big boned races. I have had several customers report 

 to me that they had Campine pullets laying at less than 

 fifteen weeks old. I have heard of them beginning to 

 lay at thirteen and one-half weeks, and I have no rea- 

 son to doubt the claim, but it is not natural, just as it is 

 not natural for a Rock to lay at twenty weeks. 



I hope my readers understand what I am trying to 

 explain and that they will not condemn the Campine 

 pullets for laying so young and think it deteriorates 

 their breeding qualities, because it is really natural for 

 them to do so. Besides, everyone will admit that every 

 egg means money. When you take into consideration 

 that they begin to lay from six to eight weeks earlier 

 than the American and English varieties, laying, say, 

 30 to 40 eggs before the latter begins to lay and that 

 they cost easily one-third less to keep, can you realize 

 the difference in profit? Did you ever think of it in that 

 way before? 



I am now planning to build another house of my 

 own design to take care of 1,600 layers and I expect 

 to have it in readiness for next season. I shall fill it 

 with Campines as fast as I can, for I know what they 

 can and will do for me, because my past experience with 

 them has taught me. I estimate that 1,600 Campine fe- 

 males properly housed and properly fed, with a little 

 help along the line of being bred-to-lay, should yield me 

 in eggs, properly marketed, after paying all cost of feeds, 

 etc., fully $5,000.00 a year. 



