370 A Modern Bee-Farm 



can a young man expect to earn from the keeping of a few 

 fowls. Usually he has but little capital, and starts in a 

 small way, with no previous experience, and at the end of 

 the year, and the next, and the following year, should he 

 stick to his guns for so long a period, he finds instead of 

 satisfactory returns, he is all the time on the losing side of 

 the game. 



Even an experienced hand cannot possibly clear more 

 than ;£^ioo per annum from lOO selected hens, unless he 

 has also gradually worked up a large connection at fancy 

 prices for choice birds. With loo hens the expert may 

 rear 2,000 chickens besides selling odd eggs, and these 

 of course require a large outlay in accommodating appli- 

 ances. Where this number is exceeded of course the 

 labour question comes in, and profits are reduced in pro- 

 portion. Now 



Poultry Farming, 



as distinguished from mere Poultry Keeping, implies that 

 a larger area of land is brought under cultivation, and that 

 a proportionate number of cattle will utilize the rich grass 

 and hay produced after the rearing and fattening of 

 chickens, while the cattle grazing among the coops, keep 

 the grass from growing rank, with the certainty of frequently 

 drowning chicks when wet. The constant feeding down, 

 and the larger area allowing frequent change of quarters for 

 the chicks, there is less possibility of the ground becom- 

 ing tainted, as where the mere poultry keeper with his 

 small area of two to six acres, soon brings upon him his 

 own ruin. The conclusion then is that as a business. 

 Poultry Keeping in its restricted sense is not to be thought 

 of, but upon the more comprehensive scale, with 20 to 50 

 acres and more, Poultry Farming, after a suitable experi- 

 ence has been gained, is a reliable source of income. 



