234 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



minced, and with the hot " soup " goes to form the 

 mash for those days, when the ground grain is added. 

 The birds are fed a little more than they will eat up 

 clean. Liberal feeding is one of the lessons of the 

 test ; also, according to Professor Thompson : " The 

 natural grasses in a run form the greater proportion 

 of the feed consumed by fowls. Consequently, the 

 provision of good, grass runs is Iialf t/ie battle in poul- 

 try farming." Can we assimilate that thought ? 



The cost of production of these eggs is the interesting 

 point. The i8i eggs per hen were produced at a cost, 

 of the supplied feed, of $i each, which is almost exactly 

 6-| cents a dozen. Tlie profit above feed was more than 

 twice the cost. Part of this is offset by the greater ex- 

 pense of housing in pens of six. But, supposing that 

 one housed in lots of 25 and received an average of but 

 100 eggs, which is the best that any state in the Union 

 reports. The gain over cost of feed would then be 

 about 44 cents per hen. This looks like penny wise, 

 pound foolish in exaggerated measure : $1.75 in profit 

 lost — if such an anomaly can be ! — per hen would off- 

 set the greater cost of housing in small numbers, many 

 times over. But, if it came to a question of labor, the 

 matter would again take on another look ; since labor 

 is the great expense, as soon as it has to be hired. 

 Hens carried in lots of six mean labor greatly increased, 

 as any one must see. 



The Government Report for the year 1910, for this en- 

 tire country, covers the average price received by farmers 

 on the 1st of the alternate months of 1909, beginning 

 with February, and the ist of each month during 1910, 

 for each state and territory. These are also grouped 



