4l8 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



ivere not principally composed of tliese ! Recently, a man 

 died in Michigan, who had made his name familiar to 

 the public all over the United States as a special grower 

 of strawberry plants. He stated in his circular that one 

 reason why his business was reliable and successful 

 was that his employees were especially trained. Every 

 worker allowed to help among the plants was trained 

 as soldiers are drilled, viz., to perform all motions — in 

 setting a plant, say — in the same order and exactly in the 

 same way and perfectly. One cannot help seeing how 

 this would simplify the work of the foreman, who would 

 have a definite standard to which to hold the workers. 



Many of the things which have been said in other 

 chapters of this book fall directly under this idea of 

 efficiency in work. The men who have been succeed- 

 ing with poultry have been those whose nature it was 

 to be efficient. Webster defines efficiency as "the qual- 

 ity of producing effects." Young America abbreviates 

 it to "gets there." Another way of e.xpressing it is, 

 " the ratio of product to energy expended." " Energy," 

 in a business sense, meaning time, money, work — all 

 that is invested in aiming to get an expected result. 



We might make an efficiency tabulation of our own 

 for poultry. In it would come keen oversight as a lead- 

 ing force. The smaller the items of a business, and the 

 smaller the output of each individual concerned, the 

 more need for oversight, that the httle foxes may not 

 " spoil the vines." Location, and saving in steps in the 

 daily routine, would be important. Saving feed, saving 

 losses in young stock, saving unnecessary expenses all 

 around, would count much. A fair deal to the birds 

 would be a main necessity, also. Understanding of the 



