MAKING A START 
The farmer’s good housewife will find 
her greatest profit, as a rule, in egg pro- 
duction; and for that purpose a good 
laying strain, of some of the Mediterra- 
nean breeds, is best. They mature young, 
are good hustlers, and commence laying 
when five or six months of age if well 
bred, brooded and cared for from the time 
they are hatched until they are grown. 
They lay white-shelled eggs; and they 
make good broilers when they are from 
eight to ten weeks old. While they will 
not bring so much as large birds when 
sold for meat, they will more than have 
made up the difference in the egg basket. 
The farmer and his wife should read 
carefully the article in this book in Chap- 
ter III. entitled ‘‘Age of Fowls for Most 
Profitable Egg Production.’’ Note the 
ratio of profit, as egg production in- 
creases, and you will see at once that 
there is a great loss in keeping a strain 
of fowls that are not up to the top notch 
in egg production; the cost of improving 
a flock compared with the gain in profit 
is so little that it is not worth considering. 
All farmers and poultrymen should 
bear in mind that it does not cost any 
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