Poultry  culture  has  many  peculiar  and  pleasing  features  which 
make  it  well  suited  to  persons  of  either  sex  who  are  unable  physi- 
cally, or  who  do  not  desire,  to  perform  heavy  manual  labor  or  any 
work  that  requires  the  outlay  of  considerable  effort  and  strength. 
Unless  it  is  desirable  to  raise  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  grain 
which  the  fowls  require,  on  the  same  place  on  which  they  are 
Icept,  little  land  will  be  required.  It  is  surprising  what  can  be 
done  on  a place  as  small  as  a city  lot.  If  the  grain  food  be  pur- 
chased, very  little  land  is  necessary — only  enough  for  the  houses, 
yards  and  sufficient  space  upon  which  green  and  succulent  food 
can  be  grown.  Then  again  the  kind  of  products  desired  will 
largely  determine  the  amount  of  necessary  space. 
Fowls  are  the  friends  alike  of  the  rich  and  the  poor ; they  are 
interesting  too,  because  they  have  life,  and  because  they  respond 
so  promptly  and  generously  to  good  care  and  management ; then 
they  are  beautiful  of  plumage,  symmetrical  in  shape  and  some 
are  so  graceful  in  their  carriage. 
Poultry  keeping  is  a decidedly  healthful  occupation.  The  work 
can . be  done  by  people  not  in  the  best  of  health  and  sometimes 
with  very  beneficial  results. 
The  disadvantages  in  poultry  raising  in  some  localities  are  very 
great  because  climate  is  so  variable  and  epidemic  diseases  are  so 
prevalent.  Then  however  well  the  poultryman  may  plan  the  de- 
tails of  operation,  when  it  comes  to  practical  execution  in  manag- 
ing the  hens  and  the  work,  chickens  have  their  enemies,  evil 
habits  and  many  other  troubles  so  often  due  to  neglect. 
Now  let  us  enter  into  the  real  business  of  poultry  raising.  First 
we  must  know,  as  near  as  possible,  the  essentials  which  will  bring 
about  success,  but  many  times  the  failure  to  succeed  is  attributable 
to  a very  small  matter.  Some  say  that  a man  doesn’t  know 
enough,  is  careless,  and  many  other  slighting  things. 
The  man  himself  counts  for  so  much  that  I think  it  well  to 
consider  his  qualifications.  First  of  all  he  must  have  a particular 
liking  for  animal  life,  and  you  may  say,  a love  for  good,  lively, 
healthy  looking  birds.  Pie  needs  the  qualities  of  the  brightest 
merchant.  To  be  successful,  he  should  be  sagacious  and  shrewd, 
capable  of  planning  well  and  executing  completely. 
To  get  along  well  he  must  have  a system  developed  in  all  its 
details  and  be  regular  in  his  habits.  The  crowning  characteristic 
is  the  quality  termed  “common  sense.”  Then  again  he  must  be  a 
student  of  market  requirerhents,  tireless  in  his  attempts  to  satisfy 
a market  with  high  quality  poultry  products  put  up  in  attractive 
packages.  He  should  be  a student  of  the  principles  of  breeding, 
methods  of  improvement  and  factors  of  feeding,  and  never  be 
conceited  and  so  satisfied  that  progress  is  limited. 
Let  the  poultryman  decide  to  make  poultry  his  life  study,  using 
the  instruction  gained,  profiting  by  the  experience  of  other  poul- 
trymen,  acquiring  wisdom  from  his  successes  and  failures  and 
