House and Garden 
ORPINGTON RANCH, WEST ADAMS STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 
and following his hostess to 
the drawing-room drew from 
her something of what she had 
done. 
“You fattened the bird that 
we ate to-night” he asked, in 
amazement; “I thought that 
fashionable women found 
more congenial ways of killing 
time here in Los Angeles. 
The bird would be a drawing 
card for the hotel” he sighed, 
“and I wish that you would 
supply my manager with 
poultry for the winter.” 
It was part jest, although a 
very earnest desire for the 
chickens was manifested in 
his tone, and the opening day 
of the hostelry being still two 
months distant, the young 
woman promised to “think it 
over.” She accordingly con¬ 
sulted her husband and the very next day a cable¬ 
gram was sent to Sussex, England, asking if a profes¬ 
sional “ fattener ” could be shipped to the Los 
Angeles poultry ranch. 
The reply was: “Yes, man, best in the business, 
will leave for America by first steamer.” 
At once, Colonel Green was notified and prepara¬ 
tions went on apace at Orpington ranch. Pens 
were built and arrangements were made to fatten 
five thousand birds every three weeks. Chickens 
were bought, or, rather, contracted for, from all 
over the country and when the man arrived from 
England he was delighted to find that with genuine 
American enterprise everything was well under way. 
THE LIVING-ROOM 
During the entire winter over a ton a week of 
dressed chickens was delivered weekly, the payments 
averaging $1,000 every seven days, and Mrs. Bur- 
bridge felt that she was well repaid for her efforts. 
It took ten men, working constantly, to prepare 
birds for delivery, this year the number is increased 
to nearly double while the fattening plant is enlarged 
and a cold storage room, with a capacity of one hun¬ 
dred tons is installed, so that there may be no 
decrease of industry when the tourist season is over. 
Last year a contract was made with the cold storage 
company of Los Angeles for two thousand dollars 
worth of space annually, and this is still in force. 
One of the handsomest of her fowls, a black fel¬ 
low, King Cole, is said by 
Miss Elizabeth, the ten- 
year-old daughter of the 
house, to “talk and under¬ 
stand every word that is 
said to him. ” 
Recently, when Mrs. 
Burbridge was about to 
take the chickens to San 
Francisco to be shown at 
the great Poultry Exhibi¬ 
tion, she washed the black 
cock. “ He resented it,” 
said the little girl, “and he 
showed his anger by sulk¬ 
ing. He did not speak 
to mother although she and 
I were the only acquaint¬ 
ances he had there. He 
talked to me a good deal, 
though, and he certainly 
224 
