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$4,223.00 Profit _
In One Year On
A Town Lot

H. Cecil Sheppard

TOUTE

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Published by
H. CECIL SHEPPARD
Berea, Ohio

_ Copyticht
1920

1 By
-_ H. Cecil Sheppard
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FEB 1% 1922

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PREFACE

I have set down for publicaton in this book, the disas-
trous and profitable experiences covering the six years from
the time I first interested myself in chickens, until in the sixth
year I took a net profit of $4,223.00 from my small poultry
plant on a town lot. That year my books showed sales of
$9,515.00, with expenses for advertising, feed bills, wages, and
so on, amounting to $5,292.00. The benefit of my experience
up to the time of revising the third edition, has also been
incorporated.

I would have gladly paid $100.00 during the first years
of my experience, could such information have come to me.
It has been no small task to write and revise this book, but

I feel that it will be worth while.

Fraternally yours,

AE Bhhappord

yest as no two eggs are quite alike so no two people

can succeed in quite the same manner—but the “other
fellow’s” experience costs less and saves time (when we are
!) so why not save dollars by using
it? In your selling, look for ideas as fresh as “just laid”

wise enough to admit it

00'S
eggs,

CONTENTS

GHANP IRE RAS vie) PBR SON AISS EDS TORY Sy cies & aac sie oot & ars eck done
Back to the country—The Town Lot—Giving up my road business—90%
perspiration.

CHAPTER TI—THREE “P’S” IN THE POULTRY POD—Pleasure, Pep, Profit..
The pleasure in poultry—Getting birds with pep—Making a_profit—The
backyard laboratory—Deciding on the best breed—Starting on a small scale

15

—Hens or horses?—Ending the second year—$1910.00 at end of fourth —

year—Making the $4,223.00.
CHAPTER III—INCUBATORS AND BROODERS

Preliminary testing of incubator—Looking after the eggs—The brooder
and its care—Preparing it for baby chicks
old chicks.

Getting ready to receive day-

CHAPTER IV—BABY CHICKS—SOME DO’S AND DONT’S.................
How Mother Nature planned them—Don’t over-feed—What to feed—
Brooders and colony houses—Making baby chicks work—Chick physiology
—How often to feed—Green food—Sprouted oats—Winter quarters—
Automatic feeders—Piano box colony house.

(ETAVE STUHR Nia G BT IN Ge Ty» GG Six eta Sic vacesteus «ence oh Syts2 wen @ area uencest ts, € ny eusielens
Importance of male bird—When superb vitality counts—Diagrammatic com-
parison—Specifications of an ideal male—Feeding for egg production—
Housing for egg production—Some egg facts.

THE leal ey Ee el — >) Re ETO) everereyenesene canst, wane es csncea ays) eyeie eS olay are cuayatsperer eye aust
Building for egg production—For warmth—Specifications for economical
houses—Water tight, well ventilated, well lighted.

EW AVE NEARY, Vali WEAK NGG" IAT AMIE IN ES eae ev teretrcevs ds oa) sete issaies see etenseeneveuecd
January inquiries—Boxing and shipping eggs—Shipping baby chicks—
Shipping stock.

CHAPTER: VITI—FOUR SALES BSSENTIATISS « gio: spore .a [ls acave.arevere oe gialsi siete ale
Make them look—Make them like—Make them learn—Landing them—
How to do it—A dozen and one sales pointers.

CHAPTER TiX—ADVERTISING LO SUGCESS Ewen teres soa 5 sls ele Welbieierss. celles s ©
Visiting the shows—Building good records—Jacob’s follow up—Advertis-
ing pays—An unpleasant experience—The first orders—Increasing my
advertising—Getting business by letter—What about stationery?’—A mat-
ing list or catalog—Service principle in advertising—Appeal to the
beginner.

CHARTER X—WHAT TO DO EACH MONTH OF TH EBeY RAR. ca. su. as «is

CHAD RRs x OP POR MENG Y: MN) POUL DRY sists tesa. cence ae $4.0 coe wnpeus hs
The chicken industry—The auspicious time—Possibilities in poultry—
Pepful poultry for pale people.

CHAPTER XIE—CUTTING THE COST OF LIVING WITH CHICKENS.......
Every backyard a poultry park—Profit in table scraps—The economical
cold pack method—There are chickens—and chickens—Chickens as chil-
dren’s pets—The time is “Now”!

ve
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46

49

53

66

69

Chap TE Rt

A Little Personal History

Qi SUPPOSE it would be a good plan to commence at
PSN Ys the beginning! So I am going to tell you my
SWZ 8 Ss: vec c sOls AAS 5
AF He actual experience in the poultry business, step }by

step, from the first year when my total sales were
$160.00 to the gross income of $9,515.00 the sixth
year—all on a town lot.

Back to the Country

Cleveland was my home for a number of years. While there my
health was not the very best. It looked to me pretty much as though
it were a choice between getting farther away from the nerve-racking
push and bustle of the city, and spending more time in the great out of
doors, or of prematurely joining the ranks of the countless slumbering
army. Naturally, I resolved to go “back to the country” and soon selected

a location.

Mrs. Sheppard and myself looked over a number of places on the
southern shore of Lake [trie. We decided to settle in Berea where
conditions were ideal, good schools and colleges to educate the children,
and all modern conveniences. It is located on three trunk lines of railroads
and a corking good electric line, so that shipping facilities are excellent.

The Town Lot

Well, I leased property for a couple of years, but at the end of
six months we were so deeply in love with the location that the property
became a Sheppard possession. We moved to Berea the latter part of
March, 1906. It was a revelation to me. There we were, living on a
nice town lot, the air pure and sweet, and as Spring pressed on and as
Nature budded forth in all her beauty, the grass grew green and _ the
air became redolent with perfume from a wilderness of fragrant blos-
soms. The songbirds returned and added greatly to the surroundings
with their cheerful and sweet songs. As the weather became warm we
(my wife and children) commenced fixing up our lawn and preparing the
soil for a garden. After the ground was nicely cultivated, we com-
menced to set out trees, herry bushes, grapevines, sow the garden seed,
and set out the plants. By the first of June everything seemed to fairly

1 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

jump out of the ground to meet the warm rays of the Summer sun.
Midsummer found us enjoying luxuries of our bountiful harvest of fresh
vegetables from our own garden. It was quite a contrast to what a city
man had been accustomed. It was not only a crop of good vegetables,
but a crop of gladness and joy as well. Our city friends envied our
good fortune. My wife could prepare an excellent meal from the
garden, with a few nice springers added to the bill of fare. A little
later our flowers blossomed forth in all the colors of the rainbow. The
next season we enjoyed a generous crop of red raspberries and straw-
berries. Two years later our plum trees began to bear. The next year
the peach trees bloomed out in their superb style and joined the plum
trees in giving us a nice lot of delicious fruit. The next year the
cherry trees began to bear.

Giving Up My Road Business

The five years’ experience directly preceding the year in which I
made a net income of $4,223.00 from chickens on a town lot, caused me
to sever my connections with the concern for whom I was traveling,
and go into the chicken business in earnest and not as a “side line,”
which it had been up to that time. It took me a great many months to
make up my mind regarding this change, because I have many warm
friends among the people I visit and it almost seemed as though—so
firm had become our friendship—that everywhere I set my foot was
“home, sweet home.” And of course after so long a term—traveling
the same territory for twenty years for the one house— I had a mighty
good business and enjoyed a fairly satisfactory salary, as salaries were
in those days, and I had the friendship and confidence of several of
the largest merchants in my line.

When I resigned my position on the road, I was not only “passing
up” the rewards of twenty years’ hard work but was also losing the
social visits to all my old acquaintances on the road, and what was
worse still, was the severing of my pleasant business relations with my
company. In the long years I was with them there wasn’t anything that
ever came up to disturb our pleasant relations. They were very good
to me and I appreciated it. In fact, all the employees were treated with
consideration, and it seemed like one big, happy family. It surely did
seem like leaving home to sever my ties with this firm. My chickens
were demanding more of my time, and I was really forced to give up
my road position or my chickens. I chose the former and sent my

ON A TOWN LOT 13

Members of American Poultry Associaton visiting Sheppard’s Farm. Artist
Sewell of R. J. P. fame took the party unawares with his camera while they were
having refreshments under the shade of the big oak.

resignation to my house, to take effect four months later. When I laid
aside my grip I wasn’t sure that I could resist the temptation of mak-
ing a trip. At first it seemed very unnatural, but as time pressed on,
I became so taken up with my chickens that I gradually became weaned
from my former work. Of course, I missed my old friends on the
road who were so generous to me. If perchance any of them read
this book, I want to say that I haven’t forgotten them and shall always
have pleasant memories of them. Across the broad miles I extend the
glad hand for a hearty shake.

On the cover of this book I use a figure which, to some of you,
may seem impossibly large—$4223.00 is a sum of money not to be
sneezed at. Fourteen years ago this would have seemed like a tremen-
dous sum to me. But in 1912 it became a reality. What I did, thou-
sands of others have since done—many of them much better than this.
What I did, you can do. These figures are not too big for you to reach.
There is no logical reason why—if you make up your mind you will
reach them—you can’t do so. You are a man or woman of ordinary
intelligence, else you wouldn’t be reading this book, and I here firmly
state that any one person with average intellect, can succeed in the
chicken business if the ideas set down in the following chapters of this
book are followed.

14 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

90 Per Cent Perspiration

I certainly am not a wizard. I believe that genius is 90% perspir:
tion and 10% inspiration. There is nothing magical about my su
cess or method. I started with a very limited knowledge of the poultr
business and a still more limited capital. Common sense was_ probabl

my greatest stock in trade.

I am going to tell you as simply and plainly as the nose on
man’s face, how I have managed my chickens and of course you ca
do what appears practical to you. I don't expect you to agree with m
on every detail, but on the principal questions, my methods are thorougll
practical. There is no theory in this book. It is all the result of pract
cal experience. I am not attempting to give advice—but simply statin
what I have done and how I have done it.

ON A TOWN LOT 15

CHAPTER. fi

THREE “P’S” IN THE POULTRY POD
Pleasure, Pep, Profit
The Pleasure in Poultry

HERE is nothing new about this thought, but anless
people have a natural liking for poultry so that they
can get real pleasure out of the work—because there
is a lot of hard work about it!—they had better not
start the business even on a small scale. There in-
variably is, of course, a certain pleasure following

the accomplishment of profitable work—but this kind
of pleasure follows after the profit and does not go
right along with the work required to earn the profit.
Although I now sometimes have as many as five thousand birds at one time
on my farm, I never grow tired of these beautiful, active creatures—they
have a fascination for me. They should for you,—and I believe they
will—if you are to secure a genuine pleasure, taking your loss along with
the profit, getting your bumps—not such stiff jolts as I received, I trust
—and then profiting by the experience which I set down in this book,
as well as your own experience.

The Backyard Laboratory

The very best laboratory is one’s own poultry yard. You can take
the same methods I have used and am using and put them into practical
experience in your own “laboratory” every day in the year, and by avoiding
many of the pitfalls and eliminating many of the stumbling blocks,
your pleasure with poultry will be that much more increased.

Making a Profit—Getting Birds With Pep

In order to make profit from poultry it is very necessary that you
secure birds with abundant vitality—plenty of pep! A writer on poultry
once said that the surest way to secure vitality, vigor and constitution
is by the “survival of the fittest’—in other words a process of elimina-
tion by means of the ax! Well, to a certain extent I found that true. As
I went more into the commercial end of the poultry business, I saw
the imperative necessity of having two attributes in my birds. First,

16 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

They
should
be
eager

to
lay.

vitality—or pep—whatever you want to call it. Second, the habit of
systematic laying.

Deciding on the Best Breed

You can secure these two admirable qualities either by a very care-
ful selection of the right breed, or by a process of elimination on your
own plant. Although it costs more to begin with, to purchase the right
breed, I am convinced that considerable time is saveu. You secure a
flying start at once,

You may decide to start with several breeds, as I did. I kept four
the first year, and at the end of the first year I found I had three
breeds too many, and decided to keep just one. It did not take me long
to decide on the breed to keep. The first year I found it very profitable
to be getting a good yield of eggs during the cold winter months, when
eges were high and when my neighbors were not getting any. In cutting
down the number of breeds I kept the breed that produced eggs abundantly
during the winter months. This is one of the secrets of the business—to
eet a breed that will produce eggs practically all the year round, and
especially when the price of eggs is high. You will find there is a tre-
mendous demand for chickens of this kind, and if you have them your
neighbor wants them and is willing to pay you a good price for a setting
of eggs or for a pen of birds.

ON ASLOWN SLOT ly,

Starting on a Small Scale

I have told you the importance of selecting the proper breed. Now
you ask whether one ought to start on a small or on a large scale. ‘he
commercial agencies will tell you that 90 per cent of the business houses
fail some time during their lifetime. Probably the principal reason for
this is because they start on too large a scale. It is like a boy learning
to swim. If he jumps in deep water he drowns, but if he stays in shallow
water until he learns, he then can go into deep water with safety.

On the other hand, I started my chickens on a small scale, and from
the very beginning they were paying for their keep and a little more.
I found it better to have the chickens working for me than for me
to be working for them. I would suggest that you start in a small way
and buy a good stock to start with. You will find that it pays. There is
always a good demand for good stock, while the demand for poor stock is
limited. It is a common error to invest in expensive chicken houses and
buy cheap stock. Whatever breed you buy, go to some reputable breeder
and secure good stock. Remember that it is quality of stock that pays the
large dividends, and not the expensive poultry houses. You can raise good
birds from good stock in a cheap building, but you cannot raise good
birds from poor stock, no matter how good your buildings. If you have
twenty-five, fifty or one hundred dollars to invest, buy a pen of five birds
in place of a dozen.

I made the usual mistake beginners make by buying ordinary stock
to start with. JI went to a certain breeder and bought from his utility
flock, and from other breeders the same quality. At the end of the
first year I found I had made a serious mistake, as I had lost a year’s
time and had nothing but utility birds—something that intelligent chicken
people don’t want if they desire to build up a flock of high grade exhibition
birds. It taught me a lesson, however, and I resolved to get the very best
birds money could buy. At the end of the first year I had discarded my
other breeds and had secured the best stock that money could buy of my
favorite breed. At the end of the second year I had a flock of strictly
high-grade birds, and found I was on the right road to success.

While this book is written mainly for the information and inspiration
of the family with but limited space for their poultry plant, it has a
direct application to the flock kept by the farmer’s wife, and the far-
mer’s children as well.

18 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Hens or Horses?

Mrs. George L. Russell, of Chilhowee, Missouri, said something
of intense interest in the “lruit-Grower” a couple years ago. She com-
pared hens with horses and started out by asking a few questions.

“What if the whole flock should be stolen? What if a storm comes
and kills every hen on the place? What if they all get sick and die?
You will admit none of these things are likely to take off the whole
flock. But granted they do, why, then we have not lost any more capital
invested than we have when one mare lies down and dies. And should
these calamities befall a flock of chickens, with a comparatively few dol-
lars one can start over and in one spring raise enough pullets to fill the
laying house.

“Tt 1s much easier to raise a few dollars to buy a flock of hens to
start over than it is to raise enough money to buy one good brood mare.

“Tf we were in the commercial egg farming business, this would be
a story of larger profits, but as we are only farmers, the chickens are
considered just one of the many farm crops, the same as hogs, cattle,
oats, wheat and corn.

“As is the case on the majority of the farms, the farm woman cares
for the chickens. It is a real pleasure to me to do this. In fact, I
cannot find the time to spend with them that I would like to, as there
are many other duties, besides being a mother, to attend to on the farm.

“The work with my chickens commenced with a worn-out hen house,
surrounded by a dense plum thicket, where there was small chance of the
sunlight ever appearing. You have all seen such houses with a row of
nests and a path in front, the roosts occupying almost the whole interior,
leaving no place for the hens to scratch and exercise.

“Even with this poor equipment, the hens paid $112.00 the first year.
This astonishing fact was hardly believed by my husband, but the figures
were there to prove it, and he at once became interested in the chickens,
building them a new house that fall.”

My chickens gave me pleasure as well as increased my bank account.
I mated up my first pens about February 1. My chickens had been lay-
ing all fall and winter, so the eggs were in splendid condition to in-
cubate early. I set my incubator about February 15 and had my first
chicks hatched from eggs from my own breeding pens, early in March.
I commenced shipping hatching eggs the latter part of February. At the
end of my first fiscal year, which ended August 1, 1907, I found I had sold

ONGC A TOWN LOT 19

hatching eggs to the amount of $71.00. I sold a few cockerals to
the meat market and two for breeders. Adding these amounts to what
I got for eggs which I sold to the market, I found that my first year’s
revenue was about $160.00, besides having a fine lot of little chicks and
a breeding pen from the previous season. I had thirty-one hens and
was surprised to learn they had earned a little over $5.00 each.

Ending the Second Year

At the end of the second year, I had more breeding pens than ever,
and many more chicks. I found that my sales had reached a grand total
of $542.06. I naturally began to think the chicken business was all right.
Before leaving Cleveland I had heard of several men who had failed. I
could see that their failure was due to mismanagement or by wanting
to get rich too quickly and starting in too heavily. I could see that it
was no fault of the chickens. They were proving that if they were given
a chance they would pay handsome dividends on the investment and for
the time spent with them.

T started my third year with more encouragement, and, as I found
the poultry journals were doing me a splendid service, I again increased
my advertising. I had raised a larger flock and had no trouble in dis-
posing of it again. I mated more breeding pens and still found that my
supply of hatching eggs was not equal to the increasing demand. At
the end of the third year my sales figured $860.51 for the year. In addi-
tion to this I had on hand a still larger flock of chicks and breeding pens.

$1,910.10 at End of Fourth Year

At the beginning of ithe fourth year I could see a grand future dawn-
ing for this remarkable breed, so again resolved to increase my capacity.
At the end of the fourth year I found my sales for the year to be
$1,910.10. The demand had steadily increased the fourth year, so I made
still greater preparations for increased business for the fifth year. I
wasn't disappointed in my expectations, as you will readily see when I
tell you that the sales for my fifth year amounted to $4,094.00.

My business kept right on growing and at the end of the sixth year,
T found that I had more than doubled the fifth year—my book showed

that the sales amounted to $9,515.00.

20 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Making the $4,223.00

I kept about ninety females for my breeding pens, and about ten
males, selling off my culls for table use. I farmed out a lot of utility
stock to farmers. By doing this I was enabled to supply a heavy demand
for utility eggs that came from the birds that had plenty of range and eggs
strong in fertility that produced vigorous stock. | sold many eggs from
$2.50 to $30.00 per setting, and raised abeut five hundred youngsters. I
followed the ideas described in this book. At the end of the year I
found I had sold $9,515.00 worth of stock and eggs. My expenses, in-
cluding advertising, feed bills, boy’s wages, etc. amounted to $5,292.00,
leaving a balance of $4,223.00.

These figures do not include the eggs and springers used on my table.
The eggs and stock scld to the market would run about five hundred dol-
lars. The balance of $9,015.00 was from sales of hatching eggs, baby
chicks and standard bred stock.

ON A TOIWN LOT 21

CHAPTER iit

Incubators and Brooders

QMIE one once asked me. this question: “Is a hen’s
birthday when the egg is laid or when it is hatched?”
I cannot answer! Nor have I been able to find a
solution to the following questions:
Whether first the egg, or the hen?

Vell me, I pray, ve learned men.

The hen was first, or whence the egg?
Give us no more of your doubts, I beg.
The egg was first, or whence the hen?

Tell me how it came or when.

But | do know that “In the beginning is the ege.”

So, with your permission, | will here discuss my experience with in-
cubators and brooders.

As soon as we got nicely settled in our Berea home, we decided that
the next thing was some chickens. So, off went my order for an incubator.
Just a short time before this. I had visited a small poultry farm and was
delighted by the beauty of the birds, and pleased with their utility as
shown by the fact that they were working their heads off laying eggs in
January. Some of them were busy in their nests. Others were trying to
crowd them off. Others were cackling after laying. There seemed to be
a general atmosphere of hustle and bustle in the hen houses. It certainly
seemed unusual to observe so much industry in hen houses during mid-
winter—and this condition made a great impression on me.

I placed my order for eggs from these fowls, because the first thing
I was after was a breed that would produce winter as well as summer
eges—not occasionally, but frequently and systematically. The eggs ar-

rived in the spring, a few days later than the incubator.

Preliminary Testing of Incubator

The incubator was placed in the basement, and after regulating the
machine so that the thermometer registered 10214 degrees, | tested out
the machine for two or three days to be sure that I had it well regulated
before the eggs were put in. I didn’t want to take the chance of a
short hatch. -A great deal had been said to me about the expense of

22 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Type of brooder used when I commenced. These brooders prove very satisfac-
tory. Have been replaced by a Modern Brooder System, which is illustrated a few
pages on,

“experimentation,” and I wanted to avoid this so far as possible. The sug-
gestions and instructions made by the manufacturer of the incubator were
followed as carefully as possible, coupled with a few common sense ideas
I had myself. And then I was all ready to put in the eggs!

The lamp was filled with the best oil procurable—not too—full, in
order to allow for the expansion of the oil, and then I “lit up” the in-
cubator. First with a moderate flame until after the heater was warmed
through, because a new wick will cause the flame to creep up, and if the
wick is turned too high at first, the lamp is likely to smoke and accumulate
soot on the burner. It will then burn with a large flame until the burner
is overheated and a puff of gas blows it out. In case the burner
becomes overheated so much as to blacken the metal, it should be scoured
bright or replaced with a new one—and the heater drum should be
cleaned out thoroughly. The chimney of heater wants to ht closely to the
burner.

Looking After the Eggs

Before placing them in the machine, I allowed the eggs to settle for
twenty-four hours and then put these precious eggs in with eggs from

ON A TOWN LOT 23

other different varieties. I had decided to try out several different breeds
before deciding upon any one. None of the eggs were left standing on
end—all were lying flat in the incubator. Since that time I was away
on the road a considerable part of the time, I drafted the services of my
faithful servant to run the incubator during my absence.

Like all beginners, we were very much interested in the development
from day to day, and I received frequent “bulletins,” reaching me at
various stops on my route.

Well, at the end of the third day of this first hatch, the eggs received
their first turning and the next morning were turned again and cooled for
about ten minutes. The tendency was for the temperature to rise the
third week, when the chick had commenced to throw off animal heat. By
slight adjustment of the regulator, we had no trouble in keeping the de-
sired temperature. It is very important to maintain as nearly uniform
temperature as possible. Every day the lamp was filled and the wick
trimmed. Eggs must never be piled on top of one another, but always laid
flat in the incubator.

Much better results will be secured by operating the machine in the
basement, because it is easier to maintain the necessary uniform temper-
ature. If the basement or cellar is too dry, then place a pan of water
under your machine to furnish sufficient moisture.

I have said something about cooling eggs. This is done by allowing
the eggs to remain out of the machine until they are cooled. If the
weather is severe and the room is cool, it will not take them long to
reach the desired coolness. A good way to tell when they are sufficiently
cooled off, is to place the eggs to the lid of your eye, and if they feel
neither warm nor cold, they are at the proper temperature to return to
the machine. This “eye lid” test is a good one!

This scheme was followed until the nineteenth day when the eggs
began to pip. When we saw the first egg pip we closed the door and did
not open it again until we saw the hatch was well over. The first week
we ran the machine at a temperature of 102% degrees, and the second
week 103 degrees. At the end of the third week the temperature went up
to 104 degrees or a little more, but under no condition did we allow it to
go above 105 degrees.

What causes the hatch to go over the twenty-first day? The machine
has been run a little too cold or the eggs have been cooled a little too
long. If the hatch comes off before the twenty-first day, it is because the
lamp has been run with a blaze a little too high. At the end of the

24 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Interior of a section of one of my brooder houses. This one building has a
capacity of 10,000 chicks a season.

nineteenth day the eggs began to pip, so we realized that we had run the
machine just about right. At the end of the twentieth day the chicks
had begun to appear. At the end of the twenty-first day the hatch was
completed and all of us were proud as peacocks and happy as newlyweds
with the results. We had hatched eighty-nine lively little babies, and you
may be sure it was difficult to conjure up a more fascinating picture!

By this time my brooder had arrived and it was made ready to receive
the little folk. 1 planned to be home on Saturday and Sunday, and found
a great deal of satisfaction in guiding the destinies of these little folk,
keeping their brooder sweet and clean, and in raising them in the “nurture
and admonition” of the plans that seemed most practical to me. We raised
all but two of them. One died a natural death and the other was killed by
accident,

After the first hatch was taken off, I reset the machine and hatched
ninety chicks. It was then early in July. The weather had then become
very warm, and they died off rapidly because I hadn’t provided sufficient

ON Ax TOWN. LOT 25

shade to protect them from the hot July sun. I have since proved that

midsummer chicks can be easily raised by furnishing them plenty of shade,

fresh water, and keeping them in small flocks. We know this can be done

even in the hot Southland because we have had experience in raising lots

of mid-summer chicks on my Southern Branch Farm. Little chicks are
r

very delicate birds.

oo much chill or too much heat soon finishes them.
but after they get real muscle in their little bodies and begin to harden
up, they are much more thrifty and not so likely to be pounced upon by
disease.

The Brooder and Its Care

We commenced to prepare the brooder for the chickens as soon as
the eggs began to pip. Most all of the standard make brooders come in
“knock-down” form or in sections, with directions for putting them to-

gether. It only took an hour or two to assemble our brooder and get it
ready for business. We were then ready to light the lamp and heat up
the brooder, ready to receive its rioting, fluffy mob of lively infants.

Let me again emphasize the importance of using good oil in the
brooder as well as the incubator. We trimmed the wick daily, as recom-
mended by the manufacturer of the brooder, and started with a small
flame. As the brooder got warm, the wick was turned up a little higher.
By following this plan when the brooder is first started, there will be
no chance to have any of the trouble I mentioned in connection with the
incubator. Being human, I had a little trouble. This made me more care-
ful because the job of cleaning the soot from the drum and pipe is not
an agreeable one and it can be avoided with a little care. The drum and
pipe must be kept clean.

Preparing It for Baby Chicks

While being heated, the brooder was placed level on level ground,
and then banked up around the edge with earth to keep the wind from
blowing under the bottom. I placed it facing the east so that the chicks
could get the warm rays of the early morning sun. I next hung on the
wall of the brooder, a hopper containing fine grit, charcoal and beef
scrap. Then put about one-half inch of coarse lake sand on the brooder
floor. The next day I had the temperature registering 95 degrees, which
is about the right temperature for the brooder to receive the chicks. I ran
it for a couple of days before the chicks were ready to occupy it, so I would
be sure we had the “hang’’ of the proposition all right and would be able

26 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

to keep up a uniform temperature, which, of course, must be regulated to
a certain extent, with the warmth and brightness of the sun. When the
sun is shining brightly, the wick can be turned down. Be sure to run a
new brooder for a few days before putting chicks into it, in order to get
it well regulated... This will save you the disappointment and expense of

losing many baby chicks.

The first hatch came off largely on the twenty-first day, and as the
weather was cold, I left them in the incubator another day to get thor-
oughly dried out. Later in the season, when the weather was warmer,
they were removed to the brooder as soon as the hatch was well over, as
the confinement seemed too clase for little chicks when the weather was
hot. They need fresh, dry and warm air—not too much moisture, no

chill, no excessively hot weather.

Getting Ready to Receive Day-old Chicks

Millions of day-old chicks are now purchased from poultry specialists
who reside at a distance from the purchasers. I would like to suggest
certain preparations that ought to be made for the reception of these day-
old chicks. On arrival the box in which they have been packed should
be carefully opened in a room before a fire, if the weather is at all cold.
It is absolutely necessary that the birds be kept warm and dry. If these
babies are to be raised under a broody hen, the chickens should be kept
warmly indoors until evening and then, after she has settled down, quietly
introduce them to their new “mother.” We suggest that a second broody
hen should be kept in reserve in case the first one objects to raising an
alien brood. I am taking it for granted that the hens have been carefully

dusted with insect powder and are free from insects.

If it is decided to bring up the chicks in an artificial brooder, this
can be cleaned and warmed to receive the baby chicks, just as I have dis-
cussed the matter in preceding paragraphs. About 90 degrees is a suitable
heat for the sleeping chamber. See that there is plenty of good oil in the
lamp and that the wick is burning clean and bright. Test the brooder
thoroughly before the arrival of the baby chicks. There is absolutely no
difficulty about working a brooder. It is very simple but the maker’s in-
structions should be followed. On a warm spring day, when the sun is
brightly shining, very little artificial heat will be required, but of course
you have got to make sure that all is cozy and comfortable fer the night,

which may be chilly and damp.

ON A TOWN LOT 27

CHAPTER JV
BABY CHICKS—SOME DO’S AND DON’T’S
How Mother Nature Planned Them
VES NATURE has made very wonderful provi-
sion for the nurture of newly hatched baby chicks.
They require no food for the first two days except
the water with the chill taken off, when they are put

into the brooder. Mother Nature has taken care of
their wants by permitting the absorption of the yolk

of the egg in their bodies. This is just why it is not
only possible but easy to send day-old chicks by rail,
or road, or steam, for long distances. I have shipped
day-old chicks safely, more than two thousand miles but, usually a forty-
eight hour journey is ample for the young explorers. In order to break
these long distance shipments of baby chicks and give the greatest satis-
faction, I have established a branch farm in the far South, and at this
writing am negotiating for one in the extreme West.

Don’t Over-feed

I was amused to have a young man write to me that he had a good
hatch but had lost a little chick. On examination he had found that it
had swallowed the yolk of an egg, which had killed it. If the chicks are
fed too soon, the yolk of an egg does not become absorbed in time, and
the natural result is just what it would be if a small child stuffed and
gormandized with more food than he could take care of in his digestive
tract—they droop and die.

28 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

What to Feed

It is perfectly natural to feel that the baby chicks ought to be fed.
But don’t be ina hurry about it. It is better to let them go without food
a few hours too long than to feed them too soon. After the chicks had
picked at the sand for a few hours, I placed clover chaff or chopped
clover hay under the hover for bedding. I use this because if they eat any
of it, it will not injure them. If you use sawdust or something similar,
the chicks are apt to eat more or less of it before they distinguish be-
tween that and what they should eat, and they are liable to become
“stuffed” with the wrong sort of material.

The gizzard of the chicken is its feed mill and ordinary coarse sub-
stances are required to grind the food, hence it encourages early vitality

to furnish them with clean, coarse sand at once.

If the weather permits, I allow the chicks on the ground for an hour
or two for the first time about the fifth day, or when they are six days
old. If the weather is mild, they can remain out longer. In cold weather
care should be taken to see that they can find their way back into the
brooder, and not allow them to stand on the cold ground and get chilled
through, which is likely to prove fatal or stunt their growth later. After
they learn the way into the warm hover of the brooder they will run in
whenever they get cold. If the weather is cold they should be tempered
to the cold ground by degrees by allowing them to stay out longer each
succeeding day for three or four days.

Brooders and Colony Houses

It is a good plan to keep the chicks in the brooder in the morning
until the grass becomes dry. They should be given green food of some
kind from the start. In case that green clover cannot be secured for
them from the lawn, some sprouted oats will make a good substitute.
On a subsequent page you will find directions for sprouting the oats. As
the chickens grow older the flame can be turned down and the heat reduced
by degrees. The second week 90 degrees is about right for them, the
third week 85 to 90 degrees, and the fourth week 80 to 85 degrees. If
the weather is warm they will commence to desert the hover when they
are five or six weeks old and remain in the exercising room of the
brooder. During the early spring months give them 80 degrees until they
are six or eight weeks old, and after they are ten or twelve weeks old the
weather has moderated sufficiently to take them from the brooder and
place them in a piano-box colony house that is described on page 36.
I keep them in these houses until they are taken to their quarters. The

ON A TOWN LOT 29

cockerels are separated from the pullets when they are taken from the
brooder. I have the parks containing these brooders plowed and _ culti-
vated every spring and sowed with rape seed. This produces a splendid
green feed up until the snow flies, and it also makes a splendid shade.
It furnishes then with lots of bugs and worms, which are generally found
on such plants. At one end of the park I planted two or three dozen
hills of sunflowers, which make excellent shade and give a crop of seeds.
It is in here that they have their best times and flourish. When the
cockerels are two or three pounds in weight I sell off the culls to the
market and the balance are kept in these colony houses until the late fall,
when they are taken to their winter quarters. After the pullets are four
months old they are put in their winter quarters, in order that they will
not be disturbed when they are getting ready to lay.

Making Baby Chicks Work

Take as one of your mottoes in feeding chickens that, “If they will
not work, neither shall they eat.” Teach them to work by feeding them
in litter, so that they will have to scratch and dig around for what they
eat, and keep this up as long as they live. On the third day I feed them
hard-boiled eggs (boiled twenty minutes) mixed with bread crumbs thor-
oughly dried, or corn bread will make a good substitute. The coarsest
ground oatmeal obtainable is a very safe food for the first meal. It
has been called a perfect chick food.

At the beginning it is a good plan to mix chick feed in lake or any
other coarse sand. This will teach them industry and as they develop the
muscles in their legs and bodies, naturally makes them stronger chicks.

Chick Physiology

Strange as it may seem, the little fellows thrive on sand and tiny
bits of flint. The chicken has no teeth and never will have, and needs
something hard, brittle and rough with which to grind its food to pulp
when it reaches the gizzard—the “feed mill” of the chicken. The crop
is simply a large pouch low down in the neck, into which the food is
shovelled, awaiting the process of digestion. Shown herewith is a rough
diagram of various parts of a chicken’s anatomy. This will show pretty
well how food travels on its way down the digestive tract.

(1) The mouth; (2) the throat, through which the food passes to
(3) the crop, which is a storage tank where the food rests until the
eizzard (5) is ready for it. Between the crop and gizzard, where the
food is ground, there is an enlargement (4) called the stomach. At (6)
is shown the small intestine, to which is fastened the unassimilated

10 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

yolk (7). Through the little opening at (8) this yolk keeps passing into
the intestine, where it is absorbed into the chick’s system. Thus you
will see that when food is given before the yolk is entirely assimilated
you have food coming from two directions, each kind battling against the
other. At (9), the caecum, or lower intestine, you will note two tube-like
extensions. These are the places where worms may lodge, and are the
seat of many bowel troubles with the older fowls. Over-feeding crams
the caecum full, and this condition is generally indicated by a pasted-up
vent (10).

I venture to say that fully 80 per cent of the mortality in raising baby
chicks is caused by improper feeding, and one of the most serious sources
of danger is in the moistening of food. Dry food and then good, clean
water, which lets the chick do the moistening for itself in the proper
proportions, is the safest way. Nature has taught them what they require.
We don’t know. Of course baby chicks can be raised successfully with
wet mashes—but it certainly takes more care and to my way of thinking
is not Nature’s plan. Don’t pamper and overly milk feed young chicks.
Prepared foods containing powdered buttermilk are very beneficial.

How Often to Feed

For the first day or two, chicks should be fed every two or three
hours. For the next week, four times daily is sufhcient and then three
times daily. Be careful about not overfeeding. One of my greatest

ON A TOWN LOT 31

difficulties when I found it necessary to be absent on the road, was to
find any one to feed the chicks without overfeeding. As I stated before,
it is better to underfeed them than to overfeed, but there is not much
danger of overfeeding when chick feed is mixed in sand where they
have to scratch and work for it. Watch and see that they have what
they can ‘eat up clean—and no more.

Cut of brooder made from a piano box.

After they are a week old a hopper should be placed before them
containing beef scrap, bran, fine charcoal and grit, a hopper for each.
After the chick is two or three months old, a few handfuls of wheat
can be added to the chick feed, and the wheat can be increased by adding
more every week until they become accustomed to the whole grains. If
cracked corn and kafir corn can be obtained, feed a mixture of three
parts wheat, two parts cracked corn, and one’ part of kafir corn. ‘This
will make excellent growing feed for them until they are four months
old, when any other grains may be added that can be secured in the
market, such as buckwheat, oats, barley and any other grains that the
chickens will eat. A good formula to go by is to use about 50 percent
wheat where three kinds of grain are fed and 40 percent where more
than three kinds are used. This grain is small, easily digested, and is

32 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

rich in protein and mineral matter. Corn when fed alone has not enough
protein and too much fat. Buckwheat and barley are also rich in fat.
During the winter months corn ought to be fed in larger proportions and
should constitute at least 50 percent of the feed during the cold weather.

Green Food

Green food should not be overlooked when chicks are small. In the
very early spring sprouted oats make a splendid green feed for them.
As soon as possible sow a bed of oats, cover the top of it with one-inch
poultry netting, which should be placed about six inches from the ground.
The chicks will eat the tops off and they will grow up again. Take six-
inch boards and stand them around the edge of the bed, driving sticks
in the middle to keep the wire from sagging. The wire can be nailed
on the top end of the board, which will make a good arrangement for
this purpose.

The little fellows prefer this green feed to anything that you can
furnish them, and it is always there for them to work on. By the time
the oats are through growing the chicks will be large enough to eat any
green feed that is supplied them.

As the chicks grow larger, it is important that they are furnished
with plenty of charcoal and grit of a larger size than they required when
they were smaller. The charcoal and grit can be secured in three sizes—
one size for the baby chick, a medium size for the growing chick, and a
large size for the matured fowl. Their winter quarters should be provided
with a hopper containing bran, beef scrap, oyster shell, grit and charcoal
a section for each. During the winter months, when the hens are con-
fined, they should be fed green bone, about three pounds to a hundred
hens per day. Skimmed milk, curdled thick, makes a good substitute for
green bone. I get splendid results without feeding mashes. But mashes
are good if not too wet. A mash moistened with milk makes fine feed
for hens. To insure the proper amount of exercise during the winter
months, it is best to put the grains in litter and compel the hens to scratch
for them. Green food must not be overlooked. When it is not con-
venient to feed sprouted oats, alfalfa meal, cabbage or mangels are
splendid.

Sprouted Oats

Sprouted oats is the best green feed obtainable, and makes a good
cheap feed and is a great ege producer. The fowls are fond of it. Feed
at noon as much as they will eat up clean. To prepare, take a pail half
full of oats, soak in water for about one day, drain water, and empty
into a box with half inch holes bored in the bottom. Sprinkle night and
morning with warm water. When oats commence to sprout, spread them
out into other boxes two inches thick, and sprinkle twice daily with warm
water. Keep oats well stirred each time they are sprinkled, and in about

ON A TOWN LOT 33

a week or so they will have sprouted. The length of sprout will depend
on the temperature of the room. When sprouts are two inches long,
commence to feed to the hens, and by the time the sprouts are four to
five inches long you will have them all fed, and in the meantime have
another lot ready to feed.

Winter Quarters

You will bear in mind that the most perfect winter quarters are those
that have conditions nearest to summer. I do not mean that the tempera-
ture shall be as warm as summer, but to have other conditions as near
like what your fowls are accustomed to in the summer as practical. The
sprouted oats, a generous box of gravel, plenty of dust in their box,
clean quarters, fresh air, and no drafts can be had with little expense and
trouble, and will make conditions summerlike to them to a large extent.
If it is convenient, throw a basketful of old plaster in one corner, and
it will be surprising the amount of this they will consume, and it is good
for them, as the lime is needed for them in the formation of the egg
shell. This will make a good substitute for oyster shell.

Automatic Feeders

The automatic feeders are a fine thing for growing stock or breeders
in the summer time. When the flocks are confined to their winter quar-
ters I would much prefer to feed in litter. The chickens must be kepi
active to get the best results, and I find the best way to keep them active
is to keep them working in a good supply of litter on the floor. Hopper
feeding is all right to a certain extent. The mineral matter, such as
oyster shell, grit, animal matter such as beef scrap, and a dry mash may
be fed them in this manner. Keeping the fowls supplied with a dried
mash in the hopper insures them always having enough to eat. In case
they are not fed sufficiently in the litter they will finish their meal at the
hopper. If the chickens are always ready for you when you enter the
pen with the feed pail you will know that they are not being overfed.
If they are hungry they will flock around you as soon as you enter. If they
are indifferent when you go in you will know that they are being overfed.
So it is time to cut down on their rations.

Piano Box Colony House

In another chapter I discussed incubators and brooders, but perhaps
while I am talking over with you your baby chicks, you'd be interested in
my experience with a home-made colony house—many of which I still
use. After the hatches came off, the fluffy babies were transferred to the
brooder—and it is remarkable to see how they thrive and grow. They
are always anxious to get out and when the robins return bringing spring
with them, I let the growing youngsters into their sunflower parks.

34 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

The beautiful days of May come all too soon—and chicks grow
splendidly. They are now large enough so that sexes may be separated.
\ colony house made from a piano box such as will be found illustrated
on page 33 will make comfortable and economical quarters for growing
stock. I removed the bottom of the box, then placed two pieces of 2x6
under the box, sawed off the corners next to the ground, which will make
it easy to move. ‘These pieces are placed about twelve inches from the
outer edge of the box and the floor nailed to them. | placed a few bricks
under them so that the box can be raised high enough to afford the
chickens splendid shelter on rainy days. I placed the box on a high spot
so that the ground was dry under it, as the chicks prefer to go under the
box rather than go inside during the daytime in case of any rough
weather. After I had the runners secured I next divided the front, which
was the bottom of the box and is now open, by nailing a 2x4 between
the bottom and the top at the front edge. Next I nailed a 2x4 of the
same length against each side, on the inside flush with the front. This
served to hang the doors on. I made the doers out of 1x2 and covered
with one-inch mesh. If you are likely to be troubled with weasels it
would be a good idea to tack wire cloth on the frames instead of one-
inch poultry netting. This wire cloth can be secured any width and as
fine as you wish. The half-inch hardware cloth is sufficiently fine. These
doors answered the purpose very nicely until the weather became a little
cool in the fall, when I tacked muslin over the wire. After the doors
were on | covered the top of the box with roofing paper, stopped all
the cracks so that there was no draft, and next put in the roosts. These
I placed about ten inches apart, and there was room for three or four
of them. These boxes make splendid quarters for the growing stock and
will be a good place for them until the weather gets cold in the Fall or
until they are ready to be taken to their Winter quarters.

*€ The colony houses can be placed in the parks or in an open field. A

cornfield makes an ideal location on account of the shade and the ground
being tilled frequently, giving the chickens lots of loose earth to work
in and a chance to get earthworms. | used two parks for the colony
houses, one-for the males and one for the females. In May I found the
chicks growing nicely, and those of the large males that did not promise
to make good breeders [ sold for broilers.

Care should be taken not to force the breeders during the breeding
season or any cther time. The breeding pen should not be fed wet
mashes, because this has a tendency to produce the fatal white diarrhoea
in the chick. In case that the eggs are not as fertile as they should be,
it will be found that the male is so gallant that he defers eating until the
females have the feed consumed. In such cases as this it is necessary
to feed the male by himself once or twice a day for a while, and every
other day he should be supplied with a little ground raw lean beef.

ON A TOWN LOT 39

CHAPTER Vv
GETTING THE EGGS

Importance of Male Bird

aN i] N my former edition of this book I made the statement
SA “The male is half the pen and should be a bird of

== good type.” I feel satished in my own mind, after

recent experiments, that the male bird is more nearly
seven-eighths of the pen. The hen is a factor—but
by no means the dominant one. If a breeder mates
a hen of great laying capacity with a cockerel whose
parents were moderate egg producers, the chances
are that the “kin” will take after the male, and also
be moderate egg layers. If a hen of moderate egg-laying capacity be
mated with a cockerel whose parents held a high record, the chances
are the progeny will also take a high place in egg production.

Admittedly the greatest profit from hens is in the eggs—and_ par-
ticularly winter eggs. It costs a certain amount to feed and care for a
pullet until it reaches the laying age. And then there is a constant
monthly “overhead” and feeding expense, all of which must be figured,
and for which the hen must be made to pay before she produces a profit
for the owner. It is important, therefore, to bear in mind the necessity
of getting male birds from a prolific egg-laying strain. If you want more
eggs, one of the cheapest and most effective ways to secure them is to buy
best cockerel possible instead of purchasing an entire flock of pedigree
hens and then mating them with a second-rate male bird. You get practi-
cally all the inherited ability to lay, transmitted by the cockerel.

36 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

When Superb Vitality Counts

In my last catalog and in other advertising which I have recently
published, I have emphasized—somewhat to the surprise of many of my
business friends—the idea of superb and supreme vitality. I even went
so far as to show a photograph of one of my birds making a “20 yard
dash” across one of the yards. I will not tolerate a droopy slacker hen
or cockerel—and at the present time we very seldom have to contend with
such birds. When they appear, and imperfections are discovered, the
cockerels are fattened for broilers and soon killed.

Diagrammatic Comparisen

If you will compare the two diagrams, you will observe the alert,
sprightly, vigorous carriage of the parallelogram shaped body and the
weak, supine aspect of the triangular shaped body. Keep away from

ON A TOWN LOT 37

birds with triangular shaped bodies. Select cockerels with plenty of pep
and fight, with glossy feathers and well developed, large heads, with
well formed combs of brilliant color, strong, prominent eyes, proud
appearance, full, deep breast, well rounded abdomen, powerful legs, set
quite far apart, a broad, strong back—and a fellow who has a loud, clear
crow to welcome the rising sun.

Specifications of an Ideal Male

In my selection of the ideal Ancona male, I would look for the
following points: I’d pick out a fellow with a long back, slightly sloping
downward to the tail, with no apparent angle at the tail. Huis tail should
be carried at an angle of 40 degrees, but don’t be afraid of the tail being
too low. The head, and especially the comb, should be as near perfect
as possible. The comb is the first thing that is noticed in a bird and is
naturally very prominent. It should have five serrations; three or four
is no serious objection, because the tendency is for the points to increase
in number. ‘~}he comb should stand erect, the blade continuing a flowing
curve upward from the line of head, free from all side spriggs. Do not
use a male too light in color. He should be dark, with as little white
in his wings and tail as possible. The shanks should be yellow, or yellow
mottled with black. Females of good shape, with a long body, with the
tail carried at an angle of about 35 degrees, good head points, comb of
good size with five serrations or less, free from side spriggs and folds,
well mottled, with as few white feathers in the tail and wings as possible.
The shanks should be yellow, or yellow mottled with black. If the male
bird has a solid yellow shank, the female may have a little more black
on the shank. A combination such as this will give you splendid results.
If the male bird is very dark the female birds may have more white.
By mating them for a season or two you can determine what results you
will get from light or dark colored birds. The tendency is to breed
lighter, so it is a good fault to breed the birds dark.

The Rose Comb Ancona may be mated the same as the Single Comb
excepting the comb. The principal point to note is to see that the male
bird is strong in the points where the females are weak. If the male
bird has not a good spike on his comb, care should be taken to secure
females that are strong on this point.

Breeding pens to get best results, should not have over fifteen females.
I have seen twenty females mated to a good vigorous male with splendid
results, but this is unusual.

Put the right kind of a cockerel with second grade birds, and you

38 $4223.00 PROFIT IN -ONE YEAR

are much more likely to secure a generous supply of eggs, than if you
put a second grade cockerel with an entire flock of pedigree hens.

Housing for Egg Production

When you have secured your pullets with the inherited tendency to
lay large numbers of eggs, you have only begun. These pullets have to
be carefully tended until they reach the creative stage and then they must
receive the treatment that will bring the egg-laying tendency to its finest
fruition and this means proper housing and proper feeding. Keep the
eround free from taint and open to the action of the air and sun. Keep
ihe houses scrupulously clean and nest-boxes inviting with fresh hay or
straw. These things matter very much!

Feeding for Egg Production

the right
ield. The

There certainly is no mystery about the problem of feeding
sort of food in the proper proportions to encourage heavy egg y
ratio of albuminoids to carbohydrates should be as one in five. The albu-

minoids make flesh—eeggs!

Carbohydrates supply the heating energy. One
way of working out the question in terms of food is as follows :—One
pound bran, one middlings, one maize meal, one fish meal and one half
clover meal. One of soya-bean meal may be added when not too expen-
sive. As I have said, these meals may be given moistened with warm
water or fed dry, just as they are, but in that case the dry mixture must
he fed out of a specially constructed box called a hopper.

Green bone, fresh from the butcher's, as a part of the food—say one-
third—on every alternate day, encourages pullets to lay quickly—but be
careful about “forcing” the bird. Sprouted oats or sprouted wheat are
economical feeds and excellent aids to hen fruit.

Next in importance to food for egg-yield, is the supply of water.
Without water there would be no egg and no fowl. Don’t keep hens
wailing one moment to drink! If the hen has to wait a long time, the
potential egg may vanish and where two eggs would have been laid, with
ample liquid available, only one will materailize. Keep plenty of fresh,
clean water before your hens.

Four important reasons why a constant supply of fresh water should
he kept before laying hens, are as follows:

1—Water is used to soften food for digestion.

2—\Water, in the form of blood, acts as a common carrier and keeps the
body vigorous,

3—Water constitutes about 75 percent of the ege.

4--Water is very important in equalizing the temperature of the hen’s body.

ON A-TOWN LOT 39

Some Egg Facts

The demand for eggs has always been, and probably always will be,

ahead of the supply. An egg is something that can be marketed on either
a modest or large scale, but always marketed. It is never a drug on the
market.

The word “ege’” comes from the Anglo-Saxon oeg. Chaucer and

-other early writers use the forms cy, eg, egge. It was really surprising

Ss SS

to me to find how many expressions and products got their name directly

from the egg. Tor instance, the first watches ever made were egg-shaped

and were sometimes called “animated eggs.’ The finest artists have
used delicately tinted bird’s eggs as color models—the exquisite shades

painted by Nature on these shells being matchless in harmony.

40 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

A great many people think that eggs are good for the voice. Egg
and lemon juice beaten together are recommended for hoarseness. Charles
Il of England presented a favorite singer with a silver egg filled with
guineas, wittily remarking, “Take this; I am told that eggs are good for

the voice.”

I could sit here and talk for an hour on the romance of what we call
“a common hen’s egg”—I could call your attention to the Jewish people
who taboo pork but are a remarkably healthy race. As a people they
make great use of eggs—even the poorest giving them preference over
other foods. A man once said that if, for every pig kept by private
families, a flock of hens were substituted, there would be less patent
medicine required and a general improvement im health. Tf you will stop
to think of it, you will realize that fewer individuals show an antipathy

for eggs than for most foods—in fact no honest appetite rejects them.

Right here it might not be out of place for us to give consideration
to the food value and chemistry of the eggs. I] am showing a sketch of a
typical Ancona egg. The “Famous” Ancona egg will weigh two ounces
or slightly under that. Standard authorities give the following proportions

of chemical elements in the dry substance of the average hen's egg:

CAG DOM, jiouiwna twenties eet ay Ova to toe
Net trey: ET) tats sp oe eo ate ree eee 15% to 16%
FING ROOT wera eleva thy Gye'ie.s ase Sire eaten ete 7%
Ony DiGi eral <l sole mas vcugteentadee barton cede
Sulphiir 2.4. eee ee ee eee 1% to 2%
el ylopshateve) bi MR rare ater coc oe Mame ein ie 5%

Eggs are splendid food for trained workers. Ericsson, the inventor,
labored at least twelve hours out of twenty-four to a ripe old age; his
breakfast for every day of the year was two poached eggs. Weston, the
pedestrian, while walking one hundred miles in twenty-two hours, con-

sumed from sixteen to twenty raw eggs.

Contrary to the thought which prevailed years ago, eggs are easily
digested—more so than meat and most vegetables. Not only are eggs good
mental food, but they sustain the body as well. There are about eighty-two

calories in each Ancona egg. So much about eggs.

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42 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

CHAPTER VI
POULTRY HOUSES
Building for Egg Production—for Warmth

HAT constitutes a successful poultry house? 1 should
ay one that keeps the bird in perfect comfort and
health, and enables them to produce the largest yield
of eggs. Of course you don’t get eggs from poultry
houses—but if you. take the same identical birds and
put them in one house and then change them to
another there may be a decided difference in the egg

yield just because of the conditions provided by the

“fowl” dwelling.
I am certain that a light and airy honse will encourage egg laying and
that a dark, stuffy house absolutely will not. The three big factors in

eco production are:

1—food
2—light
3—air

Specifications for Economical Houses

An open air poultry house is recognized by practically all prominent
poultry men to be the most satisfactory for laying flocks. On page 60
will be found an illustration of the type of laying houses used on my
farm. This building is 322 feet long and can be built any length desired.
It is 20 feet deep. If the house is more than 8 feet deep, it would be
a good plan to locate windows at the back of the house as well as at the
front. One-quarter of the front of this long house for laying flocks, 1s
open and the opening is covered with one-inch poultry netting on the
outside. Frames are covered with a medium grade cotton and operated
from the inside so that the attendant can raise and lower them and leave
as much as desired. During the fine weather these spaces are left entirely
open. During the cold weather, when the thermometer registers from
zero to 20 degrees and below, the curtains are kept down all the way.
These curtains of cotton also keep out rain, snow and strong wind.

A elass window every 12 feet, lets in light in case of stormy weather
when the curtains are kept down. There are very few days that. the
curtain cannot be raised, and [ find it makes a very practical house. ‘The
foundation is made of cement and runs below the ground level eighteen
inches, and is fifteen inches above. This stops all drafts and makes a

ON A TOWN. LOT- 43

comfortable place for the birds. For the first two or three years I would
recommend the earth floor. After that it would be necessary to replace
the earth with fresh dirt or put in a wood or cement floor. The roof is
made of a good grade of paper rooting, the sides are built of double V
siding and Jined with tar paper on the inside. ‘The partitions are 12 feet
apart, and every fourth section is built solid of boards, air-tight. This
stops all drafts. Like all other poultry buildings, the laying house should

Group of day-oid chick slipping cases.
face the south. The front of the building is 8 feet in height over the
foundation, and the back of the building is 4 feet high. The dropping-
boards are put in against the back wall and run the full length of the

building. They are about 3 feet from the grcund. Cotton curtains are
placed in front of the roosts to protect the fowls in extreme weather.

The studding is put in twenty-two inches apart. .\ door is placed in
the middle of each pen, the width of the studding and the height of the
opening. This door is made of one-by-two strips and covered with one-
inch mesh. It is fastened from the inside to prevent anyone from entering
the building, and is used for the chickens to go in and out, and also by
the attendant for taking the litter in and out.

44 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

It will be found that in such buildings as these, healthy, vigorous
and happy stock will be raised. I have stood across the fields fifteen
hundred feet distant from the houses in the dead of Winter, in zero
weather, and could hear my birds singing their merry song as in the
good old Summer time. The important features or the most valuable
assets the modern poultry house can have are plenty of light and fresh
air; and the open front is the one that fills the bill.

The chicken parks should be as generous as the ground will permit.
The ideal park would have a southern exposure. It is a good plan to
plant fruit trees in the parks, and these will furnish the chickens with
shade as well as the table with lots of fruit. The parks should be culti-
vated often in the early Spring. If the parks are long enough it is well
to fence off the part farthest from the laying house and sow it with
rape. This not only furnishes the chickens with an excellent green food,
but also keeps the ground sweet and fresh. It is important to have the
parks built on high ground as well as the houses. In case the high ground
cannot be secured, be sure that the parks are well drained, because the
chickens will not do well where they have to stay in parks that are wet
for several days after every rainstorm.

Do not overlook the necessity of keeping the poultry houses clean,
and especially the brooder. ‘The brooder should be cleaned nearly every
two or three days, and sprayed well with some strong disinfectant. This
will keep them free from insects and keep the air pure. The litter should
be changed often. After the chicks are a month old it will be found
easier to clean the brooder or colony houses by throwing in some fine
earth. This will prevent anything from sticking to the floors. After they
are three or four months old the reost may be put in the colony houses,
and by keeping in a fair supply of dirt it will not be necessary to clean
them more than twice a week, as the earth absorbs the strong odors. The
laying houses should be sprayed once a month during the winter season.
The roosts should be painted with some good disinfectant every week.
A mixture of slack lime and crude carbolic acid will make protection
against vermin and diseases, but as the lime will affect the color of the
legs, spraying will be found more satisfactory where show birds are being
raised,

Water Tight, Well Ventilated, Well Lighted

Success in poultry, although working hand in hand with good houses,
has really nothing to do with a special design of house. Many of the
most successful and largest egg farmers in the country have houses made
on the open front principle, which differ only in detail, and if these

ON A TOWN LOT 45

are good enough for successful men who specialize on egg production,
they surely are good enough for the amateur or back-yarder or owner
of a small family flock. A good house need not be expensive. Just
keep the four principles in mind in planning and building a poultry house.

1—Have it water tight.
2—Have it well ventilated.
3—Have it well lighted.
4—Have it free from drafts.

Possessing those four points, it really doesn’t matter how inexpensive your
house is, just so it provides healthy accomodations for the number of
birds you have.

46 $422.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

CHAPTER VII
MAKING SHIPMENTS
January Inquiries

HE last part of January, of the first year I did
advertising worth while, my breeding pens were
made up and the mating list and catalog all ready
te be distributed. In compiling the circular or cata-
log, it is a good plan to give a history and description
of the breed so as to create confidence in their

cood points.

Before January was over, inquiries were coming

in for eggs and baby chicks. I had about the same

experience with these inquiries that | had with the inquiries fer stock

in the early fall. IT found that the mail had hecome quite heavy, and

much of the time was occupied answering correspondence. Before Febru-

ary was far advanced, some orders for baby chicks and hatching eggs
had been received. My incubators were set and the brooders ready.

Boxing and Shipping Eggs

The time was due for the first shipment of eggs, and it was important
to know hew to pack them. There are many different ways, and different
breeders are indorsing different plans. The easiest way to ship, and one
of the cheapest, is by the use of the egg boxes manufactured by box
companies. On page 51 is one of these boxes illustrated. All that is

necessary is to wrap the eggs in paper and place in the section for each

ege. Scatter a little bran or chaff over them. Seal the box and it is
ready to go. This will do for a short haul. But if it is going far I
would put the box in a basket and tie to the handle so it will not be
tossed out. A little excelsior or straw placed in the bottom of the basket
will be a great protection against careless handling at the hands of the
express company. These boxes are more desirable for single settings.
I found round bushel baskets satisfactory for shipping fifty or more eggs.
When orders ran up to a thousand or more these baskets are just the thing.
Fach basket will hold one hundred eggs. In extreme weather | line these
baskets with paper. I wrap each egg in paper before placing it in the
basket. The bushel basket should be well lined with straw by distributing
it around the side and bottom of the basket about two inches thick to
make a good cushion in the bottem of it so that the eggs will not break.
After the straw is nicely arranged in the basket, I start the first layer

ON A TOWN LOT 47

by placing the eggs with small end down. This is the best way for the
eggs to lie, because it will stand shipment better than if placed on the
side. After the first layer is placed I scatter a little fine chaff or a
little fine cut straw over the eggs, then put paper on the top before placing
the next layer of eggs. This paper prevents the chaff from working from
the top layer down to the bottom. On top of the second layer I again
place the chaff or fine cut straw, and always place the paper between
each layer. I do not put the eggs too close to the top of the cover. Room
should be allowed for straw between the eggs and the cover. In former
years I have used excelsior for lining the baskets, but find straw more
satisfactory, as it will keep out more cold and be a better protection for
the eggs. On page 46 will be found the picture of a shipment of these
baskets already packed. The covers are fastened on with basket hooks.

Shipping Baby Chicks

The first shipment of baby chicks was due to go early in March,
The first hatch was off just in time for the first order. It was the first
experience in shipping baby chicks, and I was naturally puzzled as to how
to do it. Have received many letters from different ones asking me for
instructions in shipping stock, eggs and baby chicks, so I am safe in
saying that these are matters that bother everyone. On page 46 you will
find illustrated a box for shipping baby chicks. This is a remarkable and
splendid device for this purpose. It is not only warm and protects the
chicks against the cold, but also is very strong and has a wonderful
resistance against hard usage. These boxes are made in three different
sizes. The smallest size will accommodate twelve to twenty-five chicks,
the next size will hold fifty, and the largest size will hold one hundred.
The fact that nature has made provision for the baby chicks to live
without food for the first three days of their existence makes it practical
to send these little beauties hundreds of miles with splendid results. I
have shipped them as far as three thousand miles, but do not recommend
shipping quite so far. I ship the chicks just as soon as they have become
dry and their down has become fluffy.

Shipping Stock
On page 67 is illustrated a shipping box such as I use for the birds.
This kind of a box is very desirable because it is light and makes a splen-
did advertisement for your business.

These shipping boxes I make in three sizes—No. 1 for a single bird,
No. 2 for a trio, and No. 3 for a pen of five to eight. The No. 1 size is
ten inches wide, nineteen inches long and eighteen inches high; No. 2 is
fifteen inches wide, twenty-four inches long and eighteen inches high; No.

48 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

This illustrates the boxes I use for shipping hatching eggs. The one on top ts
ready to receive the eggs. The one on the right is packed with eggs and the cover
partly on. The box on the left is ready for shipment, and contains 15 eggs.

3 is twenty inches wide, twenty-four inches long and eighteen inches
high. The ends and bottom should be made out of white pine or popular,
and the sides out of extra heavy and extra strong strawboard. The slats
across the top are two inches wide and should be put on about two
inches apart. These boxes can be bought with bottom and ends cleated
ready to nail together, including slats and heavy cardboard sides, at forty
cents for size No. 1, fifty cents for size No. 2, and sixty cents for size

NO; 3:

During the warm summer and fall months the fowls should be pro-
vided with water in transit. This is done by fastening a tin can to the
inside of the box. In the cooler days of the fall and winter the water
will not be necessary if the birds will be delivered within two or three
days. A good substitute for water is to place a few apples in the box
with them and thus eliminate the danger of birds having wet straw in their
box by the water splashing from their drinking can. Where the birds
are on the way for over the third day, they should be provided with
water. In the fall of the year, as the weather becomes colder, it is a
good plan to tack muslin on the top of the box to prevent them from
getting their combs frosted or getting in a draft at some transfer point.
A space about two inches wide should be left for the express company
to water them.

ON A TOWN LOT. 49

Fira!

A shipment of Sheppard's stock ready to start on the long trip of
12,000 miles to far away Australia.

CHAPTER Vilil
THE FOUR SALES ESSENTIALS

I

f four times as many people as are now selling poultry

and eggs, even on a small scale, were to start adver-

tising and selling their eggs and poultry, the demand
still would not be supplied.

I am going to give you the result of my experi-
ence right straight through, even on the sales end,
so that with the facts I put into this book, you will
have the required information not only to success-
fully produce poultry and the eggs, but also to mar-
ket these economically.

Let me discuss briefly “Salesmanship of Poultry.” This consists
primarily of advertising because poultry and eggs must be sold chiefly by
mail. There are four sales essentials:

1—Cause the reader to Look at your advertisement.

2—Put him in a favorable attitude toward your message.
3—Persuade him to Learn about your poultry or service.
4—“Land” his business.

50 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

These four sales essentials can be briefly expressed in the four words,
“Look, Like, Learn and Land.”

Every letter, every circular, every mailing list, every catalog, every
poultry paper or newspaper advertisement, every envelope “stuffer” or
printed matter sent out on your poultry and eggs, in order to be most
successful, should be planned with these four essentials in mind.

Make Them “Look”

On the opposite page you will find a group of my advertisements.
Suppose we take a couple of these and analyze them. ‘Take the pair of
ads, “Boy Scouts” and “You will First, our job is to make the reader
of the poultry papers in which these appear. Jook at the advertisement—
stop, look and listen. We have got to do something to flag his or her
attention. Not necessarily to startle them, because sometimes when peo-
ple are startled, a reaction takes place in their mind, which causes them
to dislike what you have to say. Be careful about not creating antago-
nism. Do not have your headings or pictures negative or disagreeable
in effect. Like poultry, they should be live, energetic and forceful.

’

Make Them Like

The picture of the Boy Scout with the word “Boy” and the picture of
the hand with the word “You,” catch the eye, cause the reader to look.
Who doesn’t like a husky Boy Scout? This pleasure is reflected on the
message found down in the advertising copy. We believe that the average
person will at once agree that “You don’t enjoy a losing game.” Thus,
you see we have caused the readers both to look and like.

They may not respond to our advertisement this time, but the next
time they see a Sheppard message, they are going to be favorably disposed
toward it and not antagonistic. People don’t understand their own frames
of mind. It doesn’t require any definite, disagreeable thing to set edgewise
against your proposition. Just make a few “bad breaks” with your adver-
tising copy or your form letters, and people will avoid you like the plague.
They quit cold. You won't understand why and they won’t understand
why. So in writing your advertising copy, it wants to be just as happy
and harmonious with the frame of mind of the reader as possible.

Make Them Learn

Now how will we cause them to “Learn?” In each piece of copy I
plan to tell them just enough so that a strong desire will be aroused to

Onee A yates 1A Won lerdal Sutcess at Bewt---An Exampte of Ancona
Madison Square Garden, New York City Cantaibin in the Laying Pons

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World's Record for Single Bard

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learn more. I hold back all the information and try to get them interested
to write for my catalog or one of my books. If you will get a reading
glass you will be able to study out some of this copy and you will see that
| touch upon, briefly, in each advertisement:

1—F geg-laying ability.
2—Prize-winning.
3—Appeal to beauty.

so that these three important points are covered in some way in each adver-
tisement. The big thing, after all, of course, is to get the name of the
prospect on the “line with dots.” Until you get the order, and the check
or money order as well, nothing has been closed and the proof of the value
of your salesmanship in advertising depends upon the cash you receive for
the steck, the day-old chicks or the eggs for hatching you may offer.

The operating of commercial egg plant and the selling of eggs for
home use, is another business entirely, which | will not here discuss. 1 am
endeavoring to make it somewhat easier and less expensive for you to sell
your stock, your day-old chicks and your eggs for hatching.

Landing Them—How to Do It—A Dozen and One Sales Pointers

Now, how shall we “land” the prospect who has already sufficiently
interested himself in our proposition to write for information and learn
more about our stock? We have got to bring this message to him so in-
terestingly, so emphatically and so truthfully, that his conhdence will be
inspired to the point where he will feel that we are just the ones who
should receive his order. Use plenty of photographs, good pictures taken
of your own birds to illustrate your printed matter. It helps to show the
picture of the person who is offering the stock—unless he looks like a
second-story worker. | believe it pays, once ina while to call in an adver-
tising man to help you get ideas regarding your headings and to assist you
in making your advertising as interesting and readable as possible—but
a still better plan is to have some characteristic style, either your own writ-
ing or the writing of someone who is a good friend of yours, used in all of
these advertising pieces so that they will have personality. Don’t forget
that when the prospects write for information they want information. Give
them the plain facts and plenty of them. Tell them the whole story just so
far as you can.

ON.A- TOWN. LOT

mn
wo

CHAPTER 1x

ADVERTISING TO SUCCESS
Visiting the Shows

ARLY in my experience I found one of my best adver-
tisements was showing my birds at both large and
small shows. But this would have been a poor adver-
tisement had I not won a major portion of the prizes
in the particular class or classes I entered.

At one of the first shows I visited I remember my

experience. I was showing King William I, a hand-
some cockerel who had won first at the geat Dairy
Show, London, England, and was naturally proud of
him. A man admired him very much and asked my price. I told him one
thousand dollars. It was fortunate for me that he did not buy him, be-
cause he has been the foundation of mysflock and he has been worth not
less than ten thousand dollars to me. It does not pay to sell your best
stock. I never price my best birds. They are always to be found in my
breeding pen. By doing this I have been able to keep improving my flock,
and when my customers want eggs from prize winners they get them.

Building Good Records

I first built up a good record before I commenced to get out any
printed advertising other than mere announcements of the stock I had for
sale. It is one thing to simply list what you have to sell and another thing
to write this up so interestingly and appealingly that people will be per-
suaded to purchase it, even if they had not intended to before reading the
copy.

I had reached the time when I wished to burn into the mind of the
buying public the merits of my chickens. In preparing my advertising |
eliminated every unnecessary detail and made the essential facts interest-
ing as possible. I found that concentrated, consistent endeavor brings
results.

Continuity in advertising is the greatest essential of success.

Jacob’s Follow-Up
Jacob once cranked up his dromedaries and set out from Padanaram
with. his wives, kiddies and live stock. An authentic report reached him
that Brother ISsau, the owner of a large Grouch, because of a certain

54 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

“Busy Days’ Among the Colony Houses on Sho ppard’s Famous Farm

swiped birth-right, was roaring to meet him with a bunch of fighters.
Jacob then started to “sell” himself to his wild-eyed kin. He set apart live
stock for a gift. But he didn’t hand it to Esau all at once. No, no. He
divided it into six or nine groups and “put a space betwixt drove and
drove.” He was after a series of favorable impressions. He even went so
far as to halve his own family and possessions—put a space between the
halves—and join himself to the rear caravan. Saving his heaviest shot for
the last. If all this isn’t safe and sane advertising psychology, then what
15 10

You have to keep after people time after time, sometimes it’s the last
letter that gets the big order. The same follow-up idea applies to using
papers. If you havn't very much capital, pick out one good paper and stay
in it every month. Don’t drop out unless it demonstrates that it is not pull-
ing business for you. If it is, stay in and gradually add to your list. It’s
the tap, tap, tap of the advertising hammer that counts.

ON A TOWN LOT 55

Advertising Pays

i found advertising paid well, although I did not get big returns the
first year. The second year I advertised more and was pleased to note
that the returns increased in proportion to the extent I advertised. Each
year I spent more money for advertising, and have always found the re-
turns justified it. I want to impress upon you the importance of advertis-
ing. “It pays to advertise.” This is a hackneyed expression, but never-
theless it is true. It pays to advertise generously. Don’t be afraid to
spend a few dollars advertising in the poultry journals. The money will
come back and a great deal more with it. Do you know a successful poul-
try man or a successful business man who has not been a generous adver-
tiser? I was not advertising long before I was shipping stock to Europe,
Africa, and the remotest parts of the earth. My advice is, first, get good
stock; second, advertise it; third, give your customers a square deal, and
you will succeed. Don’t become discouraged in case you run across a cus-
tomer occasionally that you cannot please, no matter how hard you try,
You will have such experience, no matter what your business is. I dis-
covered that long before I went into the chicken business.

An Unpleasant Experience

There were some things in my advertising experience that were not
always pleasant. For instance, I started my advertising by using classified
space in a couple poultry journals. I want to say that I was very much dis-
gusted and disgruntled with the first results, because I was getting more
letters from people who wanted to sell me more advertising or something
else, than inquiries from prospective buyers. . But I kept at it and it wasn’t
long before inquiries for stock and eggs were numerous. Then I got up
my first circular, which was a little 6x9 pamphlet, illustrating it with some
cuts of my birds, hatching eggs aad stock. I started with two pens—No. 1
at five dollars per setting and No. 2 at two dollars per setting of fifteen
eggs. I mailed my circular in answer to every inquiry, and did not fail to
write a short letter in answer to each inquiry, which read as follows:
“Here’s the circular illustrating and describing the birds regarding which
you made inquiry a few days ago. They’re great layers, and I very much
hope that you will carefully study this circular and then permit me to
demonstrate their worth.” To send a short personal letter with these cir-
culars in a sealed envelope with a two cent stamp, will be found to pay.

wD pavddays ay} UO pasn sosnoy suikoy fo sogty ayz fo auc

ON A FOWN LOT 57

The First Orders

I soon received my first order for hatching eggs. The next thing I
was up against was to know the best way to pack them. After investigat-
ing the matter I was informed that the basket was considered good. I se-
cured a supply of baskets and after wrapping the eggs carefully in paper |
packed them in a basket with excelsior and sewed a cloth over the top. I
gave you my later experience in packing and shipping of eggs on a preced-
ing page.

Increasing My Advertising

After the first year’s advertising, the poultry business looked very good
to me—it seemed to have possibilities for the future, so I decided to do
still more advertising the following year. By this time I had stock to sell
in the fall and hatching eggs in the spring, besides lots of eggs for the
market after supplying an abundance for our domestic use. With the
increased advertising came the increased amount of business. I com-
menced my advertising in September. Inquiries commenced to come
shortly after, and it was not long before I was getting orders for stock,
and as the season advanced the orders became more numerous. It
wasn't long before I had sold all the surplus stock. I continued my ad-
vertising through the Winter and Spring for the hatching season. After
my stock was sold I commenced returning money, and have been doing
this very thing every year since, because the demand was greater than
the supply. I predict that this will be the case for years to come—in fact,
it looks to me as though the demand will grow every year as the people
become familiar with the virtues of these great egg macnines. Soon after
my stock was gone inquiries for hatching eggs began to arrive. They
increased as the season advanced. Before the season was half over I had
all the orders for hatching eggs I could fill. I had reserved enough
of my best birds to mate up four pens, and could have sold all the eggs
from three times as many pens, had I had them. I hatched more chicks
the following Spring, as I wanted to get ready for a greater demand

the following year.

This chapter is more or less of an “experience meeting” taken from
bumps I have received while traveling on the road and in the poultry
business since then. The science of salesmanship is of just as much
interest to a successful poultry man as ii is to a successful salesman in

any line.

58 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Getting Business by Letter

There are two ways to make sales: First, by personal interview, and
second by letter. I told you a short time ago that by far the best way
to sell poultry is by letter or “direct by mail.” The man on the ground
finds it somewhat easier to make sales than the man who has to sell by
letter, because he can talk with and size up his prospective customers, while
the absent salesman has to read between the lines the kind of buyer
he is dealing with. The average experienced drummer knows how to
approach a buyer almost the moment he sees him. With the mail system
this must be acquired by reading between the lines of the letter. It be-
hooves him to conduct his correspondence to get the best results. It is
here where many a beginner fails.

In preceding pages I have told of the importance of advertising. Ad-
vertising is the forerunner of success. The journals have done their part.
They have brought inquiries to you. They have brought prospective cus-
tomers to your desk, and now it is up to you to make the sale. The paper
has done its part when it gets yeu the inquiry. Now, go after and land the
business.

ON: A°TOWN -LOT 59

When you receive an answer to your advertisement you have a
reasonable assurance that the writer is interested, whether he sends his
inquiry on a post card or a piece of rough paper, or fine stationery, or
whether it is written with pencil, pen or typewriter. Answer all inquiries
carefully and promptly.

What About Stationery?

Use a neat grade of stationery with an attractive but not amateurish
letter head, and then a complete descriptive circular or catalog, just
whichever your business will justify. You wouldn’t go out to solicit orders
wearing a pair of torn trousers, ragged shirt and barefooted, nor should
you send out cheap stationery with poor printing, expecting to get good
orders. Keep in mind that the advertising you mail out is your personal
representative and your honesty and the merit of your merchandise you
offer will be judged quite largely by the advertising material. Don’t handi-
cap your proposition with cheap printed matter—I say this from my own
bitter experience and not because I am boosting the game of any printer.

Yes, it’s very important to have gcod quality paper in your stationery
and catalog, but it is very much more important to have a good grade of
stock and a breed with merit. You have got to have the birds to back
up your sales talk or you won’t get repeat business and we couldn't stay
in business very long if it wasn’t for our repeat customers who come
back and buy from us year after year. When you have quality, you can
talk quality and your good stationery will be in harmony with the high
standard of your stock.

By building your reputation on high-grade quality you will build your
business on a solid foundation and you will have a trade that will stay
with you. It will not be a difficult matter to take your customers up
the four steps of the ladder of salesmanship when you have something to
sell that is in demand. If you will bear in mind the points I have men-
tioned you will find that you will not require twenty years’ experience
on the road to sell chickens and hatching eggs, and sell all you can raise.

Service Principle in Advertising

There is a service as well as a commercial principle involved in
advertising. Think of the fact that you are rendering a service to a
man when you sell him your eggs or stock. Talk of the advantages he
will gain and be convinced in your own mind that he actually will se-
cure these advantages of pleasure and profit. Pleasure and profit are
the two things most interesting to the average buyer.

60) $4223.00: PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Contents of Advertisements

In writing your advertisements, talk more of fine breeding, pure strain,
good carriage, beauty, flavor, size and so on—give specific instances of
egg-laying records and prizes won, try and find little incidents and stories
from your daily contact with the birds, that you can put into advertise-
ments in chatty style. It is the human, common, ordinary every day

instances of life that are most interesting to other people.

Try and carry on your advertising in publications whose readers are
appreciative of fine poultry and who have the means as well as the in-
clination to buy it. Change your copy frequently so that you will always
have a different idea running to make people “look.” \dvertising is like

eges, it must be fresh.

Appeal to the Beginner

Keep the beginner constantly in mind and word your advertising for
his comprehension. If he understands, the rest of the folks will. Re-
member that the beginners are eager for the best stock, and are larger
buyers than the older breeders. They are certainly worth catering to.
Although I have been in the poultry business for a good many years,
about 50% of my business each year comes from new beginners. This
is due partly to the fact that each year my business increases accordingly.
3ut 1 am continually wording my advertising to appeal to the beginner.
When I receive an inquiry from my journal advertising, I send out my
catalog, together with a friendly letter and I follow this up three times
to keep my proposition before the prospect and remind him that I am

ready to serve him promptly.

Price is secondary to the quality of your stock and price should be
the last thing about which you talk. You should have the reader thorough-
ly sold on your proposition before you say a word to him about how
much the birds are going to cost him. Then he will have the attitude

where he feels that any reasonable sum isi’t too much.

As a conclusion for these two chapters on advertising and salesman-
ship, I want to leave those 4 L's. First, in your advertising you should
put in something in the way of an illustration or heading that will cause
a great many readers to LOOK. Then, your appeal must be of such a

nature that it will either make the reader actually smile or feel good all

ON A TOWN LOT 61

over. It will make him LIKE your message in other words. Then it
should have enough of a “kick” in it and tell him just enough about
your proposition so that he will be anxious to LEARN more about the
stock you have to offer. This will result in his inquiry and then your
printed matter should be of such a nature and vour letters should be so
frank and friendly, that you will LAND him with the least possible
delay.

62 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

CHAPTER: x
WHAT TO DO EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR

HERE is something to do in the chicken business every
month in the year. I have told you of my experi-
ence during the first five years, up to the time when I
moved from the home in Berea with its “Town Lot”
poultry plant—out to the spacious acres of our pres-
ent poultry farm directly adjoining Berea. Now I
am going to talk over in detail how I conducted the
poultry business throughout the twelve months of the
year. Very little will be said regarding some of these

months, because they run along very much like the others, but

when any changes in the program are to be made, or when any special
detail is to be taken care of in a certain month, I have jotted it down for
your information.

My year begins with August—this is simply because I started my
venture during that month. This time of the year is generally quiet on
the farm. At present I take advantage of the dull season to prepare my
advertisements. During this month I place my contracts for the year’s
advertising. The chicks are well advanced by this time so I can see what
I have to sell, and what the prospects are for the coming year. As grains
are cheaper at this time of the year, I buy up all the wheat and grain
required for the season. By doing this I find it very economical, and
generally save quite an item by buying in August rather than in December.
3y buying direct from the farmer I also save the feed man’s profit, which
is also quite an item. I have found it a good time to place my order for
shipping boxes, baskets and other supplies. If I waited until late in the
season to buy these things, I might be delayed and might not be able to get
them when I really needed them.

August

I find little to do with the stock during August, except to keep them
free from lice. It is very important that this is watched closely, and
especially the old male birds.

September

September finds the pullets ready for the laying house. They should
be placed in their laying houses early enough to get accustomed to their
new quarters by the time they are ready to lay. The cockerels have

ON A TOWN LOT 63

developed sufficiently to admit of judging their quality intelligently so the
poor grades can be sold. It is always good policy to keep the best for sale
and butcher the rest. By doing this early I have more room for my grow-
ing stock. The colony houses that housed hfty birds comfortably when
younger, have now become crowded since the birds have developed. By
disposing of the culls at the market, the good birds have a better show.

The houses are thoroughly cleaned, and buildings that are not sprayed
every month should be whitewashed at this time. The dust boxes are
looked after and plenty of dust is put in them. The nests are cleaned out
well and fresh straw put in them. This is done every month or so, and
should be watched closely in the fall of the year.

October

October brings the fall rains. The litter is now brought in and a
liberal supply of straw placed on the floors. The fowls are glad to seek
shelter from the cold rains, and by having a good supply of litter on the
floor at this season of the year, it is an easy matter to keep them active and
busy by feeding them grain in it.

In some sections the weather commences to become chilly early, and
October has placed her leaves on Summer's grave. This will remind us
that the good old summer has passed and the cold blasts of winter are
near. It is time that we are making preparations for winter. All the
buildings should be put in good repair for the rough weather to come.

November

In most sections November brings the cold rains and rough weather,
and in fact in some sections the winter is well on the way. Many breeders
are careless about their stock at this season, and apparently do not take
better care of their birds than the farmer who allows them to seek
shelter on the south side of a barbed wire fence. ’ The cockerels should
be placed in their winter quarters before the weather gets too rough, but
of course they can be allowed to run during the fine days. The changes
are sudden at this season of the year, so it is a good plan to add a little
tonic to their drinking water. ‘There are several good kinds on the market.

Winter

The snow generally arrives before December is very old, and it is
time that the birds are now confined to their winter quarters permanently.
Fall sales have materially reduced the surplus stock, so the winter quar-
ters are not so badly crowded as was anticipated. The early shows are now

64 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

Es EE TN Ee aie:

The above ilustrates shipping boxes. These are light and have sufficient strength to

stand considerable rough handling. They are described on another page.

at hand, and it is time the exhibition stock is conditioned for the show
room.

There is a great contrast in the work it takes to condition different
breeds. White fowls have to be washed, which is a lot of work in con-
trast with the easy manner in which a colored bird is prepared for ex-
hibition. To condition them, all that is necessary is to wash off the feet
and shanks in water, sponge off the comb, face and wattles with alcohol,
and then apply a mixture composed of two parts of alcohol, one part of

ON A TOWN LOT. 65

glycerine, and three drops of sassafras and five drops of sweet oil to each
teaspoonful of mixture.. This preparation may also be applied to the
shanks after bathing.

I will probably continue to exhibit my birds during January. The
sales have kept up and the surplus stock is nearly sold off. However,
orders are still coming in, but the stock is reduced to about what will be
wanted for the breeding pens.

Spring

In previous chapters I have pretty well outlined the spring’s work,
getting the incubator started and “training up the baby chicks in the way
they should go.” With the approach of summer it is very important to
see that, even though your venture is carried forward on a small lot, the
birds have plenty of fresh air and ventilation. Don’t be afraid about ex-
posing them to summer drafts. By all means protect them from the damp
days of spring and summer and every chill. But don’t be overzealous and
shut out fresh air and abundant sunlight. Give them all the free range
your conditions will permit.

66 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

CHAPTER XI
OPPORTUNITY IN POULTRY
The Chicken Industry

HE hen has surely made wonderful strides during the
past few years. The value of the products of the
hen is greater than the value of the entire wheat
crop. In 1600 the chicken industry started upward

AN with leaps and bounds, keeping up such a fast pace

yy. ose x that today it is only surpassed in value by the corn,
Ye EBS + z
an) hay, and cotton. The Government reports place the

products of the hen at over one billion dollars annu-

~

iy

ally. The day is not far distant when the poultry
industry will be a two billion dollar industry and will lead the live stock
and grain growing industries of the country.

The ordinary prophet cannot tell with any degree of certainty what
she will do in the future. There has never been a time when the demand
for fresh eggs and dressed poultry was so great. When the price of
fresh eggs goes up to sixty or sixty-five cents a dozen, we wonder who
will buy them. But still they sell, and the demand is greater than the
supply. There seems to be a market in all the large cities for more fresh
eggs than can be obtained during the Winter months, when the prices are
the highest. There does not seem to be any limit to the demand. Prices
have increased about 50 per cent during the past ten years. People are
beginning to believe that it is better to eat more eggs, even at a high
price, than so much meat. There has never been such a demand for pure
bred stock and hatching eggs from standard bred poultry as at the present
time. The prices that good birds bring are simply wonderful. It is not
an uncommon thing for a good specimen to sell for one hundred dollars.
There was a time when a setting of eggs at one dollar was considered
high. Now it is an easy matter to find many breeders charging a dollar
for a single egg, or fifteen dollars per setting. They not only ask this
price but get it, and the purchasers are satisfied that they are getting
value for their money. There are a number of breeders who are getting
from two to five dollars each for their best eggs. They are giving many
years of expert breeding in these eggs, and as a rule the buyer feels that
he is getting all he pays for.

Good Time to Get Interested in Poultry

It is good time for every person interested in poultry to get busy. If
you have a place where you can keep a few fowls, make ready for them
and invest in a trio or pen of a good breed. From such a start quite a
nice lot of well-bred birds can be obtained by another year. Considering
the demand for Standard bred birds, it would be well to get something

ON A TOWN LOT 67

t . “Ff
good in quality. It is not necessary to pay such a big price, if they are
bought from a reputable breeder and he knows what is wanted and how
much is to be invested. If he cannot fill the bill he will say.so.

From this start a good-sized flock will be raised and be ready for
business in another year; then hatching eggs and probably a few baby
chicks, if you have incubators in which to hatch them, can be supplied to
buyers. There are always people in every community who want a few
settings of eggs or some baby chicks of some good breed, and with a good
breed some business can be done without much advertising. Of course,
it will be found that it pays to advertise; and the longer you are in busi-
ness, the more this will be appreciated. With this start you are now ina
position to advance, since the first efforts have been successful, and it is
reasonable to suppose that a much larger business could be handled suc-
cessfully.

Fresh eggs and broilers can be supplied the market, or a business can
be made of supplying the demand for baby chicks in the vicinity; or one
could branch out, advertise more, send day-old chicks and hatching eggs
throughout the country, and develop a business on pure bred stock by sell-
ing them in trios, pens, etc. After one breed has been handled a while,
proficiency in judging the merits of the breed will come. Because
of this, you are in a position to select the best of your stock to fill orders,
to make up breeding pens, or fit the birds for the show room. Here a
reputation may be gained that will put you among the foremost breeders
of your variety. This cannot be done in a day, but persistent efforts
are sure to bring their rewards. There is a mighty advertising influence
gained by the winning of the blue ribbons. Some breeders have been so
fortunate in the show room in winning so many prizes that very little
advertising was necessary to sell all their stock.

Possibilities of the Hen

The hen has possibilities, for you never know where she will lead you.
One thing is certain, and that is hard work, carefulness, and caution are
bound to succeed. I know of one man in particular who started on a
small scale, but who has succeeded year by year until at present he has a
fine plant and is doing a nice business. In fact, I am acquainted with
several men who have started in a small way, and who by their careful
and industrious habits have built large chicken farms from a very small
start. Put the hen against time and labor and she will never fail. Stick
to the hen, and work and care will be crowned with success.

For twenty long years I traveled for a large wholesale manufacturing
company and am now delighted to say that I am enjoying a much larger
income and taking life easier. Although I am just as busy as ever I am
enjoying all the freedom the world affords. In place of being bound by
the cbligations an employee owes to his employer who pays for his time
and efforts, I feel free to go and come as my pleasure dictates. I do not
wish to infer that the average employee is a slave bound by harsh ties.
Not so. My employers were very courteous and generous, and were men
of splendid character.

68 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

I will venture to say that your employer is equally good to you if
you are trying to be fair with him. I have nothing to say against the
employee who is doing his duty in an honorable vocation. I say, “Stand
by your employer and give him your best efforts, and remember, you will
never receive a good salary until you earn it.” In case your salary is not
large enough to supply the comforts you desire for your family, don’t be-
come discouraged. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” I am
sure that my experience may be an object lesson to you. I would not
advise you to resign your position and expect to get rich by keeping a
few hens. I would suggest that you start in a small way. Buy the best
stock or eggs you can afford. Don’t try to succeed by buying a five-dollar
trio and putting them into an expensive pen. Better buy good stock—if
you have to keep them in a piano box for the first year.

Poultry Business Offers Grand Opportunity

After you get started it is an easy matter to improve your buildings
and add to them as your business grows. I believe there is no business
under the sun that offers such grand opportunities as the poultry busi-
ness. Many a man packs his belongings and travels far away looking
for opportunity when there are golden opportunities rapping at his door.
I know of no business that pays as large dividends on the capital invested
as the chicken business. It affords the busy city man much recreation
after his hard day's work is over in the shop or office. It gives profit-
able employment to the man whose health is impaired and who is not fit
for strenuous life that he was accustomed to in his younger days. Many
a good housewife has found the chicken business a great help in assisting
her invalid husband in making a living. Many a mortgage has been paid
off a home by the husband raising chickens before and after working
hours and at the same time enjoying pleasant recreation,

Pepful Poultry for Pale People

It has been astonishing to me to note the number ot men and women
who have been burning the candle of health at both ends. The demands of
the modern world are so insistent—the speed at which we must travel to
keep up with the procession so rapid—that many are the tired bodies ‘and
the worn-out minds consigned to the rack daily. Scores of my friends
and acquaintances are bordering on the brink of physical and nervous
breakdown.

I believe that there is in this country, a definite turning of thousands
of men and women who have been negligent of the Great Outdoors to-
ward the humble, but productive hen. This interest in poultry has proven
of inestimable benefit in the matter of restoring the glow of health to
their bodies and the relief of an absorbing hobby to their minds. The
care of a few chickens—of sufficient pep, energy and vitality to challenge
one’s attention—is, I believe, a very practical solution to the problem of
flagging health and spirits.

ON A TOWN LOT 69

CHAP THR x Li

Cutting the Cost of Living with Chickens
I HAVE had, during the years of my experience as a

practical poultry dealer, thousands of letters that
testify to the ability of the hen to put a big dent in,
the cost of maintaining a home and family. People
have written me that with the assistance of a few
laying hens they have been able to afford little luxu-

ries of life otherwise impossible. The following let-
ters are chosen as representative of the tributes that
thousands of families have paid to the American hen.
“The birds I bought of you certainly have the system of helping to

beat the High Cost of Living. They can do more, on less feed than any
other bird I know.”— and this—

“Here is the statement of the money I have made from the sale of
stock in a single year from the pen purchased from you.

Saputl lets sae eisai eae oes see es oe eee $ 20.00
49 pullets and 1] rooster ~..:...s.-:. 0. -nea eo: 150.00
SATO OSLE Tere ee ieee ete nosy: rele ra eee ooo eestor 8.00
Young roosters to market .................04. 72.00

Mo tal eae ok eee eee eee am $250.00

I still have 69 pullets, all very fine layers. In addition I have $100
cash profit on hand from the sale of eggs.”

Such letters are eloquent examples of the body-blows that the hen
is dealing the excessive cost of foodstuffs.

Every Backyard a Poultry Park

It would be interesting to know the actual number of backyard poul-
try enthusiasts who have sought refuge from the storm of rising prices
within the protection of an ordinary hen-house. And they are finding it
too! No census of these back-lotters has ever been attempted, but it is
certain that the number has increased by leaps and bounds ever since the
cost of living took to performing astonishing aerial feats. Getting away
from. the congested centers of population to the districts where there is
actually room to turn around, one will find almost as many backyard
flocks as there are backyards.

Why have all these people taken to the raising of poultry?

The answer is apparent. They have found in chickens an effective

70 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

weapon against mounting costs. As a matter of fact, when one takes
into consideration the small space and the limited capital required to
create a poultry park and equip it with a group of laying hens, such a
condition is readily understandable. It is no wonder that thousands have
accepted the challenge of the cackle and have turned it into the softer
music of pleasure and profts.

A small poultry yard means the production of an article of desirable
food at a cost considerably below that of the market—and as a rule of
infinitely superior quality. Eggs can take the place of expensive meats.
They are just as nourishing and much more healthtui. [| have never
been surprised that more and more people are turning toward the laying
hen, as a partial solution at least, of their particular income and expense
problem.

Proft in Table Scraps

Many poultry raisers, in their efforts to produce eggs economically, go
too far. They seem to expect their fewls to thrive and to lay on scraps
from the table alone. I am reminded of the story of the old Scotchman
who complained that just as his cow was getting used to its diet of saw-
dust—‘“it up and died”! Seriously though, it is remarkable how far table
scraps will go, if the grain rations are not curtailed too radically. Potato
parings, trimmings from vegetables, crumbs, bits of meat—almost anything
from the table that is clean and unspoiled—will be relished by the hens.

One of the chief delights of the backyard park is fresh eggs. Think
of the joy of having on your table every day—nice fresh eggs gathered
from your own poultry plant. Think of having eggs that you can depend
upon as strictly fresh—laid one day and eaten the next! And then, just
for a moment, try to conjecture the age of the eggs you ate recently in a
restaurant, or purchased at the corner store. No wonder that people who
have once tasted the fresh products of their own poultry park never will-
ingly return to the eating of eggs of uncertain age!

Another of the pleasures—and the profits—of even a small adventure
in poultry is the occasional chicken dinner. Fed on clean, wholesome
food, these sweet-meated broilers and fryers are so superior to the pale,
anemic-looking specimens hanging in the markets that they should not be
sold under the same name. And a chicken dinner affords a welcome and
economical relief from expensive roasts and steaks.

The Economical Cold Pack Method

Many poultry raisers have taken up enthusiastically with the idea of
canning the fowls for consumption at some future date—thus saving the
cost of feeding the birds until the occasion demands a “real meal.” This

ON A TOWN .LOT 71
method of cold pack canning, as recommeinded by government experts, I
here give for what it is worth:

Cut up the birds and take off the skin. Remove as many of the
large bones as possible, especially breast and leg bones, as they take up
too much room in the jars. Pack the meat tightly in quart cans. Fill
jar with cold water and add one teaspoonful of salt. Put the jars in the
washboiler, fill with cold water to the neck of the cans, and sterilize for
three hours after beginning to boil. The tops of the jars should be put on
loosely when placed in the boiler and tightened when removed.

Giblets and bones are boiled for soup stock, in just enough water to
cover. Remove all the bones, allowing only the meat to remain in the
soup. To each quart jar of stock, add a teaspoonful of salt, one-quarte1
cup of rice and a couple of stalks of celery cut fine. Sterilize in the
same way as chicken.

There are Chickens—and Chickens

In addition to the profit involved, there is a genuine pleasure and
satisfaction in keeping gocd poultry. Note that I say good poultry. |
doubt very seriously whether anyone can experience a tremendous amount
of gratification in a fiock of nondescript scrubs. Nothing in such a flock
can call for admiration. It is impossible to work up much enthusiasm
over a collection of birds that are as variegated in color, shape and size
as the aggregation of animals that inhabit a circus menagerie—nor can
anything like pleasing results in the way of profits be gained from them.

On the other hand, there is a definite pleasure in working with a little
flock—or a big one—in which every single bird is of a distinct type, with
color, shape, size and markings true to the standards of a recognized breed.
That is why I have always appealed to beginners to accept only a first-
class strain of an established breed. In the long run—and it won't take
very long either—standard stock will prove the more profitable. A flock
of handsome, alert hens will command more attention and receive better
care than an assortment of mismatched fowls that never make an appeal
to the pride of the owner.

Even at the risk of seeming too insistent, I cannot emphasize the 1m-
portance of the careful selection of good stock enough. It is here that
most beginners fail. They seem to think that almost anything that can
cackle will produce eggs in abundance. Let me say right here that the
only money in chickens, and the only real economy in the selection of a
breed, is in first-class stock.

Read this extract from a letter—typical, in the experience it de-
scribes, of hundreds of other beginners. It is evident that the writer of

72 $4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR

the letter had a sense of the ridiculous but the seriousness that underlies
it all is apparent.

“Yes, I made the usual mistake. I had a notion that all this stuff
handed out by professional poultry raisers about selecting only the very
best of stock was more or less bunk. So I thought that I would show
them up with results I intended to get from my just ordinary, everyday
chickens.

I was nothing if not persistent. I tried to tease and then to force
profits out of them. I fed them on feeds guaranteed to make them lay
or kill them. I used to do everything for their physical comfort and con-
venience except actually tuck them in bed. Somewhere I had read—‘If
you would have eggs, keep your flock happy’—and so I made it a rule
never to go near the hen-house unless I were whistling some cheerful,
contagious tune.

Yes, I got eggs, but not enough. They were few and far between.
I found myself boarding a perfectly healthy gang of slackers. Whenever
one of them turned out an egg, the whole flock felt entitled to a vacation
for a week. And they took it! I worried about those hens until I began

to cackle when I woke up in the morning, before I gave them up as a bad
job.

Finally I decided that I couldn't do much worse, so I got rid of my
star boarders and took the advice of you professional poultry men. Per-
haps your advertising had given me the impression of reliability. At any
rate, | bought a setting of “Famous” eggs, and Mr. Sheppard, you fellows

were right! I want to say that—”
I won't finish the letter because this book is not advertising any par-

ticular strain of poultry. I will simply add that if you are after eggs—
and most poultry men are—be sure to buy a strain with a record as con-
sistent layers the year around.

Chickens as Children’s Pets

Mrs. Sheppard and myself have hundreds of friends in American
cities and towns who keep poultry, not for their own particular profit,
but for the pleasure they and their children derive from the feathered
beauties as pets. Every normal boy and girl delights in the care of pets,
and the average child will readily take to chickens. They like to feed them,
to watch them, to gather the eggs.

I venture the opinion that where the percentage of home pets in a
community is high, the proportion of bad boys is low. Give a boy some

ON TA TOWN LOT 73

pleasant, constructive occupation, such as the keeping of poultry—encourage
him with good stock—and the chances are that he will grow up along
normal, desirable lines. He will have neither the time nor the inclination
to loiter around cigar stores.

The Time is “Now”!

Occasionally people come to me and say, “Mr. Sheppard, when is
the best time to begin keeping poultry?” and I usually tell them that any
time but “too late” is a good time to start in. Whenever one is smitten
with the fever, and the cluck of your neighbor’s broody hen or the vigor-
ous crow of a husky rooster sounds like the sweetest music ever made—
then ts the time!

For a feeling of genuine enthusiasm is the “without which nothing”
of poultry success. A downright liking for chickens will go a long ways
toward making the possible difficulties and disappointments seem insig-
nificant. Couple with this enthusiasm a liberal sprinkling of just ordinary
common sense and you have the simplest and the most effective recipe for
profitable and pleasureable poultry success of which I know.

As I have said before, don’t expect the latest word in fashionable
coops and equipment to lay eggs. You will learn that fine hen-houses will

not feed the birds, neither should you be too penurious in the housing of
your flock. A good fowl deserves the protection of a substantial, well-
ventilated house, warm and free from drafts in the winter, anything less
than that will prove expensive. My advice would be this: Buy the best
stock you can afford, and then, in the matter of adequate protection, let
your conscience be your guide!

One thing more. I hope sincerely that you have not only enjoyed the
recital of my experiences but that you may profit thereby. You will find,
as I have, that there are infinite possibilities for pleasure in the keeping
o.1 good, standard laying stock—and rather startling returns in profits.

And never was there a better time to begin than right now!

74 $4223.00' PROFIT’ IN ONE YEAR

“A LITTLE JOURNEY AMONG ANCONAS”

There has been a considerable and growing demand for a complete
book on Anconas. A book that goes back to the Origin (so far as can
be determined) of these birds, traces their history, characteristics,
habits and lays bare the expert observations of people who have
studied poultry for years and made profit from them.

Such a book has been written—some of my friends who have looked
over the manuscript tell me ‘as interestingly as a good novel”—it has
been published with many illustrations (hoth photographic and with
accurate sketches) and is now ready for distribution.

It is complete and technical in its fact value but written so as to be
readily comprehended by the student. $1.00 postpaid. Special prices
on class room quantities.

H. CECIL SHEPPARD
Berea, Ohio

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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