A grape covered arbor, trellised berries of several varieties, a wee strawberry bed and a garden plot. Just over the orchard fence should be the yard for a dozen, or so, hens to consume the kitchen scraps, and adjoining the hen yard, a small plot of alfalfa, or Ladino clover from which a bit should daily be cut and thrown over to the egg-mills. Prepared hen food is available at any of the several poultry markets in Corning. Thus we gather eggs that are beyond suspicion for cake, custard, ham, eggnog, and shampoo. And, aside from the intrinsic value and the food pleasure that Biddy tenders, her song is far from unpleasant to the human ear, and her exultant declaration that she has just made her economic contribution to the family larder is a welcome sound to mortal ears.
Most homes keep a Jersey, some a goat.
Each fills an important niche in the domestic commissary. SOme day you may fall for the urge to trek to California. When you do, come to Corning and the Maywood Colony, and look up this old, bald boy who, for 45 years, has held this fort and happily located a multitude of home-seekers. But, as much as I desire to build a bigger community here, I do not wish to do so at the sacrifice or expense of any one. My general advice is that if you are feeling well and doing well where you are, don't move.