Smyrna times., 1886-10-06
Chicken Raising.

Lovers of chickenometry could not
do better than pay a visit to the pOul-
try wards of Leonard ReVis, at Duck
Creek, and see the way in which he is
preparing to manipulate the poultry
market the coming Spring. Mr.. ReYis
has laid his plans quietly and is now
nearly ready to launch his enterprise
on the high seas of uncertainty, always
trying to steer clear of such dangerous
rocks as cholera, rOOp, gapes, chicken
lice and negroes with appetites for de
chickin' dat blooms in de Spring, ha
hap For the latter he is making the
most extensive preparations in the way
OF traps and trips attached to bells i'll
his room connected by wire with the
doors and windows of his poultry
houses so that q colOred midnight
prowler can not come within ten feet
of the houses without word being sent
up to his room and then woe betide
the unlucky thief, for Mr. Revis ex-
hibited large rifle pistol of heavy cal
ibre and upon being asked how far it
would send n ball said that if he bent
the barrel it would shoot around the
world, so it is easy to see what chance
a dishonest white or COlOred man
would have.
Mr.. Revis has four houses in use for
the different stages of the enterprise.
The building for the old fowls is 20X90
feet. Attached to this is the house for
the hens to lay-12xl2 feet-which
contains about 40 nests. This house is
connected with the tirst-named by
box run, which is convenient to the
1 i. hoN
need only walk from one house to the
other through the short box run.
Near this is house 10X16 feet which
he intends to use to break hens from
setting, as his hens do the laying, his
| incubatOrs the Matching and he attends
to the clucking department. Between
! this and the house for young chickens
he has / 400 square feet of hot-beds.
The building for young chickens is
| 1880 feet, 8 feet high front and feet
! high in the rear, well lighted by II
! large windows, having six ventilators
in the roof Twenty feet is partitioncd
| off at one end for chicks till a week
| old when they are turned into the sew
enty foot part of the building, where
they remain until they weigh from one
to two pounds, when they 90 TO mar
ket and sell for from 40 to IS cents per
pound The building is lined with tar
paper, sheathed with plowed and
grooved pine boards, gutta pcrcha felt
roofing, painted in a tasty manner and
presents an attractive appearance.
The building is heated by three large
stoves, connected with lined piping
running the whole length of the floor
for the chicks to warm their feet on in
cold weather. Besides this the build
ing faces south and has five large
yards for the chicks to run in and tw o.
thirds Of the earth lloorin the building
is sowed in grass The building was
done by Weldon & Humphreys, con-
tractors and builders, of this town.
His Matching department is in the
cellar under his store and contains five
Eureka incubatOrs, each of these
enormous hens having a capacity OF
308 eggs, or a total setting capacity OF
$40 eggs, and he has accommodation
in his new house for 5000 chickens
He will keep about 250 old fowls on the
yard to supply the incubators, and
after experimenting for three years
says he can raise chickens by thi,
method at from 81 to cents per pound
thereby realizing a handsome prof
from early Spring prices. The tota
amount invested in the enterprise i:
81 200, and Mr.. Revis is deserving o
success.