The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-10-26
Hard Facts.

Nv e feau OF mems tnaJ lay from ten
to twelve dozen eggs in year, of hens
that lay in winter, when eggs are worth
anywhere from 25 to 35 cents dozen,
of hens that pay their owner a clear
profit of 81 per head each year, but
mine don't do any of these things.
Why?' and the "anxious inquirer"
looked at me as if he thought were
in some way responsible for the short
comings of his hens. I told him why,
aud now | am going to tell you the
same thing. Yes, l am talking of
''somebody in particular these "few
remarks" are aimed right at every
reader who makes the same complaint
that the "anxious inquirer" made.
To begin with, you don't keep the
"best breed' of fowls. You haven't
got it through your head that the i'm
proved varieties of fowls are more
profitable than the common kind; so
you still keep the old "dung hills" and
you don't even keep thu best of them.
When the surplus chickens are sold off
in the fall, the biggest and earliest
pullets are sold, because they will
weigh more than the later ones :;
old hens are kept year after year,
until they die of old age, and as for
the roosters, we'll, when you take no.
ton that the old roosters have lived
long enough, you "save out" young
rooster to take his place. Instead,
however, Of saving the strongest and
most vigcroup-the one that chooses"
all the rest-you keep an inferior one,
Just because you like his color, and he
is ''kind o peaceable like"
"Come now,' puts in the wise man,
you are over-drawing that" Not a
bit of it. Like a good many others
who don't know anything about it, you
have an idea that because nearly every
agricultural paper contains the adver.
Using cards of breeders and thorough
bred poultry. the majority of farmers
have improved their old "dunehilp'
fowls off the earth, and keep either
pure-bred or high grade fowls. But
sit aia't SC" The maj ority of
farmers still keep only the commonest
kind OF common fowls, and the queerest
thing about it is that many Of these
same farmers have improved all their
other stock. They can see that pure.
bred or high-grade cows, sheep or pigs
are more profitable than common ones,
but when it comes to poultry, they
cant see it"
Another reason why yours don't pay
like the hens you read about, is because
you have no decent place for them to
work in. You probably have comfort
able places for the horses, cows and
pigs-even the dog has comfortable
kennel-but your hens eithef.live out of
doors altogether, or else are allowed to
keep house in some old shed, or old
building that is not considered fit for
anything else.
Here the wise man speaks up again,
and says: 81 think you must be
mis-"
No I am not mistaken either. I am
of an observing "tuIn of mind" espec.
tally where poultry matters are con-
cerned, and 1 have, in my trip through
various parts of the country, observed
that the farms where there were very
poor poultry.houses, or none at all,
greatly outnumbered those where the
poultry had suitable accommodation. On
one trip, and that, too, through an Ohio
country, where the farmers are general
ly "free-handed," l found 81 farms
that had not poultry.house fit to be
seen, against five that had good accom-
odations for their fowls. On nearly all
the 81 farms the other buildings were
good. On one farm, where the fowls
were in about the poorest apology for a
house that l ever saw, there was an
$500 barn; and on another where there
was no poultry.house at all, there was
dog kennel that probably cost $40 at
least.
An Ohio breeder told me that he has
often ridden whole day without see-
ing more than two or three decent