Connecticut western news., 1889-10-16
RAISING CHICKENS.
THE PROCESS EASY, BUT NOT
 ALWAYS PROFITABLE.

THE PROCESS EASY, BUT NOT
 ALWAYS PROFITABLE.
 Don't Let Pebbles Get Into the Incubator
 Indicator.
 "When you buy eggs at Christmas and spring chickens in June you about conclude that Cresus made his money in the poultry business" said a gentle man well known in social circles the other day. His name, said the Washington Post, is suppressed for sufficient reasons. "But it all depends. If you know the trade and can keep thieves cut of the chicken roost, all right. If you don't you had better shovel dirt for living. In 1880 l resigned. from the Signal Service out in California. General Hagen was right mad, for had just been sent there with the expectation that would stay in the service. But he was mistaken. Another young man and l thought we could see big money in raising poultry fo, the San Francisco market. So we hired small place about eight miles out and started in. We secured the country for setting hens, and had scores of them roasting on clutches of eggs all marked with charcoal on one side, so the hens would know enough to turn them over every day. Eggs won't hatch even, you know, if they aren't turned over every twenty-four hours. It's so, but don't know why.
 "We had hens in half barrels, hens in boxes, hens in coops, hens in the house, hens everywhere. Partner and just counted up wealth till we couldn't rest. We figured out from what eggs we had set, allowing half were roosters, and that the bullets would only lay 100 eggs each the first year, that by the end of the second year we would have 387, 1000 hens, 4,0O0, ,o00 chickens, 25, 1000 dozen eggs day and a net income of $500 ,000 per annum. Some of the eggs were bad, occasionally weazel would kill hen, and once in Q while biddy would throw up the sponge before the twenty first round was finished: but we had very good luck and the chickens began to sprout pretty fast.
 "We had nearly two hundred shucked and peeping around forty hens tied to stakes with pieces of red tape, when partner saw an advertise ment of an incubator. He sent and got circular. It told how the Egyp- tians had raised millions of chickens for over four thousand years from matching ovens. And now America. the circular continued in a splendid peroration, 'again leads the world with the greatest invention of the age, q self-operating incubator
 "The circular had cut of the in- cubator, with eggs showing through the slats, and hundreds of chickens jumping around. It was great treat to watch them. Partner insisted on having one and l objected, but he stuck to it, and finally gave in and he got one for $75. The first batch of eggs-it held 4o0-got boiled hard in the machine by pebble getting into the indicator. We ate hard-boiled eggs for weeks. The second lot came on finely, much to my surprise, and when the little fellows were born, 15O a day, partner increased our profits to an even million. enthused a good deal myself. It did look easy.
 "The chickens did right well. We had Chinaman to do the heavy work. Partner kept the books. He didn't know much bookkeeping, but he would figure out surplus like an orator talking about the treasury.
 "I used to sit under white umbrella and watch the little puff-balls cut up. One would find a worm, another would catch hold and pull; then half a dozen would catch on one side and the other, and they would have a regular tug of war. It always ended by the worm turning peacemaker. He would come ill two -d divide to keep the peace.
 cone day l saw chick standing ill the sun on one leg. His neck was drawn in and his eyes were closed His feathers didn't seem to fit. Every few seconds he would reach out his neck and screw it around as if he hac on collar which chafed him or else was trying to swallow a quinine pill The next day he was dead and dozer more took to standing on one leg ano swallowing quinine. Their funera took place within twenty-four hours and hundred more puff-balls tried te swallow grief and stand on one leg. | was the pip or the roup or some other infantile hen disease. Matters were serious. We had over 4 ,000 chickens