The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-12-01
AGRICULTURAL.
The Farmer and His Hen,

The farmer in many cases does not
know what a treasure he has in his hen.
She may not be quite as valuable as the
tabled goose that laid the golden eggs,
but all the same the hen is treasure.
Whether she will prove treasure to
farmer depends on the care he takes of
her. 1t all depends on the hen and
the man who owns her. If she is
scrub thing, poor runt of creature,
she probably will not pay for her keep
ing, much less prove a treasure. Or
the farmer may get finely bred hen,
one that 10 a veritable treasure, and
then may 30 neglect her that she will
turn out no sort of good. A good hen
with good care will prove herself to be
good paying investment on any farm.
AS we have passed through the country,
we have watched the poultry quarters,
and you can tell a good deal about
whether man is succeeding with his
hens by the way he treats them. If
you see a neat, warm, well lighted, well
cared for hen house, we may be sure
that man takes interest in his hens and
may we'll expect that his hens are treas
ures to him. But when you see the
hens standing on one leg in the snow
or roosting on the moving machine or
hay rack, you may be sure that that
man is not getting rich out of his hens.
1t is with poultry as with everything
else, you cannot get anything from it
without care. If no care is taken of
the fowls, no profits will be derived
from them. There is very little salts.
faction in this kind of poultry keeping,
especially when the profits are figured
up, for there will be none.
But this need not be the case. There
are thousands of dollars made from
hens by farmers each year, and every
one ought to know how to so manage
his hens as that he may get good profit
from them. In many families there
are children or young people who could
get good income by taking care of the
poultry on the farm. One of the great
est hindrances to profitable poultry
keeping on the farm is the lack of time
for their proper care. 1t is true that
sometimes hens do bring in profit
without much care, but it is poor rule
to follow. To lay well, hens must have
proper food and enough of it, but not
too much. The chickens must be
Matched early, must be kept from ver-
min, must be kept growing, and there
are great many things which must be
done to insure success in this line of
farming. For the poultry is a part of
the farm or should be and should bring
in as great an income according to the
money invested as any other part of the
farm business.
If the farmer votes the hen nui-
sance, if he hates the sight of her, if he
treats her 30 that she is veritable nui-
sance, if she is always scratching up
the garden, always getting in where
she does not belong, always hiding her
nest and spelling her eggs or coming
off with late broods of chickens, why
then you need not expect that farmer
will make any money from his hens.
But if the farmer loves his hens,
makes pets of them, has nice house
for them. keeps them where they be-
long, Qor hens have to be kept in their
place, they will not keep themselves,
but will go where they get something
to eat,) such farmer will have success
with his hens. They will pay him bet
ter than any other stock. If the farmer
makes money from his hen, he must
keep her comfortable, study her tastes,
and study to suit them. Then the hen
will become to him treasure indeed,
not thing to be "shooed" at every
opportunity, but pet and prize.