Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-10-10

| My grandfather, who was fond of hi
old fireplace, used to say dryly, wheI
some one insisted that stove woult
save half the wood, "Then get two, anc
save the whole of it," There is a fallac,
not as apparent as this, but almost al
serious, in the way people mediate go
ing into the poultry business. Mr.
Brown, being interested in chickens, ha'
experimental for some years, and hnall
his flock attracts the attention OF his
neighbors. Really, Brown is doing
well with hens" says Jones to Smith
"He tells me he made 800 net last year,
and he has something less than hun
dred hens"
"Well, l never had any luck with
'em," says Smith. Cant bother with
chickens"
Il dunno" returns Jones. al don't
like fussin' with few of 'em myself.
Don't seem to amount 10 nothin'. But.
as says to Brown, says |, III you can
make like that why not go into the
business? Pays better than anything else
you're doing, don't it?' But Brown amt
got much capital to go ahead with, l
guess, and he takes it slow. Now, my
idea is to buy, say, three or four hun
dred. The boys could look after 'em a
good deal, of course, and / could afford
TO put in considerable time when the
farm work wasn't too pressin'. That is,
II 60 into it at all-might as well do
somethin' worth while, / say"
That is not exaggerated in the least.
One of nv neighbors started in enthu-
siastically with a collection OF various
breeds and the avowed intention OF
keeping a thousand hens. She liked
chickens. But alas! hen houses need to
be kept clean. She did not know how
hard it was to do this, and now she has
perhaps twenty, kept after the old
fashioned hit or miss style. Another
friend said to me: "Why, you could
keep five hundred easily enough,
couldn't you? Ten pens of fifty each. 1t
would not be much trouble to throw in
the feed to Ten pens, If they were con-
venieutly arranged" NO." l said, lit
wouldn't"
remembered how when l was small
it seemed to me that after the breakfast
dishes were washed and the kitchen was
swept aud the beds made, the work was
all done, and / wondered little what
kept mother so busy all the time | was
out at play. My friend understood poul-
try keeping about as well as my childish
intelligence comprehended the art OF
keeping house. Somebody wrote little
story many years ago in which there was
very stout gentleman unused to physi-
cal exercise. As he was being rowed
across the river by sturdy country
youth he watched the graceful sweep OF
the oars and remarked, 81 had no idea
rowing was so easy as that. 1t looks
like no work at ALL" So he tried it, and
after he bad been pulled up from the
bottom of the boat and assisted to his
seat again and the youth had gone back
to the oars his ideas had changed.
II does look easy just to feed ten pens
of fowls-and, of course, gather the
eggs and do a few other things. But
what the beginner should remember is
he doesn't know how to do those few
other things (unless he has some one
who does know at hand to teach him)
until he has learned by experience. Ii
he starts in with large flock there are
sever2l things he is likely to do; for
example, to get the hen houses filled
with vermin before he knows there are
any there; to lose quantities OF his chick
ems by rats, weasels, skunks, hawks or
other lovers of sweet young chickens; to
get some contagious disorder among
them; to overfeed and underexercise
them until the egg production stops, and
to make other of the innumerable blum
ders which can easily be made. Now, II
vermin get in it is fearful task to get
rid of them, to say nothing of the tenn
porary damage to the egg record and to
the hatching of chicks. If the flock Is
small this difficulty may be overcome
with ease, compared to the struggle with
a large number. With a couple OF hun
dred chicks it is hard to keep the count
and be sure none have disappeared; with
as many hens the beginner is not likely
to notice few sick ones, or that a mum
Der are growing too fat; or to have any
idea as to which are the best layers
May Ellis, Roxbury, VT, in Tribune
Farmer.