Williams news., 1914-11-26

Youn
 There is no part of farming more 1 fascinating to the average boy than the care of poultry. At the same time | there is no branch that offers him a better chance of success. Even very | small boy can manage a small flock | of chickens successfully.
 It does not cost much to get start | ed-another item in favor of the poul- | try business. The equipment need not | cost much, and, in fact, most of the | needed GOODS and fixtures can be built 1 by almost any ambitious boy with very little expenditure outside of his owQ work. Then small outlay for eggs, or a trif1e larger one for stock, and he is ready for business.
 There are several ways of starting flock The best plan is the one that best suits the pocket, the circum- stances, and the time of year. The cheapest way is, of course, to begin with sitting of eggs, or perhaps two or three, and work up gradually from that. But where one wishes to be- gin in the fall-a plan that is, for some reasons, preferable-it is much better to- buy a few fowls outright. It is easier, too, to learn how to take care of larger fowls than it is to start with little fellows the first thing. One can also get started sooner with mature fowls than if he begins with eggs.
 The most important consideration is, of course, the breed to be kept. In an article so brief as this it is impo5- | sible to compare the different kinds of fowls, more than to say that they are divided into two principal groups, those kept for eggs, and those kept for broilers or other sale stock. It | all depends upon the market which will pay the best. The layers are sell | dom as good for raising frying and broiling chicks as some of the larger breeds, as they usually weigh less at the same age, though maturing even more quickly in egg-producing.
 It is a common saying that there is more in the feed than in the breed" This is very true, for any breed, prop erly fed and cared for, wilA be sure | to give good returns, if the strain is good. And right here is where the | fowls for the flock do not be satisfied with anything but pure-blooded fowls. Of course they cost little more than the mongrel stock too often found on the farms, but they are enough better, from every point of view, to justify the added expense, especially in lay ing the foundation for a permanent | flock.
 It is safe enough, then, to keep any breed that you like, so long as your fowls are from good strains and full blooded. Nearly everyone has some preference, either of size, color, or other qualities, and there are none of the standard breeds but what have much to recommend them. So if you wish to keep Brown Leghorns, or Buff Orpingtons, or Black Minorcas, you will be perfectly safe in doing SO, no matter what some one else may say in favor of other breeds. But when you have once adopted a particular kind, stick to it. Do not change, at least until you have given it several years trial. Usually the fault, if there is any, is in care or handling, not in the fowls themselves.
 When you are selecting your fowls, insist on having nothing but good, young birds. Throw out all the old hens; they have seen their best days.
 If you buy in the fall, try to get early
 spring-hatched bullets if you can, but
 do not take anything over eighteen
 months old, at the farthest. To mate with the spring bullets you should have yearling male, but if your hens are over year old a cockerel from the spring hatch is better.
 III Before you try to pick out your fowls, study up well on the charac- teristics of the breed you have chosen. If the hens are to weigh five pounds, standard weight, see that yours come pretty near to that figure. If the male bird is shown in the standard to have a five-pointed comb, see that the one you pick out has that kind. If the wattles should be pure white, do not put in a bird whose wattles are streaked with red. Look with special care to the shape of your hens Get those that are just as near like the pictures you see of that particular breed as you can. If you study the poultry papers well, and notice the illustrations of prize-winning fowls you will soon learn the qualifications you want If you cannot get birds that are exactly right, come just as near tc it as you can, and then breed up to a higher standard.
 Read everything on the poultry