The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-02-26
BY PROF. FREDERIC II. STONEBURN
nOULTRY-KEEPING appeals to
u different people in different

~
y different people in different
ways. To some it offers an op-
portunity to make productive the>idle
city yard or village plot, adding to
the family income or reducing living
expenses; to others, chance to de-
yelop an Independent business which
Will yield good living and an oppor-
tunity to provide for future needs;
by still another class it is regarded
as a beautiful, interesting hobby, a
recreation, which takes one out of
doors and increases his efficiency in
his regular occupation.
Almost every one can arrange to
keep few fowls, provided they. are
sufficiently interested to induce them
to overcome the obstacles, if any,
which confront them. For a modest
beginning, but little land, capital and
time are needed, If the right start
is made the business may be devel-
oped as experience is gained and re-
suits warrant.
There are great many people who
are deeply interested in poultry hus-
bandry, who really have a weli-de-
veloped case of chicken fever" who
hesitate to begin actual work because
they lack the necessary land, time,
money or knowledge of the subject.
Let us discuss these in order.
The first is serious consideration,
but it affects only those living in
large cities, and as matter of it,,
only a portion of them. 1t Is true
that poultry-keeping is discouraged
in the thickly settled parts of large
towns and is even prohibited by law
in certain of them. If one is so To-
Gated he had better move to the out
skirts of the city, where house lots
are larger, or to the suburbs, where
plenty of space is available And at
the beginning one does not need a
very large plot of land. A backyard
of liberal size will comfortably accom-
modate goodly flock of fowls, GER
tainly as large as is required to sup
ply the home table or to be main
tanned as hobby.
Time.
The busy man who leaves home in
the morning and does not return until
evening has only limited amount of
time that he can devote to this work
But this is not the serious drawback
that it was few years ago. We now
have available perfected automatic
appliances for Matching, brooding,
feeding and watering poultry, ma
chimes which will do this work in a
most satisfactory manner with but
little attention on the part of the at
tendant One can now run quite a
plant, even if absent from it the great
er part of the time.
Money.
1t takes some ready money to pro-
vide accommodation for even small
flock and secure the birds themselves,
but If one is content to make be-
ginning in modest way, the neces-
sary expenditure amounts to very lit
tie. In very short time the fowls
should begin to pay all running ex-
penses of the little plant and return
something of profit, which may be
devoted to expansion or improvement
knowledge.
Knowledge and experience are
needed before any great success may
be expected. The former may be Sc
cured through reading authoritative
articles on the subject, from bulletins
issued by various Government insti-
tutions and from talking with sue
cessful pOultrymen. Many of our ag-
ricultural colleges offer short courses
In poultry husbandry and helpful cor
respondence courses are available
This series Of articles is designed to
give parctical at-tO-do-and-ho
to-do-it" information, each instalment
dealing with some seasonable subject.
The best way to gain the required
experience is to actually begin work
with the fowls, even if in the most
limited way. Mistakes must be ex-
pected, but the lessons thus learned
will be turned to good account in the
future.
Preparation.
So much for those who wish to