Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
Selecting the Breed.

For the novice on town lot or su-
burban acre I would suggest one of the
American breeds proba bly, best suit
ed to his needs, as in his case the color
Of the eggshell will make no material
difference and the birds are OF good
size when he wishes to dispose of them.
The surplus cockerels and old hens can
be sold to the butcher, the netghbors
or eaten on the home table, and IN this
way will pay all the expense of raising
the pullets and. perhaps, nttle more.
Where eggs for commercial purposes
are to be shipped to the New york or
some other large city market, single
comb White Leghorns stand supreme.
Nearly all the large egg farms nave
White Leghorns and they are bred in
larger numbers than all other breeds
combined, being essentially an egg
laying fowl.
The American breeds - Plymouth
Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds,
etc, are what is termed the general
purpose breeds, being alike good as
egg producers and for table poultry.
There are some twenty varieties, SO one
can have ample choice as to color. etc.
The equipment required will depend
on the number of fowls it is designed
to keep, the amount of money TO be
expended and the land available. Quite
flock of hens can be kept on a small
area where strict cleanliness is OBJ
served. A flock of dozen hens can be
kept in small, portable. ready-built
house. but where one owns his nome 1t
is well to put up permanent building
that will answer for all time. While it
should be neat in appearance there is
no need for its being expensive; make
the construction light but strong. The
sides and roof can be of cheap lumber,
covered with prepared roofing, but for
appearance the front should be of nov
city siding, painted. A good size is
1924 feet, which is sufficient for 100
hens. For smaller flock partition may
be built Through the house, making
can be grown, feed kept, etc. Then,
should it be desired to enlarge the
plant, the building is ample. A house
Of this size size can be built on most
town lots, and while small yard is
desirable it is not necessary, as hens
may be kept confined to the house con-
tinually. In this case it should have a
large opening in the front. to give
the birds outdoor conditions at all
times. Growing stock must have an
outside yard. but healthy chicks can be
grown in limited quarters where the
ground is kept clean by frequent spad-
ing, and they are given plenty of green
food.
Diversified Farming.
In most cases where studies on the
profits of farming have been made.
particularly in the Oldest agricultural
districts of the country, such studies
indicate that the most successful farms
are those which have from two to four
major sources of income: i. e., they
have a well balanced and diversified
business In certain instances it NAV
pay better to have only one enter
prise, but usually when one crop pays
much better than all others the pro
duction of it increases rapidly and
soon the price falls to the point where
other crops or products are equally as
Inv 10 Diversified
confused with farming where there is
q little of everything and not much
of anything. Either extreme lessons
the chances of success. When the
price Of certain crops is very low then
live stock usually becomes desirable.
However, II the returns per animal are
poor, cash crops, even at low price,
are essential. well balanced BUSH
ness insures against losses and pro-
vides a much better utilization Of the
labor and equipment.