TH IS BOOK IS DED ICATED

T O A L L W H O A R E

INTERESTED IN INTENS IVE

PRODUCTION ON SMALL

ACREAGE— TO THOSE WHO

LOVE NATURE AND ENJOY

PLANTS AND AN IMALS

AND ESPEC IALLY TO THOSE

WH O C O N T EM P LAT E A

STATE OF H IGHER INDE

PENDENCE ON’

THE LAND .

Th e I n d i a n a H om estea d w h e re C h a r l es Wee ks s pen t h i s b oy h o od0

Egg Farmin g in Cal iforn ia

CHAPTER I .

Boyhood Days

Y earl iest recol lections are O f the hens my mother kept on the O ldfarm in I nd iana . Wel l do I remember the medley Of colors and

varieties i n ou r flock Of barnyard fowl . I played among them an d

always had my pets . I cal l to mind on e Old black hen that to mych i ld ish mind seemed almost human . My ch i ld ish fancy made me ach icken and I played ch icken un ti l the hens themselves looked uponme as on e Of them . HOW Often have I made a nest and sa t on i t l i keb iddy unti l my youth fu l patience was exhausted . Why , I even cou ldunderstand hen language and talk to them wi th as much understandingas they could talk to each other . When I cl ucked the whole flockwould come runn ing for the dain ty morsel W i thou t hesi tation . Hennature i s very in teresting to a boy and wel l I knew al l the moods andhabi ts Of biddy .

As I grew larger I natural ly had charge Of the setti ng hens in theSpr ing time , and the j oy Of bringing ou t the fi rs t brood Of fluffy ch icksi s beyond words . With ou r motley mongrel breeds i n those days thel i ttl e ch icks presen ted al l colors . Some were black as crows . Somehad a whi te spot on top Of the head wi th black back and breast . Somehad brown stri pes down the i r back . O thers were Spotted , or white orgrey or red .

I can seenow the crude !Loops I used to make by driv i ng sharpstakes In the grou nd a lon gside Of the garden fence and making l i ttlepens about three fee t sq uare in each Of which was a nest box and eachcovered wi th a shabby clapboard roof . As the hens became broody Itried them ou t i n thei r respective coops and i f they

!

se t”would place

the e ggs under them late i n the even ing . I tel l you l i fe was pretty fu l lfor a boy when these hens began to hatch ou t the most beauti fu l fluffych icks and they had thei r fi rst feed . Soon they would run ou tsideth rough the slatted fron t , ou t i n to the wide , wide world . With whatfatherly pride a boy watches the l i t tle ones scamper here and there i nsearch of i nsect l i fe . On e can si t for hours and watch them scurry andscratch and flop thei r l i ttle wings . They have no lessons to l earn , nodead language to deaden thei r an imal spi ri ts , bu t joy Of existence i scomplete . Thei r l i fework is al ready laid ou t and they accept i t glad ly .

Once the mother Of fourteen new hatched Ch icks d ied and theywere left orphans . My boyish ingenu i ty was exercised to know howto take care Of such a helpless fami ly . With the help Of my mother Imade a brooder wi th fel t strips hanging down for the l i t tle ones tonestl e i n . I t was not long before they accepted th is for thei r homeafter being shu t in between thei r first feeds . Soon they looked uponme as thei r foster mother . T O th is day I can remember noth ing thatgave me more pleasure than th is motherless brood Of ch icks . Theyfol lowed me al l around the farm j ust as i f I were the hen . I cl uckedto them and kept them together on our rambles after insects . T heyknew my cal l when I caugh t a grasshopper or cri cket for them . HOW

they would fal l over each other trying to get to my hand fi rst . Theywould fol low me ou t th rough the fields and be ready to j ump for theworms and bugs as I turned over each l i ttle board or c lOd .

They would eat crickets and grasshoppers best Of al l . Some bugsthey d id not l ike

,especial ly beetles . I soon learned which ! game

”

they l iked best and what fun i t was to fi l l them up and see them grow .

One day a rain came up suddenly and one became lost before I couldget them al l i n . When I found i t i t was hal f drowned . I took i t i nto the fire and tried to revive i t

,bu t i t peeped and peeped such a

pi ti fu l l i ttle cry that my heart ached,and in spi te Of care i t d ied . T O

my boyish mind i t seemed l ike on e Of my own ch i ld ren , and I criedmysel f to Sleep . Next morn ing my sister and I had a solemn funeralback beh ind the Old W oodshed . There we made a l i t tle grave andplaced the dead ch ick i n a l i ttle wooden box for a coffin and buried i twi th tears i n our eyes .

The balance Of th i s brood grew up to market Size and always kepttogether and fol lowed me al l that summer al l over the farm . I remember I was very busy In a big field along the h ighway one day turn ingover clods and chasing hoppers for the brood when some people passedby and stopped to see the hen boy wi th h is brood Of hal f grown ch icks .

They cal led me over to the road wi th my brood and marveled at thesigh t . T O my boyish imagination th i s was a great honor , and to th i sday I remember the pride I had for that brood Of ch icks .

One Of the keenest pleasures Of my boyhood days on that OldI nd iana farm was hun ting eggs . The boy that has never hunted eggson a real Old farm wi th barns

,and Sheds

,and straw stacks , and hay

fields Of timothy and clover has missed a great treat .

10

How clear i t al l comes back today , though I am as Old as my fatherwas then

,and over two thousand miles from that Old I nd iana home .

Again I take the egg basket from i ts accustomed place and start ou tto make the rounds Of the Old barns , and sheds , and wi th what an tici

pa tion ! What i f I should find a new nest wi th bushel s of eggs ! Whati f I should find a large double-yolk egg ! Here is a nest i n the horsetrough wi th a beauti fu l pink egg wi th l i t tl e wh i te speckse h r tha tmanhood days cou ld rave over a perfect th ing as a boy does over apink speckled egg . HOW carefu l ly i t i s placed in the basket away toon e side to Show mother what a beau ty . Then down deep in themanger among the Old cornstalks i s another nest wi th i ts treasure .

Then up to the sweet-scen ted hay mow and beh ind the beams and darkpassages under the roof we crawl , feel ing carefu l ly in every hole . Wecome ou t al l breath less wi th ! hay seed in ou r hai r” and spider websacross ou r face and take a few turns on the hay to shake the dust Off .

Then down to the Old straw stack with'

its pole Shed underneath andits long dark hole away back in where we play bear . I t takes gri t to

gO i n there for eggs where we have peopled i t SO Often wi th big bearsand th ings . Then we cl imb up over the sides Of the ‘old stack SO steepand high that we can hard ly keep from Sl id ing Off, and fol low aroundto the l i ttl e hole on the Side where biddy has a snug nest . Then wesl ide down , down to the soft bunch Of straw below , which takesou r breath .

Then back past the Old gimpson patch where the Old sawdust pi l eused to be we part the weeds and search for stolen nests , and to th isday I can smel l the fresh trampled weeds as we wade through them .

What exci temen t i f we find a ! new”nest wi th ! lots” Of eggs !

Then W hat a pleasure to gO to grandpa’

s Old farm place and hun tfor eggs where grandpa never though t Of looking . The big barns andsheds are SO strange and mysterious . What a world Of adven ture fora boy at grandfather

’

s place ! Grand father had guineas,and wi th what

a thri l l d id I hear the Old guinea at the noon hour set up that wel lknown cry that told where she had stolen her nest away down i n thehay field , and how carefu l ly I watched to see j ust where she flew fromSO that I migh t find the nest . A nest fu l l Of gu inea eggs away ou t i nthe hayfie ld i s .abou t the choicest treasure that a boy cou ld possiblyd iscover . The l i ttle brown ish poin ted eggs so un i form and perfec t fi l la boy

’

s wi ldest dreams for perfect eggs . I have stood long over a nestOf guinea eggs i n perfect ecstacy .

Grandfather gave me a setting Of gu inea eggs and how carefu l ly Icarried them home and placed them under the most rel iable Old hen ,and how patien tly I wai ted for them to come ou t , and how my hopeswent down when I found that they were not ou t on the twen ty-firstday . My hopes arose again when my mother told me that i t tooklonger to hatch guinea eggs than hen eggs .

HOW I danced wi th glee when the first l i t tle striped gu inea appeared .

Mothel! said that gu ineas were natural ly wi ld and that I could notexpect to tame them as I d id my c h ickens . But i t was not long ti l lthey would run far from thei r coop to meet me and pick the bugs andworms from my hand .

I th ink a baby guinea the sleekest,qu ickest , most lovable Of al l

young fowl . They are SO perfect and feather ou t SO young and fly

whi le they are SO tiny . HOW'

I wan ted to fly wi th them w hen theyarose and flew to the top Of ou r Old woodshed .

Then we had turkeys On that Old I ndiana farm when I was a boy .

O f al l the broods i t was considered the most d ifficul t to brood andraise turkeys . They seemed to resen t domestication and would notaccommodate themselves to ou r artfu l ways . I used to feed themcurds and bread and mi lk and humor them along ti l l they were ableto roam the fields , when they were back to thei r natural ways .

The easiest th ing to raise Of al l my boyhood fowl was the duck .

What a world Of satisfaction a boy gets ou t Of watch ing a brood Ofbaby ducks having thei r first swim . T O see them duck and splash andswim would start the most duti fu l boy to the

! Old swimmin ’ hole .

T O my boyish fancy the baby l i fe Of a duck seemed the most in teresting .

They took such a joy ,

j‘

n‘

l ivin g . They would waddle around throughthe bl ue grass and whi te clover wi th thei r heads low and necks stretchedlooking for i nsect l i fe and then beth ink themselves Of thei r swimmingpool at the corner Of the Old barn and al l make a break and lunge in tothe water and stand on thei r heads trying to feed from the bottom .

When I look back and th ink O f the keen , pure j oys Of boyhood dayson that Old Indiana farm among the barnyard fowl I feel almostresen tfu l that the breed ing Of fowls should become so much commercia l ized . Why could W e n ot breed them more for pleasure , j ust for thekeen j oy Of evolving perfect th ings . Now We make ou r bread andbu tter from producing large quan ti ties Of fowl . In th is commercialage we are rushed Off our feet from the sen timen tal to the cold plai nfacts Of earn ing an existence . L i ttle d id I th ink O f the dol lars mybroods would bring when rearing ch icks i n my boyhood days . I t wasfor the pure j oy and

‘

love O f i t .What a world Of pets I had On that Old I nd iana farm ! The boy

who has never known what i t i s to care for pets and love them andi nven t houses and coops and cages for them has missed much in l i fe .

I n memory I can even now see the most in timate pets Of wh ich I wasSO fond . My boyish dreams were O f a whole menagerie Of pets . Whatcurious devices I stud ied up for the comfort Of my pets . I n those daysth ere were large forests Of Oak and elm and h ickory and maple andbeech , and what a

‘

heaven for a barefoot boy ! My father was wel lversed i n the names and habi ts O f al l the plan t and an imal l i fe O f theforest , and much I owe to him for

' the deep love Of nature which Ipossess . I n th is fai ry- land forest I roamed and stud ied the bi rds andsqu i rrel s and flowers . The wi ld bi rds Of the forest had a wonderfu lfascination for me , and how wel l I knew thei r habi ts . I knew wherethei r nests were

'

hidden , and What a j oy to search for new nests andstand in admiration and awe watch ing the O ld bi rds care for ' theyoung . The robin bu i l t a nest Of mud and sticks , usual ly on thecorner Of an Old rai l fence . The Old snag in the clearing was the resortOf the woodpecker and the Old bare trunk was fu l l O f holes wh ich ledto the nest deeper in to the rotten wood . With an upward swoop thered head catches an ' i nsect i n the ai r and wi th period ical flapping Of

the wings moves i n wave- l ike motion over the cornfield toward the Oldsnag where the young at the l i ttl e round en trance se t up a wi ld cryfor the fOOd . HOW they j aw and scold over al l the O ld dead l imbs inthe forest ! I l ike the si len t forest at the noon hour when there i s

12

scarcely a sound save the sweet , sad note Of a tiny bi rd far away inthe elm boughs and another i n answer which reverberates th rough theleafy corridors Of the dense forest . Far away in the Old deaden ingwhere the su n sh ines SO hot. you can hear the rat-a - tat- tat Of thewoodpecker or sap-sucker . A turtle dove COOS plain tively from thedead l imb and makes you feel SO lonesome .

!The bob -white fi

raises s to

whizz to where some other ’s whistl e i s .

”The cat-bi rd and the j ay and

the blue-bi rd and the wren seemed to l ike ou r farm . I bui l t l i t tl e b i rdhouses and se t then on poles around our garden fence for the blue-bi rdsand wrens

,and year after year they would come back in the Spring

time and bui ld a nest i n the same place . The l i ttle wren always bu i l tits nest Of twigs SO th ick and heavy that i t could hard ly get themthrough the tiny door .

I had a mania for hun ting and studying the d ifferen t kinds O f b i rdnests . I t was always a marvel to me that each particu lar fami ly of

bi rds had i ts Own characteri sti c nest . I nsti nct seems to gu ide them inthe bu i ld ing Of thei r homes . They never worry over plans and newdesigns

,bu t accep t the fash ion as they find i t . They have no guess

work abou t how to l ive to get the most ou t Of l i fe . They accept themodes and customs of thei r ancestors and save much time to themselvesfor sheer enj oymen t O f l i fe in the very presen t . They have no past toforget

,no fu ture

‘

to plan , and work and dread over . They have nolong

,cold dead languages to pore over , perverting thei r minds from

the j oyfu l presen t wi th i ts wonders i n trees and flowers and sounds andsunl igh t and fresh ai r .

NO l essons to learn Of what to do and how to do , bu t accep t thepresen t and revel i n the mere del igh t Of a fu l l and heal thy existence inthe ways that thei r Creator laid ou t for them . Does the quai l wearyOf bu i ld ing her home on the ground under the tu ft Of grass and pinefor a more stately home h igh among the waving branches ? Does theblue-bi rd envy the red -bi rd her pretty colors ? I sometimes th ink thatthe l i ttl e bi rd singing from the topmost twig al l qu ivering wi th melodyand l i fe knows a greater happiness than we humans have ever attained .

They are fu lfi l l i ng the place in the un iverse which was se t aside forthem in the beginn ing . Human i ty has guessed at ways and means Ofl iving and has tried SO hard to dodge the issue and has made aj umbled mess Of i t ti l l n O man hard ly knows hi s l i fe work . We boxourselves in between wal ls and borrow ou r though ts from the deadpast and cal l i t l i fe . We jam and crowd ourselves in to huge ci ties andpi l e story on story , shu tting ou t the l i fe-giving sunsh ine and breath ingair i n to ou r l ungs that would soon sicken the very bi rds Of the fores ti f they had to inhale i t . We pol l u te ou r flesh wi th n icotin e , caffeine ,tannin , and strong drink , and wi th th is weak, pain fu l , si ckly tenemen tOf flesh gO abou t the earth search ing for happiness . Restless , i ndolen t ,grumbl ing , figh ting , or going to the other extreme in over-work , l e tti ngfalse ambi tions warp ou r l ives un ti l we lose the true j oys Of existence .

We pass ou r fel low men on the h ighways Of l i fe wi th thei r rol l on thei rback restlessly wandering

,l i stless

,unkempt

,bored , no purpose , no

wi l l , dragging ou t an existence that i s en ti rely unknown to any otherl iving th ing . The birds have thei r du ties

,thei r nests , thei r loves and

a poise and purpose that Should shame ou r sh i ftless l ives . Who everheard Of a tramp squ irrel or homeless bi rd ? Equan imi ty , complacency ,

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poise , purpose , physical buoyancy , heal th and a keen appreciationseem to be characteri sti c O f al l an imals except man or those man hasperverted by domestication .

Man has wandered SO far from nature and natural ways of l ivingthat he has lost h is way and tosses helplessly on a sea Of doubt andindecision , dri fting , as i t were , un ti l a whole l i fe i s spen t wi thou t oncedoing the th ing that i s SO much desi red . S trong minds take advan tageOf purposeless l ives and se t them to work;thus i t i s that most menwork for someone else and never have true independence . Birds andsqu i rrel s would d isdai n to be bossed , or labor long hours for thei r merekeep for others Of thei r kind . Al l nature seems to preach sermons toou r t ardy and imperfect l ives .

On that Old I nd iana farm we kept horses and cows a nd hogs andsheep . The young Of al l these animals were my pets . I fed the motherless lamb from the bottle and Of al l pets i t seemed the most human

, SO

gen tl e and lovable . The l i ttle pig that was crowded ou t by the restOf the l i t ter found a home i n ou r Old wood -shed and was fed wi th mi lkwarm from the cow . Pigs were made to consume th ings

,and Of al l

the feeds my’

pe t pig received i t was a wonder that i t l ived .

Then the l i ttle calves were my charge and I taugh t them how todrink warm mi lk from the pai l by letti ng them suck my fingers downi n the mi lk pai l . Thus i t was that I learned to love an imal l i fe . Ibel ieve every boy Should have the care Of an imals and learn to feedand care for them . I t i s a wholesome outdoor l i fe that i s much morereal than streets and houses .

I also had cages Of the d ifferen t kinds Of squ i rrel s wh ich I hadcaugh t i n the crude traps that I had made . These traps were a sourceOf great pleasure , and wi th what exci temen t I wen t the rounds throughthe deep forest to see i f I had trapped any venturesome squi rrel .

I wi l l never forget the time my cage Of ch ipmunks gnawed ou tduring the n igh t and al l Were gone next morn ing . I could see themh id ing around the Old wood -shed and corn -cribs , bu t they were toosharp to be trapped again. What a fai ryland to a boy were ou r Old

I nd iana forests i n those days , wi th ch ipmunks or ground squ i rrels , redsqui rrel s

,grey squ i rrel s

,fox squ i rrel s and , strangest Of al l , flying

squ i rrel s . Once in a long wh i le we migh t find a black squ irrel whichwas a marvel . Then there were W oodchucks or ground hogs , and coont ch made ou r hai r stand on end to even hear abou t them .

I have dwel t at length upon my boyhood and the pets I had SO that

you may understand why I have chosen the poul try business as myl i fe work . I t IS my natural cal l i ng . Blessed Is the man who has foundhis work

,for then every day wi l l be a hol iday and real pleasure wi l l be

found . Bu t I had to pass th rough a terrible ordeal to find out j ustwhat was the heal th iest , sanest , truest l i fe for me . My free , happy ,

independen t boyhood days caring for an imals and cul tivating plan tsou t i n the open ai r under the bl ue sky in the sunsh ine was the real l i fe .

! Better than grandeur , better than gold ,Better than weal th a hundred fold ,Are a hea l thfu l body , a mind at ease ,And Simpl e pleasu res that always please .

14

Wel l do I remember the morn ing I left th i s heal thy , natural way Ofl iving on the Old farm . That morn ing father brough t the Old farmteam hi tched to the ! spring wagon ” to the door Of the farmhouse andloaded i n the trunks and my sister and I cl imbed in and we drove awayto attend the Academy fi fteen mi les away . We looked back , wavingou r hands to mother stand ing on the porch and taking a W t

th e Old farm through ou r tears . Li ttl e did we know that we werestarting Off on an en ti rely d ifferen t l ine Of l i fe that would even make usstrangers to ou r good father and mother . We were going from thereal exi stence to on e Of books and passivi ty . We were to cram ou r

memories wi th second-hand though ts from others . NO more in i tiative,

n O more freedom ,no more activi ty, bu t a dai ly rou tine was planned

for u s and we were on ly receptacles being crammed wi th words , words ,words

,cold and dead . There we were left to mingle wi th other boys

and girl s who came to get a ! h igher education .

”

I shal l never forgetthe hungry heart and u tter lonesomeness as I sa t i n that l i t tle scan ti lyfurn ished dormi tory room next morn ing wi th the morn ing sunsh inepouring i n at the window . I was a prisoner in th i s l i ttle room wi th astrange stack O f books on the cheap table . From the branches Of atree below the window sang a bird , a l i t tle song sparrow , and i t sangsuch a sad

,sweet song that I leaned my head on my arm and cried . I t

sang Of the glad ,free l i fe that I had left beh ind on the Old farm . HOW

I longed to be at home wi th my pigs and calves and lambs and ch ickens .

Was i t righ t that the l i t t le bi rd shou ld know SO much joy and freedomwhi le I must set ou t on th is long road Of slavery to SO-cal led education ?

The days dragged by and I duti fu l ly stud ied my lessons , goingfrom my l i ttle room to the classroom and back again to the l i tt lebare room .

I had a great sense Of du ty or my ach ing heart ‘

wou ld have sen t meback to clover fields and corn fields and COO ! , shady forests . HowOften have I sat and stared at the bare wa l l s O f that stuffy l i tt le roomand tried to imagine the glories that were going to waste ou t under theblue sky on the Old farm . My muscles ached for exercise . They weregrowing soft and flabby . I t took sheer force Of wi l l power to keep mefrom fleeing from such an unnatural l i fe . Why could there not be away Of going in to the fields and forests and studying the beauties Ofnature fi rst hand ?Obj ect lessons are the on ly ones that leave much Of an impression .

Memory Of words wi l l never make feel ings Of joy , gladness , ecstacy ,and

buoyancy , bu t instead tend toward a dead , cold , cal lous nature wi thou tany Of the finer emotions . Why should we make the mistake Of takingou r boys and girl s ou t Of the real active l i fe around them and set themaside to study th ings so foreign to the good and wel fare Of thei rphysical and emotional existence ? We take them ou t O f l i fe to preparethem for l i fe , and how sad the mistake ! We need a school that wi l ll ead us to take great pleasure in producing beauti fu l flowers , or growingchoice vegetables for the table

, or i n evolving perfect an imals u sefu lto man .

We need a school where the emotions are cul tivated , the morehuman and finer fee l in gs f tha t wil l make us more sensi t ive to thebeauties al l around u s SO that we can revel seeing wi th ou r eyes thepretty color Of flowers or perfect shape Of an imals , or gO in to ecstacy

1 5

l i sten ing to sweet song Of bi rds . There i s too m u ch of a feel i ng amongstuden ts that i t i s soft , too sen timental to al low the emotions to carry

you away , and SO they curb the least expression Of appreciation andan imation and miss the finest Of pleasures . Bookworms and studen tsOf dead languages see very l i ttl e in th is immediate world around them .

They are the dul lest O f company to a real l ive person who is al l glowi ngwi th the real world al l around . I n the study Of mathematics or deadlanguages the mind creates a world Of i ts own that i s SO foreign to thereal beauti ful world al l around us . We neglect the natural l i fe andcruci fy ou r very physical existence for mere memory Of words . Girl sgrow thin and spindl ing and pale under th is unnatural pressure Ofcommitting to memory words , words , words . They unsex themselvesand are weakened for l i fe for the real world in to which they mustcome soon .

SO i t was that the craze for a h igher education drew me awayfrom the Old farm , away from the natural l i fe Of man , i n to a chaoti csubj ective world Of Ologies and isms that bl inded and warped the mindun ti l the warm , l iving , throbbing world that I had left beh ind becamea matter Of memory on ly . At firs t I came home Often for a visi t formy heart was hungry for the clover fields , orchard and forest , and Iwould ramble over the Old farm trying to feel the same in terest thathad once held me so strongly , bu t a change was working slowly andsurely and I was i n grave danger Of losing the emotional side Of mynature . I could not take the same j oy in th ings . My memory wasclouded wi th dead th ings , mere rote work . Plann ing , expectation ,i n i t iative was al l gone .

Academy days bri ng to mind some th ings that l ive in memory .

I gathered the flowers for the botany class . I won many honors i n fieldday exerci ses . ! oology , biology , botany and physics were Of muchin terest i n the laboratory and Of u se . But the memory Often cal ls tomind two long braids Of hai r that belonged to the gi rl i n the seat j usti n fron t Of me . My youth fu l d reams got tangled i n those two longbraids and in after years those braids became in terwoven wi th thel i fe work which I am to tel l you about .After fin ish ing the Academy , or the Academy finish ing me , which

is too Often the case , I taugh t coun try school for a few years and thenlaunched O ff to a four years ’ col lege course at De Pauw Universi ty , Ind .

I t i s needless to dwel l upon col lege days . They were not muchdifferen t from others . I became a fratern i ty man , was strong in fieldday exercises , and made average grades . But through i t al l there wasa hungry heart , an ach ing , a void ,

that wi th al l the lore O f col lege wal lscould not be fi l led . I fel t that the best days Of my young l i fe weresl ipping away and that I was not l iving in the truest and ful lest senseof the word . The dusty , badly ven ti lated classrooms became um

bearable .

I Often dreamed Of the free , glad boyhood days back close to nature .

Was th is l i fe fulfi l l i ng my boyhood dreams ? My youth fu l dreams as Iplowed corn up and down the long rows wi th my bare feet i n the mel lowearth were not Of musty vol umes and d ingy wal l s , bu t Of an Open ai rfreedom wi th bi rds , and flowers , and bees , and trees , and an imals . Myboyhood dreams were Of a farm that would have the choicest creationsOf man in both plan ts and animals .

1 6

In that you th fu l dream home I would have’

the sleekest cows formy mi lk

,the fat test pork for sausage , heavy horses for plowing , l igh t

trim ones for travel,sheep for wool , poul try for eggs and flesh that

would be un i form and pleasi ng to the eye , bees for honey , and al l thechoice fru i ts and vegetables for the table . Were these col lege dayshelping my dreams come true ? Were they n o t making ma m a

t icable , a mere mumbler Of other men’

s words ? Over my study tablewi th the midn igh t Oi l burn ing low I tried i n vain to j oin the ! h ighereducation ,

”SO cal led , wi th the fu l ler , heal th ier , more satisfying l i fe

that had once been mine . I t seemed that I had lost my way and thatattempting to master the knowledge Of the whole world that I was ingrave danger Of neglecti ng the temp le Of flesh in wh ich my sou l l ivedand that the finer and nobler emotions Of that hungry soul were bei ngignored . I wan ted to get back in to the beau ties Of the real worldwhere I cou ld pu t my hands on pulsating an imals , trai n the flowers ,and grOW/vege tables , and prune trees , gather food for the table , bui lda cozy fireside .

I n due respect to the more modern school s Of today I must Say tha tthey are making a great movemen t forward in adding school gardensand Industrial courses to the curricul um .

As I look back in memory to my col lege days the work that hasbeen Of the most benefi t i s that which I was compel led to do to paymy way through school . I washed d ishes , wai ted on table , run alaundry wagon , canvassed for books , and kept a boardi ng cl ub .

These th ings held my feet down on the earth and made me somewhatpractical . The firs t essen tial Of an education i s that i t shou ld teach ushow to earn an honorable l iving . I have seen col lege graduates i nmany parts Of the world i ncapable Of earn ing a decen t l iving . Crippledfor l i fe even to the bare comforts and necessi t ies O f l iving . We need aschool that wi l l teach us first Of al l how to take care of th i s physicalbody in the way Of clean l iness , good food ,

clo th ing and shel ter . I f weare proficien t in th is and have some time left , then we can the moreappreciate the h igher arts .

I n the world Of books and in al l the stud ies for developing the mindI fai led to find that wh ich would sati sfy a Sou l longing for a largerfreedom . I wanted a world where my eyes could feast on beauti fu lcolors , where my ears cou ld hear sweet sounds , where the fragrance Offlowers reached my nostri ls , where the taste Of fru i ts pleased mypalate , where my hand cou ld find useful work to do . A world Of th i skind would develop al l these five avenues to the mind and make uskeen and al ive and one wi th the un iverse . I could see no other ou tle tfor the hungry soul . I could not find i t i n the pri n ted page . I becamedisgusted wi th col lege for study . Was I there for study i tsel f or forcompanionsh ip or from custom or a sense Of duty ?

I could stand i t no longer . I was i n my sen ior year . SO I packedmy trunk , boarded a trai n for Ch icago and wen t ou t i n to the wide ,wide world , restless , i ncapable , undecided ,

i nexperienced,dri fti ng as

thousands Of students do each year . I was swal lowed up in that greatci ty O f Chicago as thousands Of coun try boys are each year . Myboyhood dreams were not Of th i s artificial l i fe i n th is rush ing , seeth ingmass Of humani ty .

17

I had dreamed Of a sunny home among the trees and flowers wi ththousands Of i n teresting , growing , beau ti fu l th ings al l around . Now Iwas swal lowed al ive wi th al l the ind ividual i ty I ever had i roned ou t

Of me .

I walked the streets wi th an ach ing heart . What could I do to earnmy keep ? I tried to get a posi tion as bookkeeper , th inking that wou ldbe a gen teel l i fe for a col lege boy . But no , they had no time to teach aschoolboy wi thou t experience . I tried to get a place clerking i n thestores , but had no references and less experience . I looked at the l istOf work Offered by the employmen t Offices , bu t noth ing but heavymuscular labor was wan ted . I came near sh ipping to the western cornfields i n answer to a demand for corn huskers . I had once been a capablehand in the field , bu t col lege days had softened my hands as wel l asdetermination . I was i n desperation . NO on e wanted a col lege boy .

I Shou ld be able to do th ings , not read abou t other people’s though ts

and th ink I could do th ings . The fu ti l i ty Of al l my labor i n col legecame over me l ike a flash . I must pu t my hand to the wheel and learnto do th ings .What on e th ing had I learned in col lege that would help me ou t i n

my presen t d i lemma ? Oh , yes ! I had wai ted on table and learned toserve . I t was Dewey day in Ch icago and the streets were crowded .

The restauran ts were crowded . Now was my chance . I wa l ked i n to al unch counter eating house and appl ied for a j ob . The proprietorlooked me over , smi led to h i s wi fe on the side , gave me an apron .

I shal l never forget the con fusion Of that first day i n that restauran t .I t was a ci rcus for '

a l l who s aw me try to fi l l orders .

I tried to do as I saw the other wai ters doing . I would take anorder , ru sh

'

ou t i n to the ki tchen and perchance forget i t before I coulddel iver i t to the cook . The cooks laughed and roared . The wai terswinked at each other and shoved 'me aside . I could n ot carry disheson my arm and many wen t upside down to the floor . The whole housewas in a roar .A col lege boy ’s fi rs t i n troduction to the cruel , cruel world . I

though t my heart would break . Bu t I was hungry and had to eat .The proprietor looked at me wi th a red face and seemed amused thatI should attempt to wai t on table wi th SO l i t tle experience . I overheardh im say to h is wi fe that he was not going to fi re me , but was j ust goingto see i f I could learn to use mysel f . He saw my earnestness . Thisgave me courage and I fin ished that firs t day . The next day there wasn ot SO much Of a rush and I had time to study the bi l l O f fare and learnhow to order the d i shes

,and one wai ter gave me poin ters how to stack

the d ishes on my arm . I must say that the men tal d ri l l I received inthe seven weeks that I sl ung hash excel led al l the vaunted coursesthat had ever been handed me at col lege . My mind soon became wideawake , alert to al l around ,

and took a del igh t i n th i s new activi ty .

But , Oh ! the bad ai r , and hard floor , and weary l imbs ! The perspi rationstood ou t on my forehead and al l my clothes were damp . S ti l l therewas a new satisfaction i n service and being able to do th ings . I n th isl i ttl e cheap hash house on State S treet I began my first work awayfrom home ou t i n the wide world . I n conversing wi th the wai ters Ilearned that i f one became proficien t as a wai ter i n a first-class placehe cou ld earn a fai r salary . I appl ied at once for a place as

”bus boy

”

18

at the Great Northern hotel and received the j ob Of carrying the d ishesfrom the din ing room . This gave me access to the d in ing room andki tchen and I soon picked up the essen tials Of wai ting i n a h ighclass place .

I then purchased a wai ter’

s ou tfi t and wen t to the VICtGFQ—HOI E!and appl ied for a place and got i t . I had a pretty hard time for a fewdays

,but by the help of some good natured wai ters I pul led through

and cou ld soon serve table as wel l as the best . I was getting experiencei n ci ty ways and had a good chance to Observe the people as they dined .

I studied ci ty l i fe from various angles and Often tried to compare thetwo l ives , that Of the ord inary Ci ty man and that Of the coun try . Thel i fe i n th is great ci ty seemed SO hol low and false as compared to thatI had known in the coun try .

After spend ing on e year in Ch icago I wen t to New York and workedthere two years ~in some Of the best eating houses i n the ci ty . This gaveme a very cosmopol i tan idea Of the world . I had Opportun i ty to studyvery notable people who came to d ine at my table . I n visi ting d ifferen tparts Of the ci ty i t was appal l i ng to Observe the poverty and squalor .I was aston ished that people shou ld be crowded together i n such

unheal thy quarters . Then there was the vice that always disgustedme , for I was reared a clean , vi rtuous lad , and th ings low and meanwere loathsome . I stud ied the ci ty from every angle . On everyopportuni ty I spen t long hours i n Cen tral Park enj oying the trees and

grass and flowers and the an imals . I t was here that I fel t at home andthat Old longing for that free

,heal th fu l l i fe that I had once known

came back again and ! again . I had not found i t i n col lege , nei ther i nthe busy ci ty . I took excursions up the Hudson River . I walkedmi les In the country recal l ing the

. good , honest , freed l i fe O f early days .

I began to doubt al l mankind in the large ci ties . I had no close ,staunch friend l ike I had known In the coun try . I t seemed hard tofind the sinceri ty . Every on e seemed SO trivial . I became Sick andti red Of thi s artificial l i fe and longed for the Old farm back in I nd iana .

I f I could on ly walk ou t over the Old farm wi th father as we used to doand V iew the crops . Thus musing on e day , I strol led past MadisonSquare Garden . From inside there came the sound Of a crowing cock .

Then another and another . The cackle Of a hen instan tly cal led tomind my boyhood pets . These fami l iar sounds made my sore , hungryheart beat wi th rapture .

I bough t a ticket and passed in to view the Great Mad ison SquarePou l try Show . With tears i n my eyes and a great l ump at my throat ,I walked down the aisles and viewed the grand fowls

, SO much granderthan my boyhood had ever known . How I revel led al l day lon g amon g

that glorious col lection Of perfect bi rds . Such a day ! I t seemed thatmy school days had been for naugh t and that my ci ty l i fe had beena trance .

I then and there dedicated my l i fe to my first love .

19

F i rst b ro od e r h o u se b u i l t i n I n d i a n a m a n y yea rs a g o

CHAPTER I I .

From th e City Back to th e Old Farm

OST people who l ive i n the ci ty , and can afford i t , own a countryhome . Those who are not able to possess a country home usual ly

ren t on e for a portion Of the year . Some must be sati sfied wi th aShort vacation each year . Many are unable to get ou t Of the ci tyto the country at al l .The dream Of every ci ty dwel ler i s to have a coun try home some

time in the ! afterwhi le .

” A quiet,peacefu l

,vine-covered cottage wi th

berries and fru i t and vegetables and fowls - th i s i s the dream Of mostal l who toi l i n ki tchens

, or basements , or stores or Offices , i n bad ai rshu t ou t from sunl igh t . Human moles breath ing vi tiated ai r fu l l Ofdust and microbes , ai r that has never been purified by the sun

’

s rays ,ai r that never bears the sweet fragrance Of flowers or the freshnessOf morn ing .

A li ttle personal heart-to-heart talk wi th any clerk ,.or bel lboy , or

wai ter , or Office man , even d i shwashers and floor-scrubbers , each andal l wi l l apologize for the part he i s playing i n l i fe and begin to tel l youOf h i s dreams Of the t ime when th is unpleasan t routine i n th is greatcog

-wheel can be changed for that l i ttle cottage wi th the flowers andbi rds and freedom and peace of mind and heal th .

20

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I t was the return Of the prodigal son , and a great day in the Oldhome . I t i s need less to say that father was carried away by my newand youth ful en thusiasm , and we immediately set abou t evolving plansOf a great poul try business . I t was hard for father wi th h is thri fty

,

steady,easy-going ways to launch in to such a big undertaking .

Father had a l i fe-time experience in doing things wi th h is own twohands on the Old farm and had always taken a keen del igh t and a greatj oy in h is work , which , by the way , i s , perhaps , the best blessing Ofl i fe . I t was hard for h im to be rushed Off hi s feet wi th such a bigen terpri se as my young imagination pictu red to h im . I was impetuous .He

,sol id and sure . Safety first , wi th much care , and not too much

haste,was h is motto . I n after years I learned how wise was father i n

al l h i s del iberations and that the purest j oy comes from work wel ldone wi th your own two hands .

Imagination and ambi tion make a restless l i fe and mother Oft toldme that I was too ambi tious and that I should be satisfied wi th thecommon j oys Of l iving and not aspi re SO eagerly to you th fu l d reams .

Perhaps She was righ t , and i n the end quiet paths Of peace may be best .Bu t wi thou t imagination , and longings after ideals , and yearn ings forperfection

,no progress can be made . Withou t dreamers , the world

would be very prosaic . I n early days father had his you th fu l d reams,

and they were real ized i n a sol id , substan tial coun try home and broad ,

ferti le acres , wi th wel l -bred horses and cattl e , and he was enj oying thereal ization Of h is dream wi thou t the youth fu l impetuosi ty

,and i t was

hard , as i t has always been , for the mature j udgmen t and the youngambi tion to work to the best satisfaction Of each .

SO we talked poul try and stud ied poul try house plans and began tol aunch Off i n to the pou l try busi ness . I t was hard to decide from themul ti tude Of plans j ust what kind Of poul try houses to bu i ld . We werebothered to know j ust what were the best breeds to choose . Had wereal ized how l i ttle we real ly d id know and how long the road to experience , we may have been discouraged . We read poul try books andj ournal s and wrote for catalogues , and drove for miles al l round tryingto find the kind Of fowls to start wi th . We final ly found a flock Ofpure-bred brown leghorns owned by a Mrs . Harvey , who was con sidered the best breeder Of pure-bred poul try far and near . They werebeau ties and from the best blood in the Un i ted S tates . M rs . Harveyshowed u S her brooder room , i n wh ich was a fine lot Of new-hatchedfluffy brown ch icks around a coal stove i n the cen ter Of the room .

They were a pretty sigh t . This was the fi rs t artificial brood ing I hadever seen . Then she showed us her home-made incubator i n the house .

I t was a large square box wi th a Copper boi ler that held nearly a barrelO f warm water packed around wi th saw-dust . Under th is warm waterwas a drawer that held the eggs . T O keep up the heat , you must firs td raw Off a bucket or two Of water and pour i n more ho t water , whichwould bring the temperatu re up to the desi red poin t . The onlyventi lation th is home-made incubator had was a one- i nch hole i n to thechamber beneath the egg drawer . I t was remarkable what fine hatchesM rs . Harvey brough t ou t Of th i s crude incubator . This was the fi rsti ncubator I had ever seen i n actual operation . We took measuremen tsand went home determined to make ou r own incubators , which we d id .

We ordered hatch ing eggs from Mrs . Harvey and placed 240 eggs i n

22

B rood e r h o u se ya rd s o n e a r l y I n d i a n a ra n c h

on e Of ou r new home-made machines . Each morn ing and even ing wewould draw Off a bucket Of water and fi l l i n one Of hot water , whichwould bring the temperature up to the desi red poin t Of 103 degrees .

Mother heated the water on the back Of the stove i n a large kettle .

We only turned the eggs once per day and knew nothi ng abou t cool ingthe eggs . Our new work was absorbing and in teresting and we hadgreat times plann ing and di scussing . We placed the incubator in theth ick-wal led cel lar house j ust back Of ou r O ld farm home and eachevening we would turn the eggs and talk ch icken , and I reckon th isperiod among the happiest days Of my l i fe . With what a thri l l weheard the first peep in those eggs , and how we rushed in to the houseto tel l the balance Of the fami ly , who gathered around to make surewe knew what we were talking abou t . They were al ive

,al l righ t , for

we heard a peep . This being our very first experience , we were notsure that they would come ou t . Next morn ing there were several eggspipped and some l i t tle . wet , wobbly ch icks rol l ing out Of the eggs .

While we had been incubating we were bu i ld ing a brooder housefor these ch icks , which was the usual type Of hot water system wi thhovers and smal l pens . This was heated wi th coal i n a hot-waterboi ler . I n to these n ice new warm pens we pu t ou r first hatch . Therewas some hustl ing on the Old farm the next morn ing when we carriedthe ch icks from the incubator to the brooder house . My brother-inl aw came over to see how the hatch came Off. He met me coming ou tOf the brooder house al l red in the face , wi th a basket on my arm .

!

How many ch icks d id you get ?” was the first question . Now th i swas the ! unkindest” question that could possibly be asked an amateurpoul tryman . Reluctan tly

,I told h im that I on ly had 19 7 ch icks from

my 240 eggs placed in the incubator and that I was at a loss to know

23

j ust why some Of the eggs d id n o t hatch . He laughed ti l l I was provoked and told me that the O ld hen hersel f could not beat t hat record .

T o‘this day my brother-in -l aw l ikes to j oke me abou t that first

hatch Of ch icks and how d isappoin ted I was i n not being able to bringou t al l the ch icks . I had hatched 82 per cen t Of al l eggs placed in themach ine

,and Of the many thousand eggs hatched in after years seldom

have I ever beaten that fi rst record . We had located the incubator i nthe best place possible , i n a cel lar house wi th wal l s two feet th ick andnot too dry . This kept an even temperature . Then we kept thetemperature very even and turned the eggs careful ly , always wash ingou r

'

han ds before turn ing them SO that n O Oi l wou ld get on the shel l s .Then the eggs were from breed ing stock Of proper age and good mating ,and th is made vigor . From th is hatch Of 19 7 ch icks we raised 193 ,

losing on ly four , and these were drowned in a rain storm . This mademe somewhat concei ted and Of course I knew then and there al l abou tthe poul try business . I had large dreams . I cou ld hatch and raisethem and Of course there was n O l imi t to the fortune to be made . Wehatched several hundred brown Leghorns that Spring a nd also someBarred Rock , Black Langshang , Buff Coch in , Whi te Javas . We hadfine luck wi th the brown Leghorn , bu t soon found that we did notknow i t al l i n hatch ing and rearing the heavier breeds . There was agreat d ifference i n the vi tal i ty from the differen t eggs . I t took yearsfor me to find ou t that good vigorous breeding stock was the fi rstrequ isi te i n rearing the young ch icks . This firs t year , however , was apretty successfu l year as a whole ,

_

and we placed someth ing l ike sevenhundred fine Leghorn pul lets and two hundred Barred Rock pul lets i nou r long laying house . This new laying house was abou t twen ty fee twide and abou t one hundred feet long . Thi s was d ivided in to threepens wi th dropping floor and nest boxes . I t was bui l t close wi th cei ledwal l s and windows to the sou th . I t looked l ike a perfect house for !

comfort in that cold cl imate .

We soon began to have our trouble , for the house bei ng so tigh tand venti lation so bad ly arranged that the wal l s gathered moistureand were even covered wi th frost on cold morn ings . The pul le tsbegan to catch cold and then swel led head which turned i n to roup .

We tried dusting them wi th l ime and fumigating wi th coal tar an devery remedy we could hear Of , and noth ing seemed to do any good .

Father’

s ardor for the pou l try business began to C00 ! qui te perceptibly .

We pul led them through the win ter wi thou t much loss and had a fai ryield Of eggs , bu t we began to real ize that the poul try game was n o tSO easy as we had at fi rs t though t . We did not know at the time thatou r houses were bui l t en ti rely too close and that fresh ai r i s absol u telynecessary for poul try , and that hens must not be crowded for bestresul ts .

Open Fron t Poul try Houses were unknown in those days and wewere making the same mistake that thousands were making Of housingthe poul try too close and i n too crowded quarters . Bu t when thesunny days Of Spring came we soon forgot our Win ter troubles andbegan to dream big dreams . We would bu i ld more incubators , andmore long houses

,and hatch them ou t by the thousand and make a

famous poul try ranch . SO we bui l t a large incubator cel lar wi th th ickwal ls fi l l ed in wi th sawdust . I n th i s we constructed a 3000-egg

24

i ncubator . I t was the talk Of the coun try far and near . We fi l ledth is incubator wi th eggs from those young brown Leghorn pul lets .

What a tragical mistake th is was ! Any breeder cou ld have told usthat th is was fol ly . I t seemed that fate should have us gO throughth is experience On purpose that the lesson could be wel l l earned .

On the day that we brough t ou t the hatch peopl e came from farand near to see the mammoth incubator . We carried tha chick s ou t

to the long brooder house by the hundred , bringing ou t abou t a 50per cen t hatch . This was a big drop from ou r first year

’

s experience,

and we were again puzzled .

I t was a pretty sigh t to look down the long rows Of pens in thebrooder house and see the l i ttl e brown ch icks scratch ing for thei r feed .

Bu t how ou r hopes wen t down when they began to d ie on e by on e .

They were puny and weak and n O power on earth cou ld have raisedthem . The paren t stock was immature and not correctly mated . Wemade a fizzle and hardly a respectable fizzle trying to raise ch icks th isyear . I t was enough to d iscourage the braves t . The puny lot Of stockwe raised that Spring was d isgusting . Thin-breasted , th in -beaked ,wi th hard ly enough vi tal i ty to hobble abou t . I f we had on ly knownwhy we fai led i t would have made u s feel better . We blamed thei ncubator and the brooder system . Thousands have done the sameth ing , and i t has caused more kinds O f brooder systems to be pu t onthe market than any other th ing . The incubators and brooder wereal l righ t , bu t the paren t stock cou ld n ot have been more carelesslymated . I t was on ly my bul ldog tenaci ty that made me hold on .

Father was ready to qu i t . I was sure that there was a way to do i t,

and began to take more heed to what I read and also to visi t otherpou l trymen to see what had al ready been done thus far in the h istoryO f the pou l try business .

You know i t takes some experience before you can look i n tel l igen tlyin to the experience Of others . I t i s hard to take the other

’s word fori t;we l ike to try i t ourselves . But a l i ttl e actual experience makes youread between the l ines . I had j ust arrived at the place where I couldbe told j ust a l i t tle b i t . This receptive att i tude saves an awful wasteOf energy , bu t we have to have a taste Of the real th ing to apprecia te

j ust what the other fel low has done along the l i ne .

I began to get a clearer perspective O f what the poul try businessreal ly meant . I wan ted to make poul try my l i fe work . I wanted tolocate i n the most favorable place possible to start wi th . The long

,

cold Win ters in I ndiana were forever a handicap . I had heard O f theglorious cl imate Of Cal i forn ia . T O make a long story short , father andI sold ou t the pou l try business at the Old home place at a loss to both .

I would hun t a new location and begin al l over again . Fathe‘

r advi sedme to raise hogs or gO i n to cows . But I had started ou t to make apoul tryman and I could n ot bear to have my dreams changed . I sawa bigger and more wonderfu l field in pou l try than ever before . Thesetwo years

’

experience would be worth dol lars i f I could only profi tby them .

SO I began the search for a good location, for I wanted the envi ron

men t to be as good as Uncle Sam had on h is broad domain for th isl i fe work . I traveled through the Eastern S tates , visi ting poul tryfarms and gathering what experience I could . I saw many plants that

25

had taken fortunes to erect and many that were not bu i l t righ t andwere doomed to fai lu re . The poul try industry was sti l l i n it s i n fancyand there was a world Of room to work ou t and pu t i t on a systematicbasi s . T O my maturer j udgmen t today I can see the mistakes Of thoseearl ier attempts in the Eastern S tates . Thei r houses were bui l t tooclose and fowls were '

crowded . The modern open fron t house haschanged al l th i s , but i t took years to convince farmers that hens musthave fresh ai r .I t would make too long a story to gO i n to detai l tel l i ng how I

searched for that favored location and final ly headed toward the West .Horace Greeley

’

s advice ,! Young man , gO West , haun ted me from

a boy .

I stopped in Spokane , Seattl e , Portland , and many smal ler townson the way to the coast , studying the few poul try ranches that couldbe found and comparing advan tages .

I had read Of the wonderful poul try section around Petaluma andheaded th i s way . I final ly arrived in San Francisco , which ci ty immedia te ly impressed me , as i t does everyone , that th is was the comingci ty on the Pacific Coast , and that here wi th in reach Of th is growingseaport cen ter would be the place to bu i ld that dream ranch .

F i rst C a l i fo r n i a ra n c h f i ftee n yea rs a g o

2 6

F i rst p o u l t ry h o u se u sed by C h a r l es Wee ksi n C a l i fo r n i a

CHAPTER I I I .

First At temp t s a t Pou l try Ra isin g in Ca l iforn ia

HE selection O f a location for poul try raising i n Cal i forn ia i s a mostserious problem . I d id not real ize the importance Of getting the

poul try ranch located on a rich soi l wi th plen ty Ofwater for i rri gation .

I d id n ot real ize at that time that the h ighest success on the landin Cal i forn ia i s Obtained by i rrigation . With no practical experienceas to Cal i forn ia cond i tions , I started ou t on that long hun t for alocation . Almost every man , some time in l i fe , takes a turn i n th isexci t i ng hun t for an - ideal location for that dream home . I wouldchoose a beau ti fu l place to l ive where I cou ld grow my own vines andtrees and raise poul try and sti l l be close to the large cen ters Of population .

I t would make too long a story to gO i n to detai l s tel l ing how Ivisi ted the poul try ranches in the Petal uma country trying to find alocation that would su i t my whims and meager capi tal . SomehowPetaluma did n ot appeal to me . My aestheti c tastes may have beentoo h ighly developed for an egg farmer , bu t the lack Of system andunkempt appearance Of most Of the ranches d iscouraged me . I musthave a pretty , systematic pou l try ranch , and I d id not wan t i t su rrounded by Shacks . Li ttl e d id I then know Of the toi ls , and trials ,and experimen ting i t would take to evolve even a plain poul try ranchon economic l ines . These egg farmers were passing through thei r earlyexperimental periods , and i t was not strange that every man had ad ifferen t brooder system and that there were almost as many styles Oflaying houses as there were men . O ld abandoned shacks ,Of housescumbered the landscape then as now

,because al l were experimen ting

and there was no establ ished system that was un iversal ly accepted .

Every en terprise must pass th rough th is transi t ion stage .

27

Po rta b l e h o u s es , w i t h o u t y a rd s , w h i c h we re m oved f rom p l a ce to p l ace

o n a l fa l fa fi e l d . G ave g o od res u l ts , b u t to o m u c h d eta i l . N ot p ra ct i ca l .

I visi ted many places lying near San Francisco,for I real ized that

here was the best market on the Coast and I d id not wan t to gOfar from i t .

One beauti fu l September day I stepped Off the train at Pa l O Al to .

Through the kindness Of the real estate men I was Shown the surround ing country . There had been an early Fal l rain and the footh i l l swere green and the picture was en trancing . From thei r tops I lookedou t over the far- famed Santa C lara Val ley , wi th San Francisco Bayin the d istance . At my feet were the red ti l e roofs Of one Of the comingun iversi ties Of the world . From the footh i l l s to the bay were broad ,

l evel fields whose ferti l i ty was capable Of feed ing many happy fami l ies .

I then and there decided that somewhere i n th is beauti fu l SantaC lara Val ley I would make my home . When a barefoot boy awayback i n I nd iana on the Old farm , I dreamed ,

as I plowed corn up anddown the long rows , Of that home I should sometime make , and alwaysI pictu red i t under the shadow Of a great seat Of learn ing . Here wasS tan ford Un iversi ty and rich soi l and the most del igh tfu l cl imate i nthe world and glorious sunsh ine spread over al l . NO need to lookfarther . I had arrived at a place that was

,fa r beyond my wildest

dreams . As I looked ou t over the orchards and grand oak trees Spreadou t beneath me on the floor Of the val ley , and surveyed the mountainsthat enclosed al l th i s l i ttle world Of weal th and beau ty , I thankedProvidence that my longing

,restless nature had led me to th is

de l igh tfu l spot .

I f I had only known j ust how to choose a location for a pou l tryranch i n the start , I could have saved more than five years experimen t in g . I chose ten acres near the footh i l l s six miles ou t Of Pa lO Al to .

I t was a beau ti fu l residence section and fine orchard land for prunesand apricots;bu t what a mistake I made in th is selection as a poul tryranch ! In the first place , I could not get water for i rrigation wi thou t

28

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Po rt a b l e h o u ses fo r ten h en s scatte re d ove r t h e g re en a l fa l fa fi e l d . Th es e we reu sed m a n y yea rs a g o , b u t n ow d i sc a rd ed fo r p resen t system .

24 by 40 feet , was given to brooding . This was mistake number on ei n brooder house construction . I n Cal i forn ia , brooder house roofsshould be low and receive the d i rect rays Of the sun . Then I cemen tedthe whole floor , which was mistake number two . Cemen t floors are toocold and expensive for any kind Of poul try house . Then a heatersystem Of pipes ran through the midd le Of the large room , and thesepipes were encased in a cemen t si l l over wh ich hover boards proj ectedon ei ther side . The ch icks ran under these hovers and could warmthemselves against th is cemen t si l l . I n previous experiences I hadtrouble i n ch icks crowding to the back side O f the brooder and though tby making th is cemen t si l l hot enough I could roast them ou t Of thecorners . Perhaps th is was on e Of the most fool ish brooder heaters everinstal led . Cemen t i s a poor conductor Of heat and the O i l consumed i ntrying to heat al l th i s bu lk Of cemen t was extravagan t . Over th islarge brooder room I fi tted up four rooms in to a sort Of flat . The wal l swere papered and wi th the fi fty dol lars worth Of furn i ture they were

qu te cozy .

This was my first attempt at home bui ld ing , and i t was the mosti n teresting work that my hands had ever attempted . I t was rather anunpresumptuous nest to invi te a mate in to , but I had the courage towri te back to that girl who sa t i n fron t Of me at the Old Academy andask her to j oin me in my simple abode and become partners for l i fe i nthe work which I had chosen . I wrote her that I could not give her ahome l ike that from wh ich I would take her , bu t that I had a strongpai r Of arms and a stou t heart in a heal thy body and big d reams Of thewonderfu l Opportun i ties on the Pacific Coast . Perhaps the picture Idrew Of that future home we migh t have i n th is glori ous sunsh ine OfCal i forn ia , wi th i ts grandeur Of natural scenery , perhaps th is had some

30

M aste r Th om as W e e ks w h en a ba by i n the fi rs tb ro od e r b u i l t i n C a l i fo r n i a

weigh t In making the decision , but she promised . L i t tl e d id we thenknow of the toi l , concen tration and appl i cation i t took to evolve ahome that would approach Ou r dreams;nei ther d id we then real izethat the keenest j oys of l i fe Come wi th the making Of th i s dream home .

I t was a crucial moment when I found that I had spen t the $875cash and was down to my last dol l ar . My future wi fe was due to arriveMarch 10th and I was broke . I was a stranger i n a strange land andin a very strange and uncomfortable cond i tion . I explained mypred icamen t to the man from whom I had purchased the land andbegged a loan O f $25 to carry me over the wedding day un ti l I couldget work . T O make the story short , I got the $25 ,

married the gi rland wen t to work . I t is need less to gO i n to detai ls tel l ing O f the manykinds Of work I had to do to make ends meet . I though t I never wouldget that $25 paid back , and I th ink the man became uneasy h imsel f .Mine was the common story Of many W ho buy too much land and havetoo l i t t l e capi tal left to work wi th . I d id not know that i t was possibleto make a better l iving wi th l ess work on on e acre than I was doingon ten .

I shal l hu rry through the long l i s t Of experimen ts that has led me upto the

,

system which I am now using . Our fi rst eggs were from a fineflock Of whi te Leghorns from a near neighbor

,and as these were two

and three years Old and had n ot been forced for eggs the ch i cks werefi rst class . We brough t ou t a medium hatch from ou r home-madeincubator and raised a fine percen tage in the big cold brooder houseunderneath ou r flat . Then I bu i l t a long laying house for the 400pul lets raised th i s year . This long house had a scratch ing shed underneath and roosting compartmen t above . I t was a cumbersome affai rand en ti rely impracti cal for poul try . The hens run at large i n theten -acre orchard Of young peach trees . They d id moderately wel l ategg production th is fi rs t year . But I had too many hens together andven ti l ation was wrong . and that firs t win ter some had colds and Ibecame d issati sfied wi th the house . Next year I bu i l t portable canvaspou l try houses and scattered them through the orchard . These

3 1

C a n v as p o u l t ry h o u se w i t h b ott om ven t i l a t i o n

accommodated abou t twen ty hens each . They were ven ti lated frombelow , and as the heat from the hens accumulated above there wasnatural ly too much an imal heat , and th is house was soon condemned .

The next year I i nven ted a smal l Open fron t trap nest house for fi fteenhens . I t was arranged SO that the hen was trapped in the nest andcould pass ou t in to a coop after laying the egg and was there retainedunti l her number was recorded from the band on her leg . This was agood l i ttl e house and many times a hundred per cen t egg yield wasgathered for the day . I was getting down to on e essen tial i n eggproduction . Smal l flocks wi th individual atten tion . Trapnesting is asure bu t tedious way to select breed ing hens , and i t was not long ti l l Ihad evolved a better house for hens .

The next pou l try house was four feet wide and Six feet long , wi th atwo-foot opening on ei ther side th rough the middle . This had acapaci ty Of ten hens . I n on e end was the feed hopper and nest boxes .In the other the perches . These Were very l igh t and were moved abouton the al fal fa as the house needed clean ing . These were tried wi thl igh t portable yards and wi thou t yard . I a l so made open fron t housesthe same Size and tried them wi th and wi thou t yards . I n each andevery experimen t my hens laid more eggs i n the smal l houses wi thou tyards .

The Obj ection to th i s system was that the detai l was too much .

Water must be carried to each coop each day . The Coops must bemoved Often .

I n rainy weather i t was bad getting around from coop to coop wi thfeed and water . SO whi le I got the largest possible number Of eggsthe detai l was SO great that on e man could not turn Off enough work .

I t was a pretty Sigh t to see these l igh t canvas houses scattered overthe green , but i t was impracti cal and not a system that a h i red mancould be trusted wi th . I n the five years on th is place I changed mysystem Of housing five times , each time increasing my egg production .

The problem that con fron ted me was that Of el iminating theImmense lot Of detai l . I f I could evolve a system that would get methe eggs and sti l l save labor , I would have a wonderfu l step forward .

32

T ra p -n est p o u l t ry h o u s e . A n ea r l y i n ve n t i o n of C h as . Wee ks . N ow d i sc a rd ed .

All my time and though t were concen trated on th i s problem . Themost importan t tru th learned in these firs t five years experience wasthat green feed was absolu tely necessary to profi table egg production .

At those seasons Of the year when I had sufficien t greens my hens laida nd paid wel l . My problem was to have green every day in the year ,a nd I soon saw that here i n Cal i forn ia we cou ld have greens al l thetime i f we had cheap water for i rrigation . I f I had plen ty of water forirrigation , I cou ld grow the most l uxurian t greens and arrange to have

p len ty the year th rough . SO I had two problems con fron ting me .

One of el iminating the detai l i n smal l house systems and one O f securi ng

p len ty of water for i rrigating . There was on ly on e way Of securingcheap water in quanti ties , and that was to move on some place thathad water in abundance . I f I would get eggs the year around , I must

g ive my hens Spring- time condi tions . T O do th is i n Cal i forn iarequires water .

During these first five years I al so learned how to dress and retai l

pou l try d i rect to customer . I tried al l kinds Of fatten ing coops and al lb reeds Of poul try for market . The larger breeds were better forroasting , but the whi te Leghorn was best for broi lers and eggs .

I n th is first five years experience wi th pou l try in Cal i forn ia I hadl earned several tru ths that were destined to add to my success i n aftery ears . I l earned that one must learn to use the hands on a poul tryranch

,and learn to u se them ski l l fu l ly and swi ftly . Also that these

hands requ i re a good head to manage them wi th the least loss Of motion .

T O be able to turn Off a big day’

s work wi th the hands wi th thel east wear is a fine accompl i shmen t . Also that i t requi res as muchbrain work as any other business and that th is is on e Of the strongesti nducemen ts for the pou l try business

, for i t gives the opportun i tyfor Wide developmen t .

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D ry -p i c k i n g p o u l t ry fo r m a r ket

I also learned that i t was easy to getmixed up wi th the means andforget the end in view . Al l though t and theory and no manual laborwi l l produce no resu l ts . Al l manual labor wi th n o carefu l though tbeh ind i t wi l l ge t nowhere . I t requ i res capable hands wi th conciseth inking to bring resu l ts . Above al l , concen tration to the one purposein view .

Concen tration and appl ication wi th a reasonable amoun t Ofcommon sense along wi th physical labor are the qual i ties Of a successfu lpoul tryman . I al so began to learn the true type of the heavy-lay i nghen and how useless i t was to keep unproductive hens . I also learnedthat there was more and easier money i n egg production than in m eatproduction .

These are some Of the essen tial s d iscovered in these firs t five yearsof hard work and experimen ting : Fi rst , that you must have a goodhen . The best feed and care in the world wi l l n o t bring eggs from apoorly-bred hen . Second , th i s wel l -bred hen must have a large varietyOf green feed every day in the year i f she l ays eggs at the greatestprofi t . T o have green feed requ ires a ri ch soi l wi th abundance ofi rrigating water . Thi rd , th i s hen must be kept i n a smal l flock wi thabsolu tely fresh ai r and no dust . Plen ty Of sunsh ine

,dry , clean

quarters , and al l the good , clean , wholesome feeds!

before her al l thetime , wi th pure water to drink . Wel l-bred hens , wel l fed , and wel lhoused in smal l flocks , and there i s a sure profi t . I n th i s hasty reviewOf the road gone over you can see better how I have at last arrived tothe presen t system Of poul try keeping . I n fu ture chapters I wi l l givethe tru ths thus far d iscovered in i ncubation , brood ing , feed ing , matingand marketing .

3 4

O l d pl a n of g i v i n g h e n s f ree ra n g e . N o l o n ge r u sed o n W ee ks R a n c h .

I have worked out these tru ths through fi fteen years Of experienceand hard work . I f I can save time for any reader I wi l l feel that mywork has n ot been in vain .

P l ow i n g ka l e , feed i n g h e n s a n d g at h e r i n g eg g s o n Wee ks R a n c h

H om e on sec o n d po u l t ry ra n c h w h e re wate r i s p l e n t i f u l .

CHAPTER IV .

T h e New Pou l try Ran ch on Rich Soil with P l en ty Of Wa ter

N selecting a new location for my poul try ranch , i t i s needless tosay that I had to see the water runn ing before buying , and thi s

new place fulfi l led my wi ldest dreams . My O ld place had provenbeyond a doubt that I must have water .I n looking back over my twelve years experience in the poul try

business In Cal i forn ia , I see SO many mistakes , so much grind ing overuseless detai l , so much useless labor , that my heart goes ou t i n sympathy to the beginner and I feel l i k e saying j ust what any Old successfu lwould say to those j ust starting . The Old adage ,

! Learn to do bydoing ,

”holds good in the raising Of pou l try as i n al l other th ings , but

the successfu l men in the world are keen to make use Of the accumu

lated knowledge on thei r l ine and thus save years Of toi l ing andexperimenting .

That the man that has the abi l i ty to start i n where the other manleaves Off i s the man tha t i s able to progress .

! Learn to do by doing”

is the on ly practical way to become an expert poul tryman , bu t byusing the accumulated experience Of others we are able to start doingthe righ t th ing instead Of groping bl indly for a righ t system . There i sa way to do the righ t th ing in the righ t place and at the righ t time ,and i f we can make th is doing” count wh i le we are getti ng experience ,then we save time .

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these three essen tial sthat i t seemst twelve years ago I lOOk

e long and fai th ful ly

wh ich was though t 80

for that much talked of! l igh t , sandy soi l

”

final ly chose what I O

thou ght to be an

1 l I t t le dreamIn gthat i t i s on ly

T O be balked in the l ine I hawas more than I could bear , and I was

determined to sol

of how to make hens pay .That the equ ipmen t was

38

l r r i g at i n g ka l e w h e re wate r i s p l e n t i f u l

though t . I bu i l t new houses , only to tear them down and bui ld overagain next year ,

‘ and SO on for several years .

I final ly d iscovered that i t was on ly at those brief seasons of theyear when I could have succulen t green feed that my hens paid .

Then common sense began to assert i tsel f and I began to reason thati t i s impossible to have the hens lay eggs wi thou t she has what naturein tended .

As Springtime cond i tions always brough t eggs , i t behooves us togive the hens Springtime condi tions al l the year around .

These Springtime condi tions can be had the year around here inCal i forn ia i f you have ferti le soi l and cheap water for i rrigation .

When I made th is importan t d iscovery that hens mu st 'have al l thefresh succu len t green feed they can eat every day in the year , I sawvery plain ly that my location was absolu tely worth less as a poul tryranch .

I n these five years of endeavor I learned that a'

rich soi l wel lwatered and near a good market are the necessary attribu tes to anyfeasible location for poul try raisi ng . I saw that i t was imperative tochoose a new location , and th is I d id ,

choosing five acres Of ri ch ,

wel l -watered soi l here near Palo Al to , and the seven years on th is richsoi l have been as prosperous as the first five years were a fai l ure . I fvou have n ot these three essen tials , sel l ou t at once .

You cannot afford to waste a single day wi thou t these necessarycondi tions , and the sooner the change is mad e the better . Al l thesuccessful pou l trymen that I know have these essentials and the morequal i ty these essen tials have the better the Success .

Green beets , green kale , green chard , green barley , green rape ,green al fal fa , green , green , green every day in the year , cries the hen ,and wi thou t th is fresh green feed i t i s absol u tely impossible to produceeggs at a profi t . T o grow these green feeds you mu st have a large flowof cheap water . You must have at least 200or 300 gal l on s per minu teto be able to i rrigate wi thou t too much loss of time . I have a cen t rifugal pump that throws 600 gal lons per minu te ,

‘ ga l lons per hour ,gal lons i n ten hours , and at a cost Of twen ty cen ts per hour .

My water l i ft from water level i s on ly ten feet . With my rich soi l and

39

M a n ge l b eets fo r po u l t ry

th i s river Of wa ter from my Sixty- foot wel l , I can raise tons and tons Ofbeets and kale and al fal fa at a min imum cost . A large variety of greenfeed before the hens every day i n the year is the secret of my successin pou l try farming . Anyone can dupl ica te my success wi th my envi ronmen ts . A pumping plan t , wel l , motor , pump and al l need n ot cost over$500. With your own pumping plan t and motor , you are independen tfor water and can use the motor to run the green feed cu tter , grindgrain , mix feed , run the wash ing mach ine , emery wheel , etc . Thevery fi rst essen tial on a successfu l

You cannot succeed i n Cal i forn ia wi thou t plen ty of i rrigatingwater , and be absol u tely su re you have plen ty of water before youlocate . I feel l ike shouting these tru ths from the housetop after myordeal Of five years ’ useless labor in the wrong place , and i f I can savemy fel low poul trymen from making the same mistake I wi l l be glad .

There are three d isti nct profi ts derived from feed ing a succu len tvariety Of green feed to hens . First , tender , succu len t greens keep thehens toned up and in a heal thy cond i tion so that a

‘

great saving is madein loss Of hens

,which adds material ly to the profi ts i n large flocks .

Second , there i s a great saving i n grain and mil l feeds , for the hen wi l ln ot on ly assimi late better what she does eat , bu t wi l l eat much less ,for the green feed i s nature ’s best food .

Many times a hen wi l l eat more of on e kind of grain than her systemneeds i n order to get a l i ttle Of a certain elemen t craved . With plen tyOf greens th is craving i s sati sfied and the hen makes use Of al l the grainor mi l l feed instead Of passing i t off hal f d igested . I n fatten ing anykind of stock on on e kind of grai n i t wi l l be noticed that after thesystem is ful l of that particu lar elemen t much is passed Off hal fd igested . This i s a waste that wi l l not occur wi th plen ty Of green feed .

40

KA L E G ROW I NG O N W E E K S RA N C HKa l e p r od u ces a s h i g h a s 3001 to n s pe r a c re . It i s o n e of t h e m ost ex t r a o rd i n a ryg ree n fo od s fo r p o u l t ry a n d ra b b i ts . It g rows t h e yea r r o u n d i n C a l i fo rn i a .

Third , the hen produces far more eggs on green feed;i n fact , al lthe profi table eggs produced are made from the green feed . We areworking for the eggs produced over and above the main tenance of thehen

,and i t i s absolu tely impossible for the hen to l ay enough wi thou t

green feed to more than pay her keep . This i s a settled fact . Withthese three profi ts to the cred i t Of green feed , you can see how essen tiali t is and that success cannot be attained wi thou t i t .

M an ge l w u rtze l beets

4 1

Twen ty -fi v e h e n s i n ea c h 8 x 8 p en—H e a l t hy , h a p py , p ro d u ct i v e .

CHAPTER V .

THE MOST INTENSIVE EGG FARM IN THE WORLD

OME years ago a man by the name Of Ph i lo,Elmira

,N . Y . ,

startledthe world by a new and unheard -Of system O f keeping poul try

i n smal l pens wi th no ou tside runs . He’

wrote a l i t tl e pamphlet tel l i ngOf th is new and wonderfu l system Of poul try raising whereby on e couldearn from a town lot i n one year . The whole world wen t toraising poul try i n the back yard . Phi lo

,i t i s said

,made from

this l i ttle pamphlet in on e year . O ld pou l trymen smi led and said thati t could never be done . Nevertheless

,Phi lo coops sprang up in the

back yards the world over and sometimes on the roofs of tal lbu i ld ings i n large ci ties .

The O ld poul trymen began to Sit up and take notice when the taleso f wonderfu l egg production came pouring i n from al l d i rection s .

They began to wonder what there was i n th is system of keeping six

hens in a pen 4 by 6 feet that causes such an amazing increase i n theeggs . They began to experimen t wi th th is new plan . They tested i ta longside thei r large flock , free range systems and found out that Phi lohad on ly emphasized a natural and primary truth and that th i s tru tho r law holds good in the production of al l kinds Of l ive stock .

Segregation is the whole secret of Phi lo ’s success .

4 3

Smal l flocks,wel l fed and kept i n close quarters i n a sa rfi ta ry way ,

brough t unbel ievable resu l ts . Phi lo was the pioneer Of th is n ew

movemen t toward smal ler flocks i n close quarters . Bu t h is sy stempartial ly fa i led . Soon the back yards of the whole world were pi ledful l of empty Phi lo Coops , big pi les of j unk marked wi th memories Oflong days Of rou tine i n carrying heavy pai l s Of water from coop toCoop

,l ugging pai ls Of feed down long rows Of tiny houses , l i fting roofs

and scraping dropping boards from coop to Coop , reach ing into ahundred pens to gather eggs . True , you got the eggs , bu t oh

,th e

detai l ! Yes,th i s was the way to produce eggs , bu t could any mortal

stand the strain Of th is terrific detai l and attain the degree Of happinessto which he aspi red ? Phi lo was on the righ t track;he found ou t theSecret Of producing the maximum number Of eggs from a given feed .

Phi lo ’s system was weak i n one poin t . 'I t was cumbersome i ndetai l . The detai l was so great that the day

’

s rou tine was slavery foron e who performed h i s own work , and unprofi table for on e who h i redi t done .

Soon after the Ph i lo system there came another known as theCorn ing system . This fi l led al l the poul try j ournal s Of the land wi thpri n ted matter and i l l ustrations of wonderfu l long houses wherebyon e thousand hens were kept i n on e long house wi thou t ou tside runs ,thus el iminating wi th on e stroke the awfu l detai l i n the Ph i lo system .

The whole poul try world erected long houses . Smal l houses weresledged to the corners Of the yards and fields or spl i t up in to kindl ing .

Miles and mi les Of long houses , wi th thei r flat shed roofs , stretched ou t

on every horizon . What a terrific waste of energy , l umber andcapi tal ! The Corn ing book i s a th i ng Of the past . The Corn ing system fai led .

I t was against al l reason to pu t on e thousand hens i n on e longhouse , compel l ing them to breathe the dust kicked up from thestraw-covered floor and to roost at n igh t fi fteen or twenty fee t backfrom the fresh ai r , crowded up against the low roof , wi th the stenchfrom fresh droppings ari sing from the dropping board j ust below ,

fi l l ing thei r nostri l s t i l l morn ing . I say th is i s against al l humanreason and the Corn ing system is a fai l u re . True , there are some yettoday that wi l l n ot admi t i t , bu t they are on ly young in the game andtime wi l l correct the error .

One thousand hens packed in between dropping boards and lowroof at n igh t wi th the awful stench from below and the fou l ai r fromon e thousand pai rs Of l ungs to breathe and re -breathe th rough thelong , uncomfortable n igh t , i s i t any wonder that the hens come downfrom thei r clammy quarters i n the morn ing wi th watery eyes , andrunn ing noses , and swel led head , and roup , and canker , and ch ickenpox ? I t i s no wonder that the hens get the tubercular germs and wasteaway and d rop Off, day after day . I t i s a mystery how they can exi stso long as they do and be able to even pay thei r feed i n eggs .

I t i s producing eggs at a tremendous loss Of hen flesh . One by onet he hens d rop Off, and at the end of the year when the final reckoningi s made the balance i s n o t what we expected .

The pendulum had swung from the detai l extreme to the otherextreme .

4 4

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housing and yard ing to d iscover . After many years of detail ed resu l ts ,the best percentage of eggs from a practical number of hens was had

,

i n flocks Of twenty in Open fron t 8 by 8 pens , wi th three-foot proj ectionover open fron t to keep ou t rain . Less than twenty hens i n on e Openpen requi res more detai l and too much cost in housing . More thantwenty hens curtai l s egg production .

Twenty hens , therefore , i s the uni t for best resu l ts . T O housethese twenty hens SO that they would be free from dust- laden ai r , SOthat they would have ai r as pure as ou tside ai r , so that they wouldsti l l be protected from rains , and winds , and cold drafts;i n Short , SOthat thei r bodi ly comfort would be the best possible at al l t imes , tohouse these hens so that al l these poin ts would be taken care of i s theproblem . After trying al l the designs of houses ever seen or read Of ,and after trying many patterns Of my own , I at last evolved a housethat gives al l th i s bodi ly comfort and en tai l s the least lost motion i ncare Of fowls .

These pens are eigh t feet square , five feet h igh beh ind , and sevenand on e-hal f feet h igh at the comb , open fron t to the east , over wh ichi s a three- foo t proj ection to keep ou t rain and under wh ich the attendan t walks to care for fowls

sThese pens are bui l t side by Side i n to long

houses , there being no l imi t to the length . Between each two pens i sthe feed hopper bu i l t i n to the parti tion and feed ing both sides , hold ingon e sack of dry mash and one O f mixed grains i n i ts respective com

partmen ts . Ful l length along the ou tside is the green feed trough ,from which the hens eat through the opening . The water buckets areal so on the outside . Thus al l the hens are fed greens and wateredwi thou t open ing a single gate or door . The hoppers inside are fi l l edonce i n abou t two weeks . The dropping boards and ground floor arecleaned once per week by simply raking the fi l th from the top Of thesand which covers the floors . Sand is the on ly material to use on thefloors Of poul try houses .

Twenty hens , wel l-bred , wel l-fed , and quarters kept san i tary inth is l i ttle pen , are good for at least each per year net profi t abovefeed expense. These twen ty hens have cl ean , sharp sand upon theground floor and roosting boards , which i s raked clean regularly .

They have dry mash and mixed grai n'

by them con ti nual ly;they canstick thei r heads th rough to the green feed trough ou tside and eatgreen feed every hour during the day;they drink water from cleangalvanized buckets on the ou tside;they dust i n the sand;they j umpup to the feed hopper;they j ump down again to the green feed trough;they run to the water;they hOp up to the nest boxes (which , by theway , i s the most importan t move of the day ) , and after deposi tingthei r board bi l l and ren t

,pl us the extra profi t , they j ump down and up

again to the perches for an afternoon rest , or stretch ou t in to theafternoon sunsh ine , which comes i n through the western window .

Thei r whole day i s given up to thei r own i nd ividual care , and wi th al lthe necessaries before them , al l the time i s avai lable for making eggs ,and wi th thei r morn ing su n bath , and afternoon sun ba th and freefrom draft or fou l , dusty ai r , wi th al l these ideal cond i tions , they haveei ther go t to

! lay or bust . ”

One acre of good ferti le soi l wi th plen ty Of cheap water for i rrigationis al l that any one fami ly can handle wi thou t h i ring help . This i s on e

4 6

Of the most in tensive poul try systems in the world and makes i t possibl efor people

'

of smal l means to make a luxurious l iving on a l i t t le l andwi th heal th and independence . With th is system i t i s possible to keepon e thousand hens on on e acre and produce al l the greens which theycan consume and sti l l have room for home garden Of vegetables

,fru i t

and berries .With rich soi l and plen ty Of cheap water , fresh , crispm t

green feed in the way Of beets , kale , al fal fa , chard , cabbage and barleycan be grown l uxurian tly , and the tonnage produced on on e i n tensifiedacre i s almost beyond bel ief . One thousand wel l-bred hens on oneacre , handled on th is in tensive plan , can be made to net above feedexpenses each , or $2000 per year . I f more income is wan ted

,

develop a second acre and double the income .

Fresh , cri sp , succulen t green feed is the secret Of success i n eggproduction , and i f your acre i s n ot ferti le , and i f there i s no water fori rrigation , success can never be attained . Any ambi tious , i ndustriousperson need have no fears i f located on ferti l e soi l wi th plen ty Of cheapwater and home market , for these are the essen tials of success .

I t remains to add that my system is by no means experimen tal .I t has passed that stage and stands today as a matter Of absol u tedemonstration , and as such freely acknowledged by thousands whohave investigated i t on the spot as al l are i nvi ted to do .

I have tried i t’

ou t for ten years , side by side wi th other systems ,and am sati sfied that i t has been my good fortune to attai n thedesi red resul t— the largest and steadiest egg production from thesmal lest area consisten t wi th san i tary condi tions and heal thy fowl s .

Th e g reen feed t h at m a kes e g g s

4 ?

CHAPTER VI .

INCUBATION

NCUBAT ION i s as .Old as h istory . The ancien t Egyp tianSRrT eTv‘

iTew

to hatch eggs by using artificial heat and the secret of i ncubation washanded down from father to son . The general pub l ic were ignoran t Ofthe laws Of i ncubation and brough t al l thei r eggs to men who

'

were

professional s i n incubation . The secret was guarded very careful l y .

So long did the Egyptians hatch eggs artificial ly that the l i t tle brownEgyptian hen lost her i nstinct to set on eggs , and to th i s day theEgyptian hen is a n on -setter .

The Chinese have also practiced incubation for ages . Thei rmethods are very crude as compared to the modern sel f-regulatingmachines .They have large

,th ick-wal led ovens in wh ich they bui ld a fi re ,

simi lar to the Old bake oven Of ou r forefathers . When the wal l s arewel l heated the fire i s taken ou t and the temperature al lowed to cooldown to the correct degree . The attendan t crawls i n to the oventhrough the low , narrow door and places the eggs around the floors Ofthe oven i n baskets . They have no thermometers and tel l the righ ttemperature by long practice . The caretaker turns the eggs i n th islarge oven , enduring the 103 degrees of heat wh i le he works . Whenthe temperature fal ls too l ow the eggs

‘

are wrapped up and taken ou t

whi le another fire i s kind led and the heat brough t back up to therigh t poin t .

Today we have the modern sel f-regulating mach ine that makes i tpossible for anyone to hatch eggs . The instructions for operating andadj usting the mach ine come wi th each incubator , and i t is needless totake space for further di rections . The best place to run an incubatori s in a cel lar or basemen t i n which the temperature may be kept veryregular . DO not attempt to run the mach ine i n a room that i s hot i nthe day and cool at n igh t .

I ncubation is simply a mechan ical process and the mach ine that i sn 1ce ly adj usted and keeps an even temperature and venti lates wi thou t adraft wi l l hatch good eggs i f the attendan t wi l l do h is par t .

The fi rs t requisi te i n successfu l i ncubation is a good egg . The besti ncubators made wi l l not succeed in hatch ing eggs from in ferior s tock .

T OO many poul trymen make the mistake Of hatch ing from immaturehens . The hens i n tended for breeders Should be selected from theearl iest maturi ng pul lets from the first hatches after the mol ting season .

Poul trymen are learn ing by costly experience that ! any o ld egg”

wil l not do for the incubator . .I f you have an egg wi th strong vi tal i tyand generations O f hens beh ind that egg that have a superabundanceof energy , then more than hal f of the incubator troubles are over , andI migh t add that n ine- ten ths Of the brooder troubles are al so over .The egg should be placed in the mach ine as soon after laying as

possible . The sooner the better . I t i s possible to hatch ch icks fromeggs on e week , two weeks or three weeks Old , bu t the Older the egg theless chance of hatch ing a strong

,sturdy ch ick . The germ in the egg

4 9

grows weaker as the egg ages , and the food elemen ts wh ich are tonourish the germ become stale and unfi t for food .

The yolk Of the egg is enclosed i n the body of the developing ch ickand is connected wi th its digestive system by a smal l duct which al lowsthe yolk to be absorbed in to the al imen tary canal , and thus the ch icki s

‘

nouri shed for the firs t th ree days after leaving the shel l . I f th is yolkis over-heated in incubation i t is hardened so that i t cannot be assimila ted and the ch ick dies in from Six to ten days from the poison Of th isdecaying yolk . I f the egg is kept too long before incubation the yolkdecomposes and the ch ick is doomed to an early death from poison .

Ch icks from immature stock have not the vi tal i ty to digest even a goodyolk , much less the chick feeds .

Place the eggs on the tray wi th the smal l end down,l ean ing them

so that the large end is the h igher , keeping them in th is posi tion duringthe incubation period .

After the mach ine i s warmed up and regulated to 102 degrees orthereabouts , place the eggs in and do n ot turn for th ree days . Thenthey can be turned twice each day , being carefu l to ge t them in to themach ine quickly up to the seven th day . After

'

the fi rst week let themai r a l i tt le at fi rs t and increase the time Of ai ring up to the time theybegin to pip . At n o time let them cool below 80degrees , and on ly onceeach day . I have had excel len t hatches turn ing the eggs once per day ,bu t I th ink resu l ts warran t turn ing twice per day . The eggs should betested on the seven th day and al l the i n ferti le ones taken ou t . Sometest on the fourth or fi fth day , bu t i t is hard on the tender germ toremain ou t Of the mach ine .

The temperature should be kept between 102 and 103 degrees , andthe stead ier the better the hatch and stronger the ch icks . Good eggscan very easi ly be spoi led by i rregular temperatures . I t requ i resexactness to incubate successfu l ly . NO careless person wi l l eversucceed in incubation . The incubator Should be placed in a basemen tor cel lar where the outside temperature i s very even . Never under anyci rcumstances al low the temperature to gO above 103 degrees , for everytime i t does the vi tal i ty Of the ch icks i s weakened . One Of the greatestfaul ts wi th ou r modern mach ines i s that they are slow i n bringing thetemperature back to 103 degrees after eggs have been aired . Thetemperature should ari se quickly to 103 degrees after eggs are placedin the mach ines .

I t cannot be impressed too strongly upon the amateur that an even ,steady temperature brings best resu l ts . I do n o t bel ieve in cool i ng theeggs ti l l germ i s ch i l led

, for th i s dai ly ch i l l i ng Of the germ i s boundto weaken i t . A sl igh t ai ring may be beneficial and the cool i ng of theshel l and the heating again may cause a con traction and relaxation ofthe fibrous ti ssue Of the Shel l un ti l the ch ick is more easi ly able tobreak through , because the shel l becomes more bri ttle by thi s action .

I know that i t has been advocated that plen ty Of cool ing enables thech ick to hatch easier , bu t then i f the after l i fe Of the ch ick i s harmed bytoo much cool ing i t would be better that i t never came out . There i ssti l l considerable d ifference Of opin ion i n cool ing eggs , some sayingthat extra cool ing enables ch icks to hatch easier and also makes themsturdy , but when we stop to consider that in no other instance i s thefoetal l i fe O f the germ al lowed to vary in temperature during develop

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F i ftee n yea rs ' b reed i n g b e h i n d t h ese l a r g e , l u sty , v i g o ro u s m a l es

ment , i t seems unreasonable . Wild bi rds exchange places In keepingthe eggs warm continual ly . Also pigeons al ternate thei r work duringincubation period , n ot al lowing eggs to get cool . The hen under domest ica tion has no mate to help her ou t and is forced to do the incubationalone , whi le her polygamous husband takes care Of the harem . Thisnecessi tates that the hen ei ther starve or go Off the nest at periods forfood , taking a chance that the t iny germ wi l l s tand the exposure un ti lher return . The germ may suffer some from th is exposure , and on theother hand may also get used to th is period ic cool i ng un ti l i t becomesa law in i ts developmen t . Evolu tion is a wonderfu l th ing and adaptation plays a great part i n the unfold ing of l i fe .

The question Of moisture i s also a problem in artificial incubation .

The egg contains enough moisture to carry i t through the incubationperiod i f we cou ld get ou r mechan ica l heating devices SO perfectedthat the egg would have practical ly the same cond i tions that i t doesunder the hen . But i t i s hard to adj ust the ven ti lation so as to getenough ai r and yet not d ry the egg too much . An egg loses weigh t i nthe Open air very fast . The ideal i ncubator would have an egress forthe carbon d ioxide thrown Off by the egg and yet have no draft . Thesecondi tions are hard to adj ust . The egg wants a dead ai r space fori ncubation and yet have some way to get rid Of the gases th rown Off.

I n most of ou r artificial i ncubation moisture i s suppl ied especial ly at

hatch ing time . There Should be enough moisture at ha tChin g time tocol lect on the glass on the fron t Of the mach ine .

Incubation is , perhaps , the most unpoetic and monotonous work onthe poul try ranch , yet i t has i ts fascination at the hatch ing periodwhen the ch icks begin to kick ou t . I t requi res very patien t , methodical work , wi th extreme care i n regu lating temperatures .

Fi l l ing the lamps , trimming the wicks , clean ing the burners ,regulating the flame , i s detai l work that requ i res care . Turn ing theeggs careful ly twice every day is a l igh t task , bu t takes time , and i t is aroutine that leaves the mind free for though t . Your hands do the workwhi le the mind i s at l iberty to solve the many dai ly problems .

T o sum up incubation : place on ly good , un i form eggs from maturestock in the mach ines , l i t tl e end lowest . The temperature should beregulated to abou t 102 when eggs are placed in the mach ine , and runsteadi ly between 102 and 103 degrees during the whole period .

Turn the eggs twice dai ly after th i rd day and ai r sl igh tly after fi rstweek , i ncreasing time as germ grows Older , bu t never let them coolbelow 80degrees . On the eigh teen th day pu t moisture in the moisturepan . This shou ld be steaming water so that the humidi ty is brough tup i n the mach ine .

A steady temperature i s the prime factor in bringing ou t a goodhatch . Eggs from sturdy Stock Of mature age , wi th males and femalesunrelated , wil l give best resu l ts . AS the success Of the egg- farmer

'

depends upon the vi tal i ty and laying qual i ties Of the pu l l ets , i t i simperative that these condi tions be adhered to .

INCUBATION AND INCUBATORS

To get the best resu l ts i n in cubation is a problem that has alwaysbothered pou l trymen . To get the bes t resu l ts the eggs must be in cubated i n a mach ine that keeps an even temperature . The manymakes Of i ncubators on the market requ ire an expensive cel lar Of eventemperatu re in order to approach the requ i remen ts . The greatestfau l t i n al l makes is that Of n ot being able to bring the temperatureup quickly after eggs are turned . To have the eggs take on e ,

two ,three , and four hours to come back to the proper temperature afterbeing turned was a serious hand icap . To get a mach ine that wouldbring th is temperature back quickly wi thou t danger Of overheatingand hold i t steady as a clock

,was the task that I wished to accompl ish .

I tried almost every make on the market . I tried many designs Of myown . Someth ing was wrong . I cou ld not strike upon the righ t prin 7ciple . I wan ted a mach ine that would bring the temperature upqu ickly and hold i t stead i ly

,regard less Of ou tside temperature , and

also have correct venti lation and moistu re device . I tried for years tofind the perfect mach ine . I d readed to start the incubators year afteryear , for I knew that i t mean t the closest atten tion to regulation ,

which con tinuous strain gets on the nerves . Fi l l ing lamps and trimming wicks and adj usting the regulator on many mach ines i n a poorlyven ti lated cel lar every day was an ordeal that I was sure could beremed ied . I saw a chance for progress and I was to find or evolve amach ine that would do the work . I t seemed that of al l the i nventionsi n the world the incubator was the most sad ly neglected . I nventors

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Au toma t ic Tu rn in g Egg-t rays

For years I have been trying to i nven t some mechan ical device fortu rn ing hatch ing eggs . Al l the devices 011 the market seemed tooexpensive and compl icated . After fi fteen years experimenting I havea t last inven ted a tray that wi l l tu rn al l the eggs even better than byhand , and the mechan ism is cheap and simple . Al l the eggs on eachtray are turned by Simply pul l ing a string . One man can turn moreeggs than ten men can by hand . Turn ing eggs has always been ated ious process , bu t n ow we make easy , pleasan t work Of i t .

In cu ba tor Lam ps

Our incubator lamps hold enough Oi l to do on e week ,thus e l imin a t

i ng the tremendous detai l of trimming and fi l l i ng lamps each day .

Ch ick Trays

Our mach ine i s also equ ipped wi th ch ick trays wh ich catch thech icks as they drop from the egg tray . Th is el iminates the ordeal ofreachin g

‘

in to the mach ine and taking the ch icks ou t on e by o ne .

We have instal led every device for making ou r mach ine laborSaving and efficien t . Our mammoth incubator room has capaci ty foron e hundred Of these 500-egg mach ines . Perhaps th is i s the fi rs tmach ine manufactured by a poul tryman .

H ot -wate r b o i l e r fo r h eat i n g e i g h t p en sof W ee ks System

CHAPTER VI I .

THE ART OF BROOD ING CH ICKS

RODUC ING h igh -grade poul try and eggs is fast growing to be ascience , and the knowledge Of how to apply th is science i s an art .A scholarly , scien tific knowledge Of poul try raising does n ot always

make an arti st i n pou l try production . Doing is the art . Science i sthe accumulated tru ths that bear upon a subj ect . Al l the truths O fpoul try raising can be commi tted to memory , and yet th i s wi l l notmake a successfu l poul tryma n . We need practi ce wh ich makes thepoul try artist and which is the art of poul try raising .

Each departmen t O f poul try keeping has i ts art . One may beproficien t i n the feed ing and care of laying hens and get a h igh percen tage Of eggs wi th low death rate and yet be a fai l ure i n brooding ch icks .

Brood ing ch icks i s an art wh ich no careless person wi l l ever learn .

Successfu l brooding depends upon three th ings being correct to startwi th . Fi rst , that the paren t stock Of the ch ick shal l have generationsOf carefu l breed ing for vigor beh ind i t . This paren t stock must be inthe pink Of condi tion at the time the eggs are to be incubated . Thisparen t stock must be at leas t two years Old , wi th every condi tionfor heal th .

Second , the incubation of th i s egg from correct s tock must be doneexactly righ t or no brooder on earth wi l l make-a good ch ick from th isegg . The temperature Should be held as steady as a clock between102 and 103 degrees . I f i t runs above th is or below the chick wi l lnever be as good as i t migh t be .

Third , the construction Of the brooder must give natural comfortto the ch ick wi th plen ty Of fresh ai r and no dust . Righ t here i s where

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D i st i l l a te b urn e r fo r h ea t i n g b rood e r b o i l e r

too many fal l down in brood ing . A wel l -bred ch ick correctly incubatedplaced in a diabol ical brooder i s certai n fai l u re . True , many goodch icks squeeze th rough to maturi ty i n spi te of the crowded broodercond i tions . The brooder season i s SO short as compared to the successor fai l u re Of the balance Of the season that on e cannot afford to neglectthe sl i gh test detai l . Good pul l ets at the beginn ing of the laying seasonis the end i n view , and no stone shou ld be left un turned to make themthe best possible . You can wel l afford to pu t much stress on th i s shortsix weeks brood ing period , for does not your whole year

’s profi t dependupon the kind Of pu l lets that come from th is brooder ? How manyextra good pul l ets would i t take to pay the h i re Of an extra man duringth is short breed ing period ? The hardest part Of the pou l tryman i s toreproduce productive hens i n large numbers .

The man who advocates placing a thousand ch icks in a low , tigh tsealed room

,wi th hardly 'a ray Of sunl igh t , wi th a stove i n the cen ter

that squanders heat i n every way except i n the exact spot where i t i smost needed , heat i n the top of the room

'

til l i t makes you dizzy , heatgoing ou t Of the ch imney trying to warm up al l ou tdoors and a thousandl i ttle ch icks walking over each other trying to find the correct heat

,

fi rst too hot on i nside , then too cold on ou tside Of th is ci rcle , and al lthe clammy

,dusty

,rotten ai r d rawn over thei r l i t tle backs con tinual ly

toward the stove—I say that the man who advocates th is i n ferno forbaby ch icks should be made to pass j ust on e week i n th is tuberculosisfactory and he would never l ive to tel l the tale . I t wi l l take u s too manycen turies to make moles and bats ou t Of ch icks , so why n o t give themthei r natural cond i tions Of sunsh ine and fresh ai r and work along thel ines Of least resi stance ? Success i s always easy along nature

’

s way .

I f we work wi th nature we cannot make a mistake , for she has been so

long at the game . Every time a ch ick sticks i ts head from under thebrooder i t should have pure ai r free from dust to breathe . I t shouldhave heat enough i n the brooder to keep the body warm whi le i ts headis outside breath ing ai r that had never been in a pai r Of l ungs before .

A thousand pai rs of l ungs i n on e hermetical ly sealed room pumpingthe ai r over and over again un ti l there is hard ly enough oxygen left

to keep the fire burn ing , wi th on ly a shaft or two to grudgingly let i na l i ttle Of al l the great ocean of fresh ai r on the outside—free ai r , too .

I f we had to pay for i t , we would figh t for i t . Plan ts and an imals needsun l igh t and fresh ai r and wi l l not reach thei r fu l l s tatu re wi thout i t .Why are we 8 0 Slow to learn the value Of fresh ai r i n ou r poul trykeeping ?I admi t there are many thousand ch icks rai sed by the stove system ,

or rather in spi te Of i t;for from al l the thousands and thousandsdumped around the stoves many are raised , bu t of th i s number howmany contract tubercular germs that make

’

them on e by on e fal l bythe wayside during thei r laying career ? The loss among laying henson egg farms is terrific on accoun t Of bad ven ti lation al l along the l ine .

The baby chick needs a h igh degree Of hea t during the fi rst week .

I t shou ld have a brooder wi th parts as h igh as 100degrees in bea t downto 90,

so that a comfortable temperature can be chosen . The tem

pera tu re must be h igh enough SO that the ch icks wi l l n o t need to huddleto keep warm . Nei ther must they be so crowded that they cannot findcomfort wi thou t too much bunch ing . Nature never i n tended thatch icks shou ld be raised in large flocks . I t i s against al l reason . S implya survival Of the fi ttest and these fi t test are Often ru ined for a profi tablecareer . From seven ty to one hundred and fi fty chicks to each flockis enough . Probably on e hundred i s a good average . The fewer together the better the resu l ts . These shou ld have enough heat so thatthey wi l l be perfectly comfortable wi thou t hudd l ing , and the broodermust be so constructed that they can stick thei r heads ou t to the freshai r and sti l l be warm . This brooder should be i n an open fron t penwh ich al lows the heal th fu l sun l igh t to warm i t up fi rs t th ing i n theearly morn ing , so that the ch icks can have an early su n bath wi thou thaving to hang around artificial heat al l day . Sunl igh t

,fresh ai r and

no dust and a comfortable hover to rest under , and the ch ick has idealcond i tions to grow in to a vigorous , productive fowl .As

,I sit and wri te th is article on brooding ch icks , the early morn ing

sunl igh t i s pouring di rectly in to fi fty open fron t pens eigh t feet square,

warming and cheering the six thousand comfortable ch icks which aretaking thei r morn ing su n bath . I have j ust been ! the rounds

,and to

see them disporting themselves i n fresh ai r and sunl igh t wi th no dustcertain ly is a cheerfu l prospect after twelve years Of search ing after thenatural way . And not on e Of these six thousand ch icks wi l l have to betaugh t ! to roost . They have the going up habi t from the very firstday . Thei r brooder i s a fourteen - i nch board eigh t feet long over twohot water pipes upon the dropping board ,

which i s two feet from theground floor and three feet wide . On th is floor i s thei r feed and waterand comfortable hover . They are al ready ! up” where they are soonexpected to perch , and as a ch ick seldom forgets what he learns , i tbehooves us to form the righ t habi ts from the s tart .They have a ten - i nch board runn ing from this floor to the ground

floor , which they slowly learn to run up and down . This gives themexercise as wel l as en tertainmen t , and forms the

! going up” habit .On the brooder floor they have fine cu t straw or al fal fa , and scratch

for ch ick feed in th is . They also have troughs Of dry mash by them al lthe time . As soon as they wi l l take to green feed they have al l theywi l l clean up twice per day . On the ground floor thev have clean , sharp

57

sand,and here they take thei r baths in the warm su n arid as they

must always run ! up” to eat and drink , they never forget thei rtrue home .

I keep plen ty Of good , sharp sand by them al l the time , wi th charcoal and oyster shel l . A wel l-bred ch ick , wel l i ncubated and brooded ,

and ‘ the feeding question i s very simple . Give them al l they wi l l eatof an y good , clean , wholesome feed and they wi l l thrive . I do not feedwet mash at al l . I have tried i t off and on for years , and have at lastdecided that a wet mash creates too many bacteria .

AS the ch icks grow Older they need less and less heat and the hoverboard i s raised accord ingly . They soon have enough an imal heat toalmost keep them warm . By thus gradual ly raising the hover boardas they requi re less and less artificial heat , they become accustomed torely on thei r own body heat , and i t i s on ly a simple th ing to move themin to another pen exactly the same except i t i s wi thou t heating pipes .

I have a l i ttle coop that I drive them in to , al l at on e time , and they arecarried around to thei r new quarters and hard ly know the change .

They are changed to these quarters wi thou t heat at between three andfour weeks Old , depending upon the weather . Here the cockerels areplaced in one pen , and the pul lets i n another , thus making abou t fi ftych icks to the pen . Between eigh t and twelve weeks the cockerels aresen t to market and the pul lets again are

‘

d ivided , making abou ttwen ty-five to the pen . This i s thei r last move and thei r permanen tquarters for the firs t laying year . As they have had the ! going up

”

habi t from thei r fi rst day,they natural ly take to the perches wh ich

they have played on so many days .

One Of the greatest problems of the poul tryman has been to get thech ick from the brooder to the perches . Many a promising lot Ofch icks have been ru ined at th is parti cu lar stage . By divid ing them upin to lots Of fi fty at th is stage there i s no loss whatever and they growin to vigorous bi rds that show stamina .

I t must not be forgotten that cleanl iness i s next to godl iness i nbrooding ch icks as in al l o ther th ings

,and wi th the help of fresh ai r and

sunsh ine these pens are kept clean enough for a man to sleep i n .

The gravest danger i n brood ing i n large flocks comes when theymust be taken from th i s close , hot room to which they have so longbeen accustomed to thei r perch ing quarters . Here they are at a loss toknow what to do because al l i s . so strange , and consequen tly theyhuddle and crowd to death at n igh t i n the corners

,and the ch ickens

,

the boss and al l , sweat , and the man h imsel f sweats blood , too ,before

he gets them al l to perch .

Sooner or la terg you must d ivide them in to small flocks to get many

raised , SO why n ot do i t on the start and teach the baby ch icks wh il ethey are at the learn ing age ? You cannot tel l an Old hen anyth ing .

T O sum up the brooder proposi tion :Ch icks must be from vigorous , wel l -mated breed ing stock Of mature

age . Eggs must be incubated correctly , to make strong ch icks .

Brooder must have plen ty of heat wi th fresh ai r condi tions . DO notrun too many ch icks i n one flock . Feed good , wholesome dry feeds inlarge variety as possible . A good varie ty Of succu len t green feed i simperatively necessary . I f al l these condi tions , along wi th clean l i ness ,are adhered to , there Should be no trouble i n raising almost al l the

58

ch icks hatched . Atten tion to clean l i ness and bodi ly comfort Of chicksis absol u tely necessary , and bear i n mind that fi rst , last and alwayssunsh ine and fresh ai r are the freest and most necessary th ings toch ick l i fe .

G at h e r i n g beet -to ps fo r g ree n s on Wee ks R a n c h

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Deve l o p i n g p u l l ets fo r h eavy l aye rs i n W ee ks System

CHAPTER VI I I

DEVELOP ING PULLETS FOR HEAVY LAYERS

O make each year ’s pul lets better than the paren t stock is a difficul t task . T O do SO requ ires the most exact selection of the paren t

stock for vigor and prepotency wi th due regard to maturi ty and primecond i tion . Pul lets must excel paren t stock i n order to make progress i ndeveloping a strain . This paren t stock

’

must be correctly mated wi thlong years of breed ing beh ind both male and female

,and the matings

must n ot be closely related and shou ld be of mature age . T O make acorrect mating excel i tsel f in progeny requ i res a condi tion i n th is paren tstock that is the very best possible . The paren t stock must be at thezen i th in condi tion , at the cl imax of the h ighest momen t of thei rexi stence , i n order to stamp superiori ty in the young .

Sunshine , fresh ai r , plen ty of exerci se , clean quarters free from dust ,and pure , wholesome feed consti tu te the envi ronmen t that wi l l beconducive for best resu l ts from wel l -mated bi rds . DO not feed wetmashes or sloppy feeds to breed ing stock . Selection and condi tion ingof breed ing stock is the fi rst essen tial toward produci ng better pul lets .

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feed,with the emphasis on clean . I t i s th e biggest mistake to take

clean feed and th row i t i n to fi l th for the pul le t to eat .

This eigh t foot square pen i s the l i t tl e world Of these fi fty pul letsun ti l they are ten or twelve weeks Old , when they fi l l the two perchesand must again have more room and are d ivided in to two pens , makingtwen ty-five to the pen . On the ou tisde of th i s pen i s a feed troughunder the proj ecting roof wh ich extends over three feet and keeps ou tthe rai n from blowing too much i n to the open fron t . The pul lets ea tfrom th is trough by sticking thei r heads th rough an Open ing . Thusthey cannot get i n to the feed wi th thei r feet and must take i t i n thecleanest way possible . They also have a feed hOpper upon the side Ofthe wal l tha t holds a sack fu l l of d ry mil l feed in on e compartment anda sack Of.mixed grains i n the other . The platform to th is hopper iseigh teen inches from the floor , so they must j ump up to feed . Theymust also Jump up to the perches above the dropping board , and th iscon t inual j umping up and down gives them exerc ise as wel l as en terta inmen t . The water bucket sets on the outside wi th the feed trough ,so that no doors need be Opened in feed ing and watering .

The dry mash is composed of four parts ground wheat , on e par tground corn , on e part ground oats wi th hu l l si fted ou t , (when not tooh igh ) on e part beef crackl ings , hal f part soy bean meal , hal f partl i nseed meal , hal f part charcoal . Many would say that th is i s too ri chfor young growing pul lets , bu t where they have a mixtu re of grains inthe compartmen t Of the hOpper adj oin ing they wi l l eat on ly enough ofth i s dry mash to balance thei r ration . The feed trough on the outsideis fi l led twice dai ly wi th fresh , cri sp green feed . This can be al fal fa ,kale , green barley , beets , cabbage , ch ard or rape , and the greater thevariety the better . Be sure they have th is green feed 365 days in theyear , i ncl ud ing the fourth Of a day . Don

’

t u nder.any ci rcumstances

attempt to keep hens wi thou t plen ty Of green feed . T o have that i nCal i forn ia means that you must i rrigate . And yOu must have yourpoul try ranch located where water i s cheap or you can never succeed .

I f you have n o water for i rrigation , and plen ty of i t , sel l ou t and I wi l ltel l you where you can get as good land as lays ou t Of doors wi th a l l

the cheap water that is needed for i rrigation . T OO many fai l for wan tO f the righ t location . For goodness Sake , do n ot attempt to raisepoul try on a dry , poor , barren place , for i t cannot be done . I know ,

for I tried i t early . You must have plen ty of water or the time using i twi l l n ot pay for the resu l ts . There i s plen ty of good cheap water neargood markets i f you wi l l find the righ t local i ty .

This l i t tle eigh t foot square pen wi th open fron t forms the l i t t l eworld for these growing pul lets and here they stay during thei r firs tlaying year . They have everyth ing before them to eat al l the time andal l the fresh ai r and sunsh ine and a deep sandy ground floor to rol l anddust in , and are absol u tely better Off than any hen that ever roamedthe wide world outside . They eat

,drink and grow , and when they

arrive at the laying age i t i s simply a sociological principle;thei r mindis on thei r business—eat , drink and lay;that

’s thei r dai ly rou tine .

They have no other amusement and can special ize . They eat to digest ,and d igest to lay , and as thei r paren ts were heavy eaters before themand made eggs ou t Of thei r food

,they have that tendency and have i t

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accelerated . Each year the tendency to digest and lay grows , becausehabi ts make tendencies and tendencies i n time become trai ts .

We must remove every Obstacle that would h inder the developmentO f th i s wel l-bred pul let from the breed ing stock to the day the first eggis laid . System , and a fine adj ustment pay in thebreeding O f heavy- laying en s .

We have made wonderfu l progress i n developing heavm al lparts of the world i n the last ten years . The 200-egg hen is no longera marvel . We are al ready to the 300mark and sti l l progressing . Wil lthere be a l imi t ? When we cease to wonder at the 300 hen , wi l l therebe a 400-egg hen to create new sensations ? I bel ieve there i s no boundsin developmen t . Evolu tion i s a wonderfu l process and wi th the plasti cWhi te Leghorn hen man can have an absorbing game in watch i ng theadvan ce from year to year .

K a l e g rows a s h i g h a s a m a n

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T o n s of g ree n feed fo r h en s , g row i n g o n Wee ks F a rm

CHAPTER IX .

FEEDING HENS FOR EGG PRODUCTION

HE very first essen tial i n feed ing for eggs is heavy feedin g. T OO

many poul trymen feed only a main tenance ration i nstead of a produ cing ration . The laying hen shou ld never become hungry , con sequen tly she wi l l never be overfed

,for i t i s the hungry hen that overeats .

I t takes a wonderful d igestive mach ine to turn ou t an egg everytwo days i n the year , for the egg is h igh ly concen trated raw feeds , andwi thou t an abundance Of l arge variety of feeds the hen cannot produce .

An egg i s a marvelous production Of ri ch food con ten t manu facturedfrom the raw foods that the hen had before her . I t behooves us tomake sure the hen has every essen tial for making that egg

'

and the henknows much better than we what kind Of food to select to produce thategg , and on ly wants a chance to choose from a large enough variety tobe able to supply al l the consti tuen ts Of the egg . I f a Single elemen t i slacking in the feed , then egg production i s not maximum . The henmay have everyth ing before her wi th which to make an egg and lackon ly l ime for the shel l , and is thus h indered . I f there is on e elemen tlacking in the ration , the hen wi l l have to carry the egg over to anotherday in order to have that egg completed . I f the egg is fin ished in duetime , the hen i s compel led to eat more Of one kind of food than i sn ecessarv i n order to make up for the lacking parts , and thus part of

6 4

the food is not whol ly assimi lated . When part of the food passesth rough the hen unassimi lated , as ,

we sometimes see from the droppings

,then the rat ion is not a balanced on e and food is wasted ! A wise

feeder wi l l keep as many varieties before the hen as possibl e SO thatShe may choose the consti tuen ts for the egg . The most

'

su ccessfu l eggfarmers keep feed in hoppers before the hens al l the time . T ha td ay ispast when we measure feeds ou t to the hens . I f the grain i s measuredou t at stated periods , the hen invariably eats more than is good for herto eat at on e time .

Nature in tended the crop Of the hen to act as a receptacle in towh ich the food'

for a day can be dumped as the hen in her wi ld statefound i t . Thus , being slowly fi l led , n o i l l effects resu l ted .

'

Naturenever in tended that the crop Of a hen should be fi l l ed i n a few minu tes ,as is the case when hens are fed wet mash or grai ns at stated in tervals .

A hungry hen wi l l always fi l l the crop too fu l l , and i f dry, grains areeaten they swel l and soon sour before they are taken in to the gizzard ,and ind igestion and bowel trouble resu l t . Likewise , i n feed ing wetmashes at stated periods , the hens wi l l gorge and the crop wi l l bepacked , and before th is bulk can get in to the gizzard , fermentationsets in and sour crop i s the resu l t , wi th al l its d igestive troubles . Thegizzard has not i ts normal work to do in the grinding of wet mashes ,and consequen tly degenerates where wet mashes are constan tly fed .

I n many years experience in butchering hens , we have d iscovered manytru ths in regard to feed ing . The digestive organs of hens that havebeen fed wet mash are much more incl i ned to d isease than those fed dryfeeds . Smal l , wasted gizzards , u lcers , tumors and many in flamma tion s

arise from feeding wet mashes . After wet mashes have lain i n the feedtrough for a time i t soon sours and trouble sets i n . Bacterial conditions also ari se in the feed troughs . Then the extra slavery of cartingarOIind wet mash each day is a burden to any poul tryman .

Dry Feeds Most Hea l thfu l

I f the righ t kinds Of dry feeds are kept before pou l try al l the time ,they wi l l never overeat and digestive troubles wi l l be lessened . Withthe righ t ki nd O f feeds before them al l the time they wi l l never fi l l thecrop too fu l l

’

and sour crops are el iminated and better assimi lationtakes place because the food is eaten as nature in tended .

I n preparing dry mashes , i t i s wel l to cater to the tastes of the hen .

Hens do not l ike finely ground mashes,nor wi l l they eat them unti l

starved to i t . They always pick ou t the coarser particles fi rst and leavethe finer . This i s a suggestion that we should not overlook . Middl ings ,Shorts , flour , bran , or other finely ground grains are too fine and arenot rel i shed in the dry mash . This fact i s easi ly determined by placinghoppers Of d ifferen t grades O f mash before the hens . I t wi l l be foundthat no fine mashes wi l l be eaten as long as the coarser can be had .

Did you ever stand and watch hens try to gulp down finely groundmashes as though they were so many ch i ldren being forced to takemedici ne ?

Give the hen a chance to select what She l ikes

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Fresh ly Grou n d Gra in s th e Best

AS soon as the grain i s broken i t begins to de teriorate i n foodvalue . The longer grains have been ground , the less the food valueand less palatable . Newly ground grain i s much more palatable . Forbest resu l ts dry mashes Should be made from fresh ly ground grai ns .

Then these grains should be coarsely ground , for hens natural ly l ikethe larger particles and the finer i t i s ground the qu icker i t deteriorates .I would have no grains ground in to a flour . I would not have wheatand corn broken any finer than we usual ly make i t for ch ick feeds

,and

then you can be sure i t wi l l be rel i shed and eaten clean . Ready mixeddry mashes that are mixed mon ths in advance are the most useless Ofpoul try feeds . The food value deteriorates and the palatabi l i ty i smuch lessened , and besides , that mixed wi th beef scrap becomes moreor l ess rancid un ti l ptomaine poisoning Ofttimes happens . I th inkthere i s more trouble from dry mashes that have been mixed for along period than from any other cause , for the hens do n ot l ike them .

They are the least savory . Grind some fresh feed and see how the hensgo for i t . I would prefer grains ground n ot more than three weeks .The dry feed hoppers can be fi l l ed once i n th ree or four weeks from newgrind ings . The fresher the better . Nature placed a hu l l around thegrain kernel to preserve i t , and as soon as that i s broken oxidationsets in . The volati le parts escape and i t i s l ess savory and the appeti tei s a good ind icator of food values .

Each poul tryman can have h i s own grinder and thus be able tohave newly ground feeds at any time . Better sti l l , each communi ty Ofpoul trymen could have i ts own warehouse for poul try suppl ies andhave its own gri nder and mixer . I t i s Obvious that the poor qual i ty of

grai ns go to make up the SO-cal led pou l try feeds that are ready mixed .

By grind ing your own grains , good qual i ty is assured . A communi tyof poul trymen organ ized in a way to buy grai n i n quanti ty and mixthei r own feed are i n a posi tion to get maximum resu l ts . I n myneighborhood , we have organ ized a warehouse association and wi l lbu i ld ou r own warehouse and instal l a grinder and mixer . Any personin the association can have fresh ly ground grains i n the dry mashat al l times .

This wi l l i nsure a better qual i ty Of feed at a min imum cost .

Composit ion of a Good Dry Mash

The dry mash that has given me best resul ts after fourteen yearsexperimen ting , i s as fol lows :Four parts medium cracked wheat .One part med ium cracked corn (I nd ian corn or maize . )One part good qual i ty dried beef scrap .

One-fou rth part soy bean meal (coarse ground ) .

One-fou rth part Oil cake meal (l i nseed ) .One-fou rth part charcoal .The hens rel i sh th is mixtu re and wi l l eat i t up clean and wi l l eat

almost the same proportion as of the mixed grains i f kept before them .

This mixture wi l l feed down any good dry feed hopper , wi thou tclogging or caking . I t i s essen tial to have a good pattern hopper fordry feed , for i t saves much labor and serves the hens .

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M od e l m ac h i n e ry o u tfi t o n R u n n ym ed e Po u l t ry F a rm

I have l i t tl e use for bran . The l i ttle food value that i t con tains i sObtained at tremendous exertion Of the d igestive organs . The hu l l O fany kernel is made for the protection Of the inside con ten ts and notfor nourishment . I n oats and barley the husk hu l l serves almost thesame purpose as the bran hul l i n wheat , for when that is removed thegrai n has scarcely any other covering . I have long ago learned that i ti s not wise to feed oats or barley wi th the hul ls left on . The i rri tationcaused by so much tough hul l causes endless losses . Remove the hul lfrom oats and barley and these grains make a very good feed in thegrain mixture . Whole wheat ground gives as much bran as the organscan hand le .

Grain Mixtu res

A safe grai n mixture is that composed of three parts whole wheatand on e part Egyptian corn . I f hu l led oats and barley are added toth is i n same proportions as Egyptian corn i t wi l l add variety . I getbetter resu l ts to keep th i s grain by them as the dry mash . My hopperhas two compartmen ts of equal size and on e i s fi l l ed wi th th is grainmixture and the other wi th the above dry mash . I never , under anyci rcumstances , throw the grai n on the floor

,for the hens wi l l eat more

or less fi l th and kick up a dust,which i s much worse than can be Offset

by any exerci se .

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Green Feeds Absol u t e ly!

Necessary

I have wri tten so much and so Often on green feed for pou l try thatth is may seem a repeti tion to my readers , bu t the tru th i s so importan tthat I wish con tinual suggestion to convert al l .You may have every cond i tion for hens and i f you lack green feed

you wil l n ot make them pay . I t i s an impossibi l i ty,and the greater

the variety Of green feed the better the resu l ts . I t takes ferti le soi land plen ty of water to grow good green feeds . S low-growing greensbecome bi t ter and tough and have not the food val ue and are notpalatable . Greens need to be grown quickly and to grow them quicklyrequi res a ri ch garden loam soi l , wel l watered . A pou l try ranch wi thou tri ch garden soi l and plen ty of cheap i rrigating water i s handicappedhere i n Cal i forn ia .

The three best green feeds are kale , mangel wurzel beets , and al fal fa .

I f your soi l i s rich and wel l watered , you can pick a crop Of kale l eavesand beet tops every three weeks during the warm months . Al fal fa

,to

be best rel i shed , shou ld be , also , cu t every three and not over fourweeks

,bu t to do th i s i t must have plen ty Of pou l try manure and water .

I f you have these three green feeds before the hens as many months i nthe year a s possibl e , or from May to December , then you can restassured that hens wi l l pay . From December to May we u se the rootOf the beet and whatever kale is l eft over at that time , and manage tohave a crop Of green barley come on i n the al fal fa patch for the win ter .Barley sown in September or October and cul tivated i n wi th a fineal fal fa cul tivator wi l l make several crops during the win ter . Cabbageis , also , a fine crop to grow in the Fal l for win ter feed . I t shou ld bepu t in i n August or September .Rape is another good win ter crop and can be mowed wi th the scythe

several t imes . Barley , beets , cabbage , and rape for win ter , and kale ,beet tops

,and al fal fa for summer . These green feeds save hens , save

feed , cause better assimi lation and produce more eggs .

I am n o book farmer , and i f you care to visi t my ranch here atPalo Al to you wi l l see th i s system of feed ing carried ou t day after day .

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A pumping plan t i s better for the poul try garden for'

then you canturn on the water any time i t i s needed . Here i n Cal i forn ia water fori rrigation i s absol u tely necessary .

Plow the sed iment loam deep , and have seed bed in fine condi tion .

Set ou t the early kale and cabbage i n March or Apri l . For kale , pu tin h i l l s th ree feet each way . Cabbage can be set two feet each way .

Use Jersey kal e or thousand-headed kale . A good gian t cabbage isthe Autumn King .

Mangels can be transplan ted from beds i f al lowed to get largerthan the finger before transplan ting . They need to be wel l wateredunti l started . The most common way is to dri l l i n rows about two feetapart and th in down to six or eigh t inches between each plan t .I f the soi l i s ri ch and wel l watered , these wi l l grow so fast that

they cannot be cul tivated except when the leaves are picked Off. Wemake i t a ru le to run through wi th the on e-horse cul tivator as fast asa crop Of l eaves i s stripped Off

,and fol low wi th the hoe . This makes a

complete cu l t ivation every three or four weeks , and i t i s i rrigated j ustbefore each cul tivation .

I t i s wel l to i rrigate kale and beets i n trenches or furrows , as thetops grow so rank that i t i s impossible to get through the patches .

We pick the tops from the mangels every three or four -weeks , j us t thesame as kale;also the under leaves of the cabbage are stripped Off,l eaving the heads qu i te bare .

I use a tremendous amoun t Of pou l try manure on my kale , mangels ,and cabbage . T his

_

forces a quick , tender growth when wel l watered .

Kale that i s n ot wel l watered grows blue and tough , and i s too bi tterfor the hens . I pi le on poul try manure from two to Six i nches deepbetween the rows , and then turn on the water , and the growth is so

l uxurian t that the sun hard ly ever strikes the ground .

Every three or fou r weeks during the summer season we have aheavy crop Of cri sp , succulen t , tender tops that are sweet and nourishi ng , and are eaten wi th a rel i sh by the hens .

During the summer mon ths we feed kale,mangel tops , and al fal fa .

For win ter greens we have the roots of the mangels , cabbage , and greenbarley . Kale runs also wel l through the win ter , bu t does n ot growmuch after the frosty nigh ts .Barley i s cu l tivated i n to our al fal fa patch i n September , so that we

cu t barley al l win ter where we cu t al fal fa al l summer . Thus we gettwelve cu ttings per year from the same ground . We pi le on thepou l try manure after each cu tting of al fal fa during the summer andflood i t wel l . This makes a quick

,tender growth that i s very sweet

and rel i shed by the fowls . I t i s aston ish ing what tonnage i s producedin th i s way . Water , soi l and plen ty Of manure wi l l produce as high asth ree hundred tons per acre i n mangel s and kale .

The secret i n win ter greens is to have the tonnage al ready grownwhen the frosty n igh ts come .

The cl imate is such at my place at Palo Al to that we have ourbeets and cabbage grow in the ground al l win ter and pul l them aswe need them .

I f you were on my ranch at on e o’clock on any day , you could see

the red combs of Six thousand hens sticking thei r heads th rough theopen ing to the long troughs on the outside Of the pens and eating

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greens. Not on e kind , but three or four kinds wel l mixed . On th i s

fourth day of February , we feed heavi ly Of Shredded mangel s , alongwi th green barley and some al fal fa that grows protected up throughthe barley

,and on Saturdays a big head of cabbage to each pen

,

enough to last over Sunday .

We manage in th is way to have greens every day in theJM d

winter and ou r egg yield during November , December , J anuary , andFebruary runs close on to fi fty per cen t . On some pens as h igh assixty-seven per cen t during month Of December , from late hatchedpul lets .

In colder places , mangels and cabbage could be pu l led and pu taway in a shed . I have tried carrots , but they do n ot produce enoughtonnage and are rather tedious to raise and gather . I am also tryingGian t Marrow cabbage , which bids fai r to make as good tonnage askale and i s of a fine sweet flavor , wel l l iked by the hens .

Cabbage for winter feed should be plan ted ou t Of the hot bedsabou t August or September , so that i t wi l l have a good growth beforefrosty n igh ts .With a large tonnage Of mangel s and cabbage on hand when frosty

n igh ts set i n , wi th kale to fi l l i n and barley already grown i n the al fal fapatch

,win ter greens can be assured .

Bear in mind that i f you have not the condi tions for growinggreens i n large quan ti t ies , you migh t j ust as wel l stay ou t Of thepoul try business . I f you are to succeed , be sure you have the correctcondi tions to start wi th . I f you have these condi tions , ferti le , sediment , loam soi l , cheap i rrigating water in large quanti ties , and anyamoun t you want , and n ot too far from a good market , i f you havethese condi tions , wi th a good cl imate thrown in , then you can go aheadand be assu red of success .With wel l-bred hens , housed i n smal l Open fron t houses , wel l

cleaned , wi th green feed Of several varieties before them al l the time ,and a variety Of grains wi th ri ch , dry mash , where they can wai t uponthemselves , and your profi ts are assured , and i f you make less than

per hen , per year , you are not doing as wel l as can be done .

I n a dai ry country where you have plen ty Of mi lk , i t wi l l add muchto your profi ts to feed a quanti ty of th ick cheese on top O f the greenfeed each day . This-wi l l get the h ighest production of eggs possible .

Another feature that is adding to the success of poul try i s that ofco-operation . A co-operative communi ty where feeds can be purchasedi n quanti ties and produce handled i n a block has many advantages , andSO many that a poul tryman cannot afford to be outside a communi tyOf th is kind .

The Poul try Producers ’ Associations Of both Cen tral and SouthernCal i forn ia , i s a movemen t that wi l l s tandard ize ou r products and pu tthe business on a stable basis . Have patience wi th these organ izationsand stand by them to a man , for they are the greatest movemen t thathas ever been launched for the good of both producer and consumer .

Col . Harris Weinstock has a broad plan that wi l l revol u tion izemarketing condi tions and bring the producer closer to the Consumer .

CO-operation i s the salvation Of the pou l tryman .

There are three d i stin ct resul ts Obtained by the l iberal use of greenfeed for pou l try

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l st . Green feed keeps the flock heal thy , and saves in loss of hens .2nd . G reen feed saves grai n and mil l feeds , and also causes better

assimi lation of that eaten .

3d . Green feed stimulates the production Of eggs .

H om e g a rd e n on Wee ks Ra n c hH u b b a rd sq u as h o n fen ce

Peac h t rees t r a i n e d o n w a l l

CHAPTER XI .

POULTRY COMB INES WITH RAISING VEGETABLES ,BERRIES AND FRUITS

HERE there is n o vision the people peri sh . Fi rst , there must be avision , a picture in the mind of a better cond i tion before progress is

made . Withou t th is stretch ing Of the mind upward and ou twardtoward bet ter th ings , there would be no change . Our envi ronmen tswould remain the same . From ou r dreams we see visions Of what ou renvi ronmen ts migh t become . I f ou r imagination is strong enough , wecan bui ld heavenly places from ou r immediate envi ronments in ou r

dreams .I f we have fai th in ou r dreams , we evolve theories .! Fai th wi thou t works is dead .

” Theories wi thou t practi caldemonstration accompl i sh noth ing . The world i s ful l Of theories .School s are founded on theories . Books are pri n ted on theories , andwhole l ibraries are given to theories . But theori es alone never changedthe face Of th is O ld earth in the least . They exist i n the mind on ly .

When the hand works wi th the mind , then visions , dreams , andtheories

'

may become truths and take on beauti fu l forms and shapes i nthe material world around u s . Man can only progress by workingalong the l i nes of nature . Al l unnatural efforts fai l . The laws Of

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T R E L L I S E D T R E E S MA K E L ITT L E S H A D EF l owe rs g row i n g n ea r p ea r o rc h a rd o n t r e l l i s . Pea r t rees g row i n g o n t re l l i s , s h ow

i n g i n te n s i v e p rod u ct i o n of f r u i t fo r f am i l y o r c h a rd . Two h u n d redt rees o n p l o t 4 0 feet by 80 ~ feet .

nature must be respected , for i t takes ages to form these laws and theycannot be changed In a minute . T O grow vegetation requi res certai ncondi tions (requi rements O f the many varieties Of plan t ) of soi l ,water and temperature , and i f man knows these condi ti ons and therequi remen ts O f the many varieties Of plan ts , he can get maximumresul ts .

! By thei r works ye shal l know them . What have youactual ly done in the world

’

s work , not what have you dreamed or

though t , i s the question you ask of every man you meet . This i s theacid test Of a man ’s abi l i ty , to be able to demonstrate i n the concrete .

Al l the dreams and theories Of Burbank were useless to the world un ti lhe could Show the wonderful production in real i ty in berries , fru i ts ,flowers , and vegetables .

A dreary place would be th is Old earth wi thou t plan t l i fe . Theplaces devoid of vegetation are. cal led deserts and are the least attractive to man . From the desert to the most l uxurious garden , there aremany degrees Of plan t l i fe . And a country i s termed beauti fu l i naccordance wi th i ts vegetation .

As the vegetation makes a beauti fu l coun try , so , l ikewise , does i tmake a prosperous coun try . The profi t received from the ti l lage of apiece of land i s i n d i rect proportion to the amoun t produced on

that land .

The greater the production on a given space the greater the profi t .

NO man has a righ t to own a second acre un ti l the first reachesmax1mum production . To get maximum

,

production requ IreS rIch 5011,

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A p p l e t rees t ra i n e d o n t re l l i s . M an y va r i et i es o n sm a l l s p a ce .

sufficien t water for i rrigation and correct temperature . T O main taina h igh production requ i res constan t addi tion Of ferti l izers to the soi l .

A Paradise on Earth

A home hidden wi th the growth Of a luxurian t vegetation is thedream of al l . I t i s wi th in the power of almost al l to possess th is gardenhome . A paradise on earth , a l i t tle bi t Of heaven al l your own , bu i l tfrom the sunshine , earth , and water . Sunsh ine , soi l , and water mixedwi th energy d i rected by knowledge wi l l produce a wonderland .

Every ch i ld should grow up in a garden . I t is the natural heri tageOf the Sons of men . The most abundan t natural l i fe on earth comesfrom creating from the soi l . Al l the gold in the world wi l l n ot buy theheal th , strength , and peace of mind of the man who loves h is garden .

Our schools should be surrounded by beau ti fu l gardens , gardensti l led by the pupi ls themselves so that a love of th i s natural way ofl iving may be inheri ted . Dry , barren school yards are a d isgrace toour presen t state of civi l ization . Every school shou ld have i ts gardenteachers , and every l uxury that grows from the soi l Should grace thegrounds so near our you th . Creating from the soi l can be made anin teresting game , and how far-reach ing ! Chi ldren that learn to loveflowers wi l l never grow to be bad men and women . Boys that learnto grow flowers , berries , fru i ts and vegetables wi l l never be sati sfiedwi th a meaner cal l ing in after l i fe . I t matters n ot what vocation theyfol low , they wi l l always have the abi l i ty to produce a l iving from thesoi l , whatever happens . I t i s an exqu isi te pleasure to grow the th ingsthat are not se t before you at your own tables . When you can eat

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l uscious fru i ts grown by your own hands , you have a two fold pleasure .

Green corn gathered wi th your own two hands from your own garden ,eaten at your own table , gives a con ten tmen t not to be compared .

A rich -soi l i s the fi rs t essen tial to rapid growth , then water andsunl igh t . Most soi l s can be made better than they are by ferti l izers .Al l soi ls that are cropped continual ly need to be replen ished . This i s aserious question to those who cul tivate the soi l . Righ t here i s wherepoul try raising works hand in hand wi th the garden home . Pou l trymanure is the richest Of ferti l izers , and when mixed wi th the soi l andwel l watered , wil l produce aston ish ing resu l ts . Modern methods ofegg-farming requ i re very l i t tl e space . The home garden , wi th berries ,fru i ts and vegetables , makes the finest combination wi th laying hens .

Al l the waste green feed can be fed to the hens . I t sounds l ike a fai rystory .

The fert i l izer from the poul try houses i s mixed wi th the soi l,which

produces the green feed that makes the eggs , thus making an endlessround wi th an ever increasing production from the soi l .

’

The moregreens raised for the hens on a given plo t of ground the greaterthe profi t .Far from the noise , uncertain ty , and bad ai r Of the restless and

rel en tl ess ci ty , the fami ly on thei r own garden home has every-

l uxurythat money can buy , and many that money cannot buy . The profi t fromthe eggs from 250 wel l-bred hens correctly fed along wi th a homegarden wi l l make a very good l iving for on e person . For each memberof the fami ly add 250 more hens .I f a bank accoun t i s desi red above a good l iving , then i ncrease the

number of the hens accord ingly .

He is coun ted a publ ic benefactor , who can make two blades O fgrass grow where on ly on e grew before . I t is safe to say that th eaverage acre can be made to produce ten times as much by heavyferti l iz ing and correct ti l lage Of soi l and by using sufficien t water .A garden home wi th pou l try for i ncome makes the finest combina

tion, for from the pou l try there is a constan t supply Of the richest

ferti l izer that makes possibl e the most l uxurian t vegetation .

I s i t n ot the greatest fol ly that nations should peri sh by violencefigh ting over boundaries when there is more rich land in the worldthan the whole popu lation of the globe can possibly ti l l ? I f everymother could rear her ch i ldren i n a garden , then her sons would see th etragedy O f slaying thei r kind for they would have heal th and strengthand peace of mind that would bring on earth peace and good wil l tomen .

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I can hear the hens cackl ing and singing up and down th.

e long rowsOf poul try houses , wi th thei r feed troughs fi l l ed wi th th is nourish ingvariety of green feed ,

and I know that greens cause the hens to s ing ,and I know that singing hens are heal thy , and I know that heal thyhens produce the eggs , and I know that eggs produced under thesecondi tions sel l a t a profi t even today wi th feed prices more than doubl eand eggs at 35 cen ts per dozen .

A feel ing of comfort and sati sfaction -comes over me as I watch theeigh t-inch stream of water runn ing from my centri fugal pump downbetween the luxurian t rows of vegetation , making everyth ing grow SO

crisp and succulen t . T O gather cart loads of th is green feed and run i tth rough the cu tter and feed i t to choice , wel l -bred hens wi th combs asred as blood

,i s an exqu isi te pleasure that only a pou l tryman can

appreciate .

As I pause i n my wri ting and gaze ou t through the open window , Isee John in the vegetable garden , wi th a large pan of l et tuce , and Onions ,and peas

,and radishes , and turn ips , and beets;and I see conten tmen t

on h is face as he Sorts through the garden selecting material s for ou rmidday meal

,pausing here to see how the beans are fi l l i ng , or looking

longingly at the strawberry bed j ust beginn ing to be Specked wi th red ,

or medi tating on the rows Of corn , th inking of j u i cy ears Of corn on thecob;and as he turns and crosses the lawn , bringing th is weal th of thegarden to the ki tchen , my heart i s fi l l ed wi th thanksgiving and gratitude

,for I know that

,no matter how h igh food suppl ies soar , that my

fami ly wi l l have luxuries that money cannot buy . A fragrance fromthe blossoms Of the blackberry vine comes i n th rough the open doorand the bees are busy gathering honey and storing i t i n the h ives alongthe fence from which we get golden sweets for the table , and the cowis knee deep In al fal fa from which she makes ri ch mi lk to go wi th thehoney

,and the hens are laying eggs , and i t i s no wonder that I have

peace Of mind,and steady nerves , and heal th of body , for i t i s the

natural l i fe . Fresh ai r for the l ungs , cheerfu l sun l igh t , good food andcalm. sleep , and the weal th of the world could buy no more .

This i s the cri tical time for pou l trymen , and they Shou ld makeevery effort to hold al l thei r best producing young hens , and the on lyway to get them through Is to raise many varieties of green feeds andstuff them unti l they consume l i ttl e gra in . I have proven that wi thseveral varieties Of succulen t greens i t i s possible to not only keephens heal thy bu t laying wi th very l i ttle grain . You cannot do i t onon e or two kinds of green , bu t wi th many the hen wi l l consume enoughto get along beyond expectations .Plan t kale

,beets

,chard , barley , al fal fa , carrots , rape and cabbage ,

and wi th these eigh t varieties fed i n abundance there need be no fearOf grain prices . T O grow these crops i n Cal i forn ia requi res plen ty Ofi rrigating water . I n these cri tical t imes the poul tryman wi thou ti rrigating water i s absol u tely up against i t , for wi thou t greens wi th thecheapest grains

,i t i s impossible to make a profi t . I t i s the spring-t ime

condi tions kept before the hens al l the time that makes eggs at a profi t .There are four d istinct profi ts to the credi t of a large variety of greenfeed . Fi rst , there Is a great saving i n loss of hens , for hens wi th greensare kept In better heal th than wi thou t;second , wi th a large variety Of

green feed only abou t hal f the grain need be used , th i rd , wi th plen ty of

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greens there is betterassimi lation Of what grain i s used;fourth , greenfeeds cause an increased production in eggs . These four immediateeffects of green feeds make the d ifference between success and fai l urei n the pou l try business .I n these strenuous times i t behooves pou l trymen to stand together .

My ranch is a concrete demonstration of what is being don ew itbfi greenfeed for poul try , and al l vi si tors who wish to inspect the system and

methods used on the Weeks Poul try Ranch are'

welcome .

These times shou ld teach the poul trymen that they need co-operation . The Cen tral Cal i forn ia Pou l try Producers

’

Association i s a movein the righ t d i rection . I f th is Association had laid i n its grain suppl iesfor the year righ t from the thrash ing mach ine , there wou ld be no worrytoday among pou l trymen . We need to stand by th is Association un ti li t is s trong enough to buy feed for al l the producers as wel l as marketits products d i rect to consumer . I f every pou l tryman would j oin theAssociation and lend support , feed problems and marketing problemscould be finely adj usted and both the producer and the consumerwou ld be benefi ted .

Tom i n t h e ka l e p atc h

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I n ten s i v e p ea r o rc h a rd fo r h om e u se

CHAPTER XI I I .

SELECTING THE HEAVY LAYERS AND CULL INGTHE DRONES

QOD layers are so common that no egg-farmer can afford to wasteon e single minu te on the in ferior layers . Better keep hal f the number

of hens and have a l l choice heavy layers . I t i s need less to say that , tostart wi th , the egg farmer should have the best-bred hens for eggproduction that can be found . The S . C . Whi te Leghorn are perhapsthe best for egg production and smal l broil ers .

Cull ing should begin the moment the young stock i s Old enough formarket . Separate the cockerels from the pul lets as soon as they canbe designated , and pu t them on the market j ust as soon as the marketwi l l take them . As the young pul lets develop , weed ou t those that aretoo slow in growth and place them in a pen alone . I f your stock isprime you wi l l have an even lo t of pul lets wi th n o cul l s .At six months of age every pul let should be laying or show early

signs Of laying . Al l that have smal l , undeveloped combs at that ageare as a rule in ferior layers . The first to develop are the choicestlayers . These should be se t aside for fu ture breeders . Perhaps therei s no better way Of accelerating the laying propensi ty than by carefu l lyselecting these early maturing pul lets for fu ture breeders .

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The smal l-combed , sl im-beaked pul le ts , wi th pinched abdominalregion

,should be sen t to market a t six months Of age . I t is usel ess to

bother wi th them . At six months of age the combs should Show red ,

and the flock should be even in size , wi th long bodies , wide beh ind ,

forming the ideal wedge shape heavy egg type . From six to eigh teenmonths consti tu tes the heaviest laying period and very lit tl e-cul l ingneeds to be done during that period except for those that rupturethemselves laying or get i ndigestion .

Cul l ing from d isease Shou ld never take place on the h ighest typeegg farm

,for i t is unnecessary to have any con tagious d isease i f clean

Open fron t houses are used wi th n o ou tside runs . Worms , canker , roup ,and ch icken pox cause un l imi ted cul l i ng where cond i tions are n ot ideal .Get stock and condi tions righ t and these four dread d iseases need nottrouble the egg farmer .The first decided cul l ing takes place at abou t six mon ths of age .

The second cu l l ingbegins at the end Of the fi rst laying year , or betweensixteen and eigh teen months Of age . At th is time the cu l l ing should n otbe too severe , for good hens migh t be sen t to market that would paythe second season . The very fi rst hens to mol t and cease laying at th isperiod are the poorest layers and can be ei ther marketed or separatedi n order not to breed from them . Al l crooked backs and bun ty tai l sand undersized hens should be marketed at th is period ,

for they shouldnever be al lowed i n the breed ing flock . These may make paying layersthe first year , bu t should never be tolerated the second season .

The So-cal led systems are unrel iabl e i n selecting the heavylayers , and cannot be depended upon . Thousands Of good hens havebeen th rown ou t by that test . There is only on e th ing that thesesystems are absol u tely su re of, and that iswhe ther the hen i s laying todayor not . This fact i s easi ly determined by placing three fingers betweenthe two pelvic bones that protrude beh ind . I f they are th i n and pl iableand . far apart , the hen is n ow laying . The poin t Of the breast bone wi l lal so be dropped lower , making more capaci ty between the pelvic bonesand poin t of breast . When the hen is n ot l aying these pelvi c bones layon fat and become stiff , and draw so close together that there is roomfor on ly on e finger . Also the abdominal capaci ty shri nks . A goodheavy laying hen wi l l measure th ree fingers between the pelvi c bonesand four to five fingers between the two pelvic bones and the poin t ofthe breast bone below , during the laying period . The comb wi l l bebrigh t red and large and ful l during th is laying season . The heaviestlayers wi l l be th in , wi th scarcely any fat whatever .AS soon as the mol ting season begins the red comb begins to shrivel

and grow pale . This i s the most Sign ifican t way of tel l i ng the n on

layers wi thout handl ing the hens . The best layers wi l l keep on l ayi ngti l l late i n the fal l , and even lay ti l l almost naked , bu t must stop as

soon as the new feathers begin to grow,for then i t takes al l the nourish

men t to bu i ld feathers . Also the hen begins to take on fat and increasesi n weigh t during the mol t .A very few Of the earl iest mol ters can be cul led ou t at the end of the

first laying year , especial ly al l those wi th smal l , straigh t combs . Alarge , ful l comb IS i nvariably a sign Of heavy laying capaci ty . Once Ina whi le , however , a hen wi l l be steri le and sti l l have al l the i nd icationsof a heavy layer from general appearance

,and i t is only by a close

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O

examination that she i s detected fl Hermaphrodi tes are -hal f-sexed bi rdsthat are Sometimes hard to

!

detect . They always have brigh t redcombs

,bu t thei r mascul ine lOOk

'

and air enables the ski l l fu l pou l trymanto detect them.

By cul l ing ou t the very earl iest mol ters and those that are not upto type at the end Of the fi rst year , you wi l l have a very respectableflock for the second year

’

s l aying . I t IS a mistake to dispose Of al l thehens at the end Of the first year , because i t takes less time , trouble , andfeed to carry them through the mol t than to replace them wi th a newlot Of pul lets . Also the eggs from second year hens run larger and bringan extra price . An addi tional p

‘

rofi t can also be secured by matingthe s econd year hens and hatch ing the eggs or sel l i ng the eggs forhatch ing . Custom prices for hatch ing eggs for hatcheries run 10 cen tsper dozen above market quotations .The best plan is to haVe hal f pu l lets and hal f second year hens .

Then each year the Old hens are d isposed of as fast as they g o i n to themol t and replaced by young hens . Thus you can readi ly see that anegg farm IS not on the h ighest producing basis un ti l the end Of thesecond laying year . When once stocked up an egg farm Is almost ableto keep stocked up wi th l i t tle extra expense , for the sale of Old henseach year shou ld bring In enough capi tal to rear the pu l lets . I f anegg farmer can make money the fi rst and Second year

,he IS sure Of

easier profi ts thereafter . I t takes in i tial capi tal to bu i ld houses andpu t in stock , bu t after that Is in i t does not have to be repeated .

The th i rd cu l l ing begins when the second year hens start in to mol t ,which a few wi l l do i n J u ly . During J u ly and August these second yearhens shou ld be sold j ust as fast as they cease laying . I have a netattached to a heavy band at the end Of ! a long handle

,and wi th th is I

can catch up any hen j ust as soon as her comb begins to shrivel .Also her legs wi l l grow more yel low , for during the heavy laying

period they bleach Ou t whi te . As soon as egg production ceases thefat accumulates and the legs grOw

'

ye l low . I n walking through a largeflock during J u ly and August , you can easi ly detect the non - layers byshriveled combs and yel low legs , and more or l ess ragged appearancefrom loss of feathers . Al l these second year non layers shou ld be sen tto market j ust as soon as detected . Each day ’s feed on them lessensprofi t .By keeping the first year hens over to the second year , you have a

much larger and heavier hen for the market , as they grow considerably .

Even th i rd year hens are heavier than second . Al l the second year hensthat keep laying stead i ly up into September wi thou t showing signs ofmol ting are undoubted ly the cream of the flock and wel l worth keepingthe th i rd year as breeders . These th i rd year hen s wi l l produce the malebirds for the general flock of next year second season breeders , and thesemales wi l l be the very best possible

,because from the insisten t layers

ofmature age . I n th is way heavy laying propensi ties can be establ ishedin a flock wi thou t losing any vigor whatever .I t Is a very few hens that wi l l get through for the th i rd year laying ,

but these few Wi l l be choice . A very smal l number migh t even getthrough the fou rth cu l l ing , and so be carri ed over the fourth year .

By th is breed ing from the earl iest maturing pul lets from second andth i rd year he ns

,and cul l ing these at six months for early maturing , and

again at eigh teen months for late mol ters , and again at th i rty monthsfor securing the late mol ters , a heavy laying strain can be establ i shedand retain and even accelerate vigor .By mating the choicest hens wi th on e year Old cockerels whose

mothers had the propensi ty for con tinuous laying , youresu l ts that are aston ish ing !

A R u n n ym ed e g a rd e n h om e

G a rd e n i n d e pen den ce

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CHAPTER XIV .

SAN ITATION IN POULTRY HOUSES—SPRAYING ANDD ISINFECTING POULTRY HOUSES

ENS have thei r enemies . These parasi tes must be control led i fh ighest resu l ts are obtained . To con trol these pests requ ires certain

systematic efforts wh ich are not d ifficu l t i f fol lowed . Woe to the

poul tryman that neglects these precautions . An ounce of preven tionis better than a pound Of cure . I t i s better to see that these enemiesnever start than to keep them down when once establ ished .

B lood-su ckin g Mites

Perhaps the worst enemy the hen has to con tend wi th Is the l i t tl ered mi te or spider l i ce that l ives In the cracks and wal ls O f the pou l tryhouse and harbors In cl usters under the perches . These breed veryquickly and soon

‘

i n fest al l the cracks and even crawl up in to t he roofand breed by the mi l l ions . Sometimes the nests and e ven the soi l onthe ground floor becomes al ive wi th these terrible parasi tes . They canl ive for long periods on fi l th i f the hens are not accessible . They dothei r bloody work at n igh t wl Ten the hens are on the perches , crawl ingfrom long d istances to the perches . There have been many inventionsto keep them from reaching the perches

,such as l i t t le Oi l cups at the

end of each perch so’

t ha t they must pass th rough the Oi l before reaching the hen . Perches swung on wi re is a common way . Bu t wi th al lthese precautions none is better than a complete spraying Of the wholehouse wi th strong solu tions that penetrate every crack and crevice .

Perhaps the best sol u tion known to poul trymen is that composed Of

crude oil and crude carbol ic acid th inned down wi th stove oil so that i twi l l spray easi ly .

About on e part ir‘

carbol ic acid to ten parts of crude oil andstove oil . The proport Io u s of stove Oil and crude oil can vary , even tousing al l s tove O i l wi thou t any crude Oi l . Crude O i l is heavy and hardto spray wi thou t th inn ing wi th stove Oi l , and also tends to soi l thefeathers of. the hens more I t makes a better body for the spraya nd lasts longer when appl ied . The O ftener a house i s sprayed wi thth is strong spray the less l iable i t i s to become in fected . After a fewsprayings the cracks are fi l led wi th crude carbol ic acid and th is is thepart that is the most dead ly . I t is a good plan to pain t the percheswi th a brush wi th crude ca rbol ic acid undi l u ted at d ifferen t pe riods , saytwi ce per year .

I f the pou l try house is thorough ly sprayed wi th th i s solu tion abou tthree or four times duri 1g the warm months O f the year , there wi l l ben o trouble for mites . I f the houses are n ot sprayed the mi tes wi l ls imply eat the hens al ive and egg production wi l l be impossible .

The hens wi l l also become more l iable to d isease from the weakenedcond ition caused from loss Of blood . Many a would-be pou l trymanhas gone on the rocks from a l i ttl e negl ect in Spraying the poul tryhouses .

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the hatch ing season is over . For egg farming , i t hard ly pays to keepa cock bi rd over the second year . One-year-Old cockerels wi th twoyear-Old hens is idea l , ,

and they may be kept pretty fl ee from l iceth is firs t year .There are man y tw

'

ays of ge t tmg rid Of body l ice on hens . L i cepowders are very common , bu t a slow process and n ot thorough . T O

take on e hen at a time and dust her wi th l ice powder is a slow processfor an egg farmer that has several thousand hens . With a few hens

,

l i ce powder can be Si fted th rough the feathers , and i f repeated abou tth ree times at i n tervals of six days the l i ce may be gotten rid of . Theyoung l ice mature and begin to breed in abou t six days .

The method Of d ipping the hens i n a tub Of sheep dip i s crude andhard on l aying hens . NO successfu l egg farmer wi l l attempt th ismethod .

I f clean sand is kept on the floor of the pou l try house and i f th i ssand i s l igh tly sprayed at times Of spraying the wal l s , the hens wi l lwal low in th is sprayed sand and wi l l be kept as free from vermin asi s possible .

Lice powders can also be sprinkled i n thei r dusting places . I f cleansand floors are accessible to second year hens they may be as free froml ice as the first year hens . Pain ting the perches i n the even ing wi thcrude carbol ic acid

'

wil l d isconcert the l ice also .

Crude carbol i c acid on the perches occasional ly is , perhaps , thespeed iest way to keep down the body l ice on the hens as wel l asthe mi tes .

Every Obstacl e in the way Of complete c omfort for the hen must beremoved i f the maximum resu l ts are to be Obtained .

Fl eas in Pou l try Hou ses

The hen flea i s another pest that worri es the flock i f al lowed to getstarted . They inhabi t the nest boxes parti cu larly , and the l i t ter on thefloor . These are best con trol l ed by spraying the nest boxes thorough lywi th the above spray and fi l l ing wi th clean straw .

C lean , sharp sand s hould be used on the floors , and th is can besprayed l igh tly when the wal l s are sprayed , and thus the fleas have noshow whatever . The Oi l on the floor tends to keep the dust down also ,which is a necessary du ty .

Bacteria Wh ich Cau ses Can ker , Rou p , an d Ch icken Pox

With my system of sma l l eight foot squ a re pen s i t i s possible toel iminate al l canker , roup and ch icken pox and worms . These are thefour dread d iseases of poul try , and any system that wi l l con trol themi s a boon to poul trymen . Canker i s a cheesy substance that forms incakes on the mouth and tongue and too Often over the Open ing or i nthe open ing Of the windpipe , when i t proves fatal by choking the fowlto death . The bacteria that causes canker breeds i n moist , damp ,

fi l thy places,especial ly around watering places . I t i s prevalen t in al l

ou tside runs , especial ly i n rainy weather . This i s why canker i sprevalen t a t the rainy periods . We can el iminate canker by cuttingou t the open runs .

Chicken pox comes al so from damp , fi l thy places and when the rai nfal l s on yards and the hens drink from the fi l thy pool s , ch icken pox i s

8 6

almost certain . C lean sand on the floor and clean water to drink , wi thno puddles

,and you preven t the bacteri a from growi ng that causes

these d iseases .

Roup may be started from a cold that comes from damp , draftyhouses , and Is a swel l ing Of the head and eyes , and becomes very fouland fi l thy .

Deep , dusty houses wi th l i ttle sunl igh t IS the cause ofx

roup t k T hesmal l open fron t pen s wi th hens always near the fresh ai r , Wi th no duS t ,are best

,and roup wi l l not be prevalen t , wil l be absolirte ly con trol led .

The loss from canker , roup and ch icken pox is terfibl e In systemswi th outside yards .

Worm s in Pou l try

There are two kinds of worms that in fest the in test in eagof poul try .

These are the smal l pinworms and the tapeworm . Whenfl

a flock of

fowls becomes affected wi th these worms , there Is no chance of profi twhatever un ti l the worms are el iminated . There Is no more di sastrouscond i tion for poul try than that Of being i n fected wi th i n testi nal worms .

These worms also come from fi l th l ike canker , ch icken pox androup . Where hens run on the same ground for a p eriod there IS alwaysdanger Of worms . I f hens are ~ a l lowed an outside run they must havenew ground each year . This makes y ards expensive , and since theh ighest egg-production is Ob tained wi thou t yards , why take a chancewi th al l the dread diseases that come from yards ? Wet mash mixedwi th tobacco tea wi l l expel worms from poul try .

Smal l flocks i n open fron t pens wi th clean , sharp sand on the floorwi l l give the best quarters possible in which to keep hens free fromdiseases . C lean , dry sand preven ts any bacteria from start ing . Thissand should be renewed at least once each year and twice i s better .I t is cheaper and cleaner than straw .

Goin g Ligh t

This is a disease wh ich is l ike consumption i n people . I t is tubercu losis . I t is caused principal ly by too much dust i n the pou l tryhouses . Where large n umbers of hens are kept together there i s nearlyalways a cloud of dust . Breath ing this con tinual ly causes the l ungs tobecome d iseased . Dust also i rri tates the l in ing passages of the nostri l sand causes colds , which are the d i rect cause of roup . The worst th i ngthat can be put on a poul try house floor IS straw or l i tter of any kind .

I t gathers moisture easi ly and soon becomes foul . I t breaks up in tosmal l pieces and a very d isagreeable dust is thrown Off when the hensscratch i n i t . This dust is ru inous to hens . C lean , sharp sand is thefreest from dust and easy to keep clean , as the droppings lay on the topand are easi ly l i fted Off.

With my system of sma l l open fron t pen s the hens are freer from dustthan under any other system

,and goi ng l ight 13 reduced to a min imum .

Ru p tu re from Heavy Egg‘

Produ ct ion

During the firs t year Of laying many young hens burst b lood vessel si n laying , and i f not taken immediately from the other hens they wi l lbe torn SO that they bleed to death . These hens are perfectly heal thya nd good for market i f caugh t In time

, and as there Is no help for i t ,that Is the best th ing to do .

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Wee ks Po rt a b l e P o u l t ry H o u se fo r b a c k y a rd s , a l s o u sed fo r C o lOn yB rood e r H o u se

CHAPTER XV .

POULTRY KEEP ING IN THE BACK YARD

LL the money of al l theworld wil l n ot keep human i ty from famine .

Al l the saving Of al l the world on al l the foods is wise , butwi thou t increased production the people wi l l s tarve .

Never before in al l the h istory of al l the ages of the human race wasthere SO much danger Of a world famine as today . When al l the peopleof al l the l iberty-loving nations are expending al l thei r resources onwiping from the earth th is M i l i tarism , we must n ot forget that produ cin g food i n giganti c quan ti t ies wi l l furn ish the power , and thestrength , and the endurance that In the endWi l l win ou t in th is gigan ti cstruggle . Toda

ywe need another army beh ind that great army made

up O f the nation ’s best manhood . We need an army that wi l l i ncl udei n its ranks not on ly men Of al l ages

,bu t women and boys and gi rl s .

We need th is second army organ ized and dri l l ed , and educated In theart and science of producing food products from the soi l .At th is cri ti cal time when the foundations Of ou r very insti tu tions

are Shaken , when the church and the school and the S tate are i n a stateof tension , we must not forget the very essen tial s Of l i fe , and must notle t on e single foot Of earth l ie id le that we can ti l l . The inst i tu tion Ofthe fami ly must n ot become paralyzed because some of its members arecal led , bu t must go on producing twice as much food .

I f i t were possible to turn the peoples Of the over-crowded ci tiesback to nature and the soi l , and teach them how to produce every good

88

th ing to eat , prove to them what joy and heal th are to be found ou t i nthe pure air under the Open sky , then the nation would be

‘

wel l fed ,and being wel l fed wou ld bring con ten tment , and money would hard lybe needed;and by al l producing a l i ttl e , much time would be saved andthus al low the ti red nerves to relax .

We are rush ing on and on and on , wi th never a pause n ) whiff thefragrance Of the rose or l i sten to a song bi rd . We arise byW aT mclock

,rush Off wi thou t breakfast , hurry forth i n crowded and stuffy

cars, sit i n musty , dusty , dul l Offices al l day , only to return i n the same

monotonous j am and hasten to bed that we may be able to arise bythe clock tomorrow morn ing . When the alarm rings the next morn ingwe yawn and say , i n the words of Arnold Bennett ,

! O Lord ! Anotherday ! What a grind !

”

We work long hours i n unheal thy places day after day , year i n andyear ou t , and what i s ou r recompense ? Merely enough food Of thecustomary mixtures to sati sfy ou r hunger , enough clothes Of varioushues to cover ou r bod ies , and a bed under a roof too seldom ou r own .

What do we know of freedom ? What do we know of the'

in spira tion

from the early morn ing ai r as we behold the bi r th O f a new day in therising su n ? The green trees are fu l l Of song bi rds , bu t are we thri l ledby thei r music ? We read of the fragrance of flowers i n novel s

,bu t too

seldom perceive wi th ou r own nostri l s the sweet perfumes .

I t on ly takes a smal l plo t of very fer ti le soi l mixed wi th water andsunsh ine on which to produce a l i t tle parad ise . The imagination canhard ly picture the l uxuries that can be produced in the l i ttle backyards . I f I Shou ld place i n your hand a magic wand , and you waftth is wand over your back yard and there springs up good th i ngs to eati n the way O f crisp , tender vegetables , strawberri es , raspberries , blackberries , fru i ts , etc . , you would be fi l l ed wi th wonder .

I am going to tel l you O f a power , and th is power is n ot a wand , n ota dream , bu t a power that wi l l make each a creator;and from the soi llying id le i n the back yard you wi l l mold del icious th ings to eat andbeau ti fu l flowers to behold , and shapely trees for shade , and fru i t .And what is th i s wonderfu l leaven for the soi l that wi l l make everyclod feel a sti r of migh t , an insti n ct wi th in i t that reaches and towers ,and , groping bl ind ly above i t for l igh t , cl imbs to a sou l i n grass andflowers ? I t is noth ing more or less than ferti l izer , common ordinaryferti l izer . Bu t where wi l l you get th is ferti l izer ? From your own

ferti l izer factory .

On the back of,

each smal l town lot min iature farm shou ld be aferti l izer factory . I n th i s ferti l izer factory you produce al l the richferti l i zer needed for the garden , and more too . What do you manufacture th is ferti l izer ou t O f ? Ou t O f cabbage , beets , kale , al fal fa ,caul iflower . But you say these th ings are expensive and ted ious togrow , and too valuab le to u se as ferti l izer . Bu t when I tel l you thatthese l i t tle mach ines in -your ferti l izer factory wi l l take these rawvegetables and extract every ounce Of nourishmen t from them , andwi l l condense them in to smal l

,neat packages n icely wrapped in wh i te ,

round shel ls , and that the con ten ts Of these l i ttle wh i te shel ls con tai nthe very most nourish ing food

,exceedingly palatable , then you can

begin to real ize what a wonderfu l l i tt le factory th is is .

89

Keeping hens for ferti l izer ! That’

s a new business . Who everheard O f keeping hens for ferti l izer ? Why not ? Every I talian gardenerknows that you cannot grow a garden wi thou t ferti l izer . I t I S the on eessen tial along wi th soi l and water and sunsh ine that makes success .

I f you can produce your own ferti l izer righ t at home,you are

assured Of a good garden . With a good garden you can l ive wel l andcheaply . I f you can produce a by-product along wi th th i s ferti l izer i nthe way of eggs , you have that much gi l t . What a wonderfu l rou tine !Green feeds fed to hens produce ferti l izer wi th which to grow moregreen feeds , and the good hens deposi t golden nuggets as recompensefor your trouble of growing these green feeds and seeing that they getal l they can eat . Also these hens del igh t In making eggs ou t Of wastetable scraps , peel ings and leaves from lettuce etc . O f course

,to furn ish

them al l Of the elements from which to make eggs in large quanti ties ,requ i res by-products from the grain mi l l s to be fed along wi th thegreen feeds . I t i s best to feed these grains and mi l l feeds i n hoppers sothat they cannot waste them and can always have what they wan t andin a clean manner . I t is best to keep feed by your laying hen at al lt imes , and she wi l l never over-eat . T o produce her best She musthave a large variety Of succu len t , tender greens i n the way Of cabbage ,kale , mangel -wurzel beets , al fal fa , and green barley .

With poul try manure as ferti l izer , i t i s aston ish ing how many tonsof green feed can be produced from a smal l plot . I have produced ash igh as 300 tons per acre on my poul try ranch at Palo Al to , Cal i fornia .

How many hens can you keep on your back lot and raise al l thegreens they wi l l consume ? With the h ighest cu l t ivation of the soi l ,you may be able to grow green feed for as h igh as two thousand to theacre , bu t to play safe we put the figure at one thousand , which Is aperfectly safe estimate . With my system of eigh t foot square pens fortwenty-five hens each , wi th n o yards , very l i t t le room is needed for alarge flock . Enough room should be left on each back lot for the cu stomary fresh vegetables for the table , from which much green can behad for the hens al so .

Also some trees can be grown on trel l i ses , as i n the Old country , anda few varieties of berries . With pou l try ferti l izer and water you canproduce quan ti ties of the most del icious fru i ts and berries i n a verysmal l space . There i s no normal person bu t what takes a del igh t i ncreating plan ts from the soi l , and much j oy as wel l as profi t can be had .

With expensive ci ty water for : i rrigation , i t wi l l requ i re morecul tivation of the soi l to conserve the moisture . The poul try manurewi l l al so tend to hold moisture when used for any length of time .

With the hens producing a steady supply Of ferti l izer , the garden cangrow richer and richer . Less than a quarter of an acre wi l l produce

greens for 250 hens . Never pu t i n more hens than you can raise greenfeed for . I t i s the green feed that takes al l the profi t .

There i s no keener pleasure than that Of growing vegetables in ri ch ,

loose , wel l-watered soi l . Then the table that can be Suppl ied from awel l -managed garden makes l i fe worth l iving . The average back lot ,i f i t is accessible to sunl igh t , can grow enough vegetables for a fami ly ,

and have room enough for poul try houses for more hens than they canu se the eggs from;thus being able to help wi th the grocery bi l l .

90

O ther th ings that are profi table toward a l iving on the back lot are3;

rabbi ts,bees , and goats . Each back lot should have two or more?

!

I

stands Of bees , and produce the sweets for the fami ly . Honey Isdel icious and wholesome . The bees cost noth ing after they

, re

establ ished,and wi l l help ferti l ize the fru i ts and berries . Anyone c

soon learn to hand le bees wi th ease . They are harmless when handledrigh t . Rabbi ts can be fed from the lawn and smal l al fal faM longwi th rol led barley , and wi l l fu rn ish the most nu tri t ious and del iciou s meat .With al l the vegetables from the garden , fru i ts and berries from

wal l trees and trel l i ses of vines , poul try and ~

eggs , rabbi ts , honey fromthe bees for sweets , milk

’

from the goat , and a fami ly wi l l be prettyindependen t on a good -Sized town lot . An eigh th of an acre wi l l dowonders toward a l iving. A hal f acre wi th poul try for income , andrabbi ts , bees , fru i ts , berries , and vegetables i n tensively produced , wi l lmake a l iving for a fami ly of th ree or four . An acre wi th on e thousandhens in tensively cu l tivated wi l l make a good l iving , wi th money in thebank for a rainy day . Back to nature , close to the soi l , is the

‘ naturalway Of l iving . I t wi l l -i nsure plen ty to eat , peace Of mind , heal th , anda keen appreciation .

T h e fam i l y cow o n a l i tt l e fa rm

9 1

CHAPTER XVI .

THE SANEST OF ARTS , THE ART OF MAKING A LIVINGON A L ITTLE LAND

I FE may be compared to a game O f chess , and we the chessmen .

Some unseen power seems to move u s to ou r posi tions on the fieldof l i fe , be these posi tions good or bad . The greater part of th is unseenpower l ies In the wi l l power Of ind ividual s . Our wi l l power has muchto do In making us strong players In th is game O f l i fe .

The chessmen on the board have d ifferen t val ues;some have powerto move in al l d i rections as far as the board is clear;others havel imi ted d i rections in which to move

,and the pawns can move on ly on e

spot forward at a time . SO many Of us are simply pawns i n th is gameOf l i fe , on ly being able to see j ust a l i ttl e way in fron t of us , whi lestronger wi l l s wi th better trained minds pass u s by on the manyd ifferen t l ines wi th long , defini te strides .

The strong players in th is game of l i fe move swi ftly and wi th keenforesigh t to the van tage poin ts on the field Of l i fe , leaving al l the weakplayers al l the minor posi tions .

How can we al l become proficient players In th isgame of l i fe ?T OO many Of u s are deceived as to the real i n trinsic val ue O f the

so-cal led van tage poin ts i n l i fe .

T O become proficien t i n the art of l iving wel l , we must lose no timein acting as pawns for stronger individual s , bu t must work around in tothe posi tion where we wi l l be master of ourselves and n ot forced tocome and go at the beck and cal l Of another . I n other words , we mustbe exploi ters Of ou r own time instead Of sel l ing ou r time to another .I f we on ly knew in the beginn ing what i s the best th ing for us to do al lthe days of ou r l i fe , how much more real l iving we migh t have for ou rth ree score years and ten !False ideals , false standards , and fal se posi t ions i n l i fe sidetrack

from the sanest existence .

This is the essence of the sanest existence a heal th fu l body , amind at ease , and Simple pleasures that always please .

” I f ou r

vocation i n l i fe does not tend toward th is i t i s rad ical ly wrong .

The highest degree Of bodi ly heal th i s Obtained from vocations thattake u s i n to the fresh ai r . Perfect poise and ease ofmind depends muchupon ou r bod i ly heal th .

Al l that is real ly worth wh i le i n l i fe can be had on a very smal l plo tof land i f the art Of l iving on a l i ttle land is mastered . I t would seemfol ly for a human being to ' be bothered and encumbered wi th ten , oron e hundred , or one thousand acres Of land , when al l the sunsh ine andfresh ai r and al l the nourishmen t that the human body can possiblyassimi late can be had from one or two acres . I f a man has more landthan i t takes to support h im

,he on ly wastes time developing th is extra

land when he shou ld‘be developing h imsel f i nstead . At the end of

l i fe’

s j ourney what matters i t i f we have on e acre or one thousandacres ?Would i t not be better to say that one acre min istered to us al l

' thedays of ou r l i fe , i nstead Of giving the whole of ou r l ives to the care and

92

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balance Of the year tel l i ng what a good time they had whi le i n thecoun try .

My heart yearned for those Old peaceful sunny days ou t under theOpen sky where I could lay my ear close to nature and l i st to her symphonies . After four years Of mun icipal l i fe I forsook the ci ty and wen tback to the country , and you wi l l find me today on my five -acre ranchnear Pa lO Al to , revel ing in the choice products Of my land and enj oyingthe real ly good th ings of l i fe .

I have learned that most men who l ive i n the ci ty dream Of the timewhen they can have a country home al l thei r own . Most men toleratethe ci ty because they th ink they can make more money there and thusbe able to sooner own that sunny country home . Most men who have‘

thei r business i n the ci ty , and can afford i t , have country homes . Weonly rush to the ci ty to make money faster so we may the soonerreal ize our dream Of a country home . I nstead Of going through al l th i sagony and travai l Of earn ing money wi th wh ich to buy a country home

,

why in the world don’

t someone teach us how to earn and make thi sdream home Of ours righ t in the country and thus begin to l ive i n thefu l lest sense righ t from the start ?I have tried both l ives , and I bel i eve I have chosen the true . I

have been practicing th is art of l iving on a l i t tl e land here i n Cal i forn iafor fi fteen years , and today I am so en thusiastic over the possibi l i ti esfrom a l i ttle land that I am only too glad to run and tel l the story .

There should be a way whereby those wi th l i t tle means can securea home in the coun try wi thou t wai ti ng un ti l the best part of l i fe isspen t trying to pi le up money enough to purchase i t . I f a countryhome is good for the ri ch , i t should be a blessing to ,

the poor . I bel ievethat some scheme can be worked ou t where those wi th a l i ttle moneycan make a beginn ing i n the coun try and evolve th is country home andthus secure al l its blessings at once .

There is an art Of l iving wel l on’

a l i t tl e land , and I know , for I amdoing i t every day

,and my l i fe work is to do i t so wel l that he who

runs may read .

I not only wan t to do i t wel l for my fami ly’

s sake , but I wan t to doi t so wel l that I may be able to help those who wish to learn th is sanestOf al l arts .I sometimes dream Of a colony of l i ttle coun try homes where even

those wi th smal l means can vie wi th the rich i n thei r coun try homes inal l the l uxuries and Opulence of choice products produced on a l i t tleland . Where th is art of l iving i s taugh t as carefu l ly and thorough ly asal l the other arts

,and where we can have poetry every day instead of

al l prose .

That ’s my dream ! A colony Of l i ttl e , neat , country homes fi l ledwi th sincere

,earnest

,sober people , al l formed in to on e school—the

school Of l i fe,where you don ’t prepare to l ive , bu t l ive wh i le you are

preparing;where al l i nstruction is n o t theory , bu t practice;and wherethe necessaries of l i fe can be produced wi thou t long , weary hours ,thus leavin g

'

en ou gh time for music , and poetry , and social t i es , and al lthat we cal l cu l tu re .

That ’s my dream ! A colony where the art of growing vegetables i smade so clear that al l good th ings from the Soi l awai t the good housewi fe i n the ki tchen

,where the art of producing berries and fru i ts i s

9 4

taugh t so exactly that on each colon ist’

s table wi l l be a compote of

choice fru i ts and in the pan try j ams and j el l i es;where the art Ofproducing poul try and eggs , pigeons , geese , turkeys , ducks , pheasan ts ,and rabbi ts i s so apparen t that Christmas and Thanksgivi ng d innerswi l l be very commonplace;where al l can gather i n a common clubhouse for social d iversion and thei r own en tertainmen ts im as rc- a nd

song and read ings and plays , thus l ivi ng d i rectly and actively insteadof passively and indi rect ly .

Each colon ist wi l l produce almost al l the necessi ties Of the table,

bu t besides each colon ist must,

have a special ty and produce some on eth ing perfectly and in quanti ties for market so that an income may besecured to defray taxes

,cloth ing , paymen ts , etc . On our l i t t le ranch

we p roduce al l the fresh vegetables for the table , berries and fru i t ,butter , poul try and eggs , also pork . Our special ty for an income ispoul try and eggs . This we bel ieve to be one of the best special ties forthe smal l rancher . Poul try raising admi ts of many variations andmany breeds . I have no doubt that squabs , pheasan ts , rabbi ts , ducks ,geese , or bees , when done wel l , wi l l yield an income also .

A R u n n ym ed e E g g Fa rm

9 5

CHAPTER XVI I .

THE PRODUCER THE HERO AND SAVIOR OF THEWAR-MADWORLD

EVER before i n the h istory Of the world was there such a di re needOf sold iers . I n th is cri t ical t ime that tries men ’s Souls we need a huge

mul ti tude of sold iers , strong , s turdy and staunch , scien tifical ly trained .

A hungry , starving world i s cryi ng ou t for sold iers . Our schools haven ot produced enough of them . We have neglected to provide sold iersto look after the bread baskets and larders Of the world . Hungrymothers and babies are crying for bread al l over the land

,whi le broad ,

ferti le acres l i e barren and unconquered . We need sold iers Of the soi lthat wi l l conquer the barren wastes and wring from the earth food forthe widows and orphans who have been stricken in th is horribletragedy . I n th is terrible hour when the business Of the world i s warwe need big , broad-minded sold iers , sold iers to make war on famineand who can real ize that thei r first and h ighest sense Of du ty is to feedthe women and babies dependen t upon them . I t takes courage of theh ighest type to stand by the plow and the reaper i n these war-madtimes . A courage that foresees the greatest needs Of a hungry worldand dares to do in spi te of the wh i rlwind Of patriotism . Our publ icschool s shou ld teach ou r boys and girl s that the noblest cal l ing thei rcoun try has for them is to t i l l the soi l and be a producer . Heal th andstrength and peace Of mind and plen ty would then be the commonpossession of every ind ividual . Our schools shou ld teach ou r boys andgi rl s to be producers , n o t parasi tes . Busy , heal thy , con ten ted peoplewould never figh t over boundary l i nes . I t i s on ly when they are pinchedand ground down and d iscon ten ted wi th thei r dai ly lot that they canbe led i n to war . There is enough ferti le land in the world to placeevery fami ly in a cottage ou t under the blue sky , surrounded by flowersand vegetables and domestic animals and choice fru i ts and berries . Weneed more un iversi ties that can teach human i ty to produce the l uxuriesof a good generous l iving from the soi l . This is the natural l i fe for manthat brings h im close to nature and insti l l s the noblest qual i ties i npeace of mind and love for the beauti ful .Famine , gaun t , hungry ,

desperate,fol lows in the wake of war .

While the best brawn and muscl e of the nations Of the world are dri l li ng , dri l l i ng , dri l l i ng , or l iving i n trenches l ike moles and rats , or l ierotting upon torn battlefields

,whi le the choicest manhood Of the

nations are ben t upon destruction,who is there to j oi n the army of

producers and wage war upon the h igh cost of l iving and feed thehungry world ?When humani ty has to spend long

,weary hours in gai n ing the bare

necessi ties of l i fe , there i s l i ttle j oy in l iving and no hope of economicali ndependence , then comes despai r , and d iscon ten t , and revol u tions ,and the grossest tragedy

,war . The safest education that the school s

Of the nation can bestow upon i ts boys and girl s i s that education thatteaches them to produce thei r own food wi th thei r own hands fromthe mother earth . I t i s the natural i nsti nc t Of every ch i ld to wan t togrow th ings i n the soi l . Every ch i ld should be brough t up in a garden .

9 6

Paradise i s on ly a dream of a land Of gardens . What a heri tage tothe sons Of men to know and have the abi l i ty to create a paradise upona smal l plo t of soi l ! I t should be the natural heri tage Of every ch i ld tohave the knowledge Of garden ing , and th is knowledge shou ld come earlyi n l i fe whi le the ch i ld i s hungry for th i s natural existence .

Wouldn ’t you rather see your ch i ld ou t i n a gardenan i hej arlysunl igh t among crisp growing vegetables and beauti fu l flowers thanconfined to a crowded , dusty school room poring over dead languages ?I f every ch i ld was brough t up in a garden and given the train ing thatwould enable h im to know how to produce the choicest vegetables andberries and fru i ts and flowers , the j oy Of th is natu ral , heal th fu l existence would be so i nsti l led that few would ever leave th is abundan texistence for the hard pavemen ts and bare wal ls Of ci ties . I t mattersn ot what vocations are chosen i n after l i fe , the boy that has the heri tageof knowledge Of how to grow his own l iving from the soi l wi l l neverknow famine i n the hardest times . He wi l l be fortified against anycalami ty . He wi l l have an al ternative in any walk of l i fe . S trikes

, or

high cost Of l iving , or old age , wi l l have no terrors to the man who can

go back to firs t principles and create a l iving from a smal l plot Of land .

And to th ink that there is enough good rich land in the worldso that every son and daugh ter can have th is l i t t le sel f-created paradisei s a though t that Is fu l l O f hope and has In i t the heal i ng Of the torn andwounded nations . The boy that grows up in a garden , wi th thefragrance of flowers and the song of bi rds , has no understand ing of

grim , ghastly war . He cannot understand why nations should figh tover boundary l ines to the destruction Of the ind ividual .

! Westward the cou rse of empire takes her way .

” Ancien t Babylonarose a migh ty nation , reached her zen i th and fel l . She rose to hermigh ty strength from her agricu l ture and wel l-ti l led fields . Hergardens were i rrigated i n that early date . Today , her fal len gardensl ie buried in ru ins . Athens takes her place on the stage Of time , playsher part before the world wi th its sculp ture and arch i tecture andph i losophy , and the curtain is lowered and posteri ty retains on ly fragmen ts Of the beau ty that was then created . While the ph i losophers ofAthens were sti l l pacing the corridors O f her Capi tol expoundingtru ths , there appeared on the western horizon a new ci ty that wasdestined to ru le the world . Rome rose to a world power , then forgother productive fields and squandered her strength on sold iers and h ighl iving and fel l . Then the stream Of humani ty grew

.

i n to a migh ty riverthat flowed over i n to France and Germany and England

,and al l the

European nations grew and waxed strong . Ever and anon there was!

war and rumors ofwar” as these growing nations began to covet morepower . England terms hersel f mistress Of the Seas

,and Germany goes

to seed on mil i tari sm . I t is the Old story as Old as hi story , the Riseand Fal l of Nations . Today

,dynasties are crumbl ing and democracy

may have i ts bi rth in th is fiery ordeal . The river Of humani ty Of al lnations has con tinued to flow toward the west un ti l the two Americasare fi l led wi th people . Only yesterday ou r forefathers landed uponPlymouth Rock , then our grandfathers headed thei r teams toward theM iddle West , travel ing i n covered wagons , and ou r fathers can remember when Indiana was a fron tier forest . On and on across the M ississippi and up the slope of the Rockies moved th is human stream , and

9 7

we ourselves remember the days’

when i t poured over the'

tops of theS ierras down in to the gold fields Of the Sacramen to Val ley .

The curren t Of th is s tream grows swi fter and migh tier each year ,westward , ever westward , unti l the moun tains and del ls and largerval leys Of the whole Pacific Coast are fi l led wi th people , and sti l l theycome . We are i n grave danger Of being buried al ive i n th is humanriver

,for the stream must stop wi th the migh ty Pacific , for there Is no

more West . The PacificCoast Is desti ned to become the most denselypopulated area i n the world . I t Is h igh time that we were learn ing howto produce the largest crops from the smal lest area . In ten sified

farming Is on e Of the most importan t economical questions Of the day .

R u n n ym ed e g a rd e n w i t h p o u l t ryfo r i n com e

A n In d ep en d en t l i v i n g f rom

98

CHAPTER XVII I .

THE PLEASURES OF EGG FARMING

UCH has been wri tten on the profi ts of the poul trybu sin essf rorn afinancial standpoin t

,and l i ttle of the pleasures , heal th and happi

ness derived from keeping fowls . Blessed is the man whose choicest pleasure is his work . And how much more satis factory i s that work when wereal ize that i t gives al l that th i s world has to give , heal th of body andpeace of mind and room to exercise al l ou r facu l ties . Someone hassaid : Get your pleasure ou t of your work or you wi l l never know whatreal pleasure is . To the man who loves an imal and plan t l i fe

, who

revel s i n the sunsh ine ou t under the open sky , who i s i n toxicated wi ththe fresh ai r and the vi

’

gor of an ou tdoor l i fe , to th is man the pou l trybusiness is an ideal business

,T O the man who loves close rooms and

musty volumes there is l i t tle for h im in the pou l try business . Bu t i f

you love freedom , love independence , and l ike to be your own master ,then go ou t on a l i tt le poul try ranch and l ive the natural l i fe . The manwho gets ou t of bed in the morn ing wi th a dread in his heart Of theday ’s work before h im has sad ly missed his cal l ing . Li fe is short

,and

the first th ing we know we are shu flfled Off wi thou t ever tasting of thenatural j oys of l iving . Your work Should be so wholesome

, so i n teresting

,that you wou ld spring from the restfu l n igh t

’s slumber to meeti t . I f you have found your cal l i ng , your work wi l l beon e long hol iday .

But work to be a pleasure inu stbe wel l done and bring resu l ts . Thosewho fai l i n the poul try business get n o p leasu re

‘

ou t of it from the simplefact that thei r work is n ot wel l done . Order , system and a fine adj ustmen t bring satisfaction i n the poul try work as i n other work . There isno work which responds as quickly to thoroughness and order as thework on an egg farm . Hens are such sensi tive creatures , they respondSO quickly to good atten tion , that the pleasu re Of seeing resu l ts isun l imi ted .

Better than grandeu r , better than gold ,Better than weal th a hundred fold ,Are a heal th fu l body , a mind at ease ,And S imple pleasures that always please .

The man is to be pi tied who never sees the su n ri se , who does n o tknow what i t i s to arise early i n the morn ing and walk ou t among thegrowing vegetables and grasp a hoe wi th a strong pai r of arms and feell i fe pulsating In every part Of h is body .

The artificia l pleasures of the ci ties cannot be compared to thenatural pleasures where the red cOmbed hens are S inging and cackl ing .

The question is , are you sati sfied wi th your presen t vocation , or are

you forever dreaming of an afterwh i le‘ when you wil l be doing what

your heart so much desi res ? Are you tired Of offiCe work , of stupidinside grinding , of being an au tomaton ? Let me tel l you there isroom for a good l iving , and al l that th i s O ldmother earth ever gives toany man righ t on one acre of Cal i forn ia soi l . The on ly question is ,can you so manipulate th is on e acre that your table wi l l be spreadwi th the choicest products Of the soi l and the pures t food from cow and

9 9

hen ? There is a way to do i t , and why not learn th is fine art of l ivingthe simple l i fe , when i t brings al l that i s worth wh i le . O f course i t takestime and study to systematize one acre in to a profi table business thesame as any other busi ness . T oo many attempt i t wi thou t any preparation at al l .Many start ou t wi th an end in view and get mixed up wi th the

detai ls and lose sigh t of the end . When I first started ou t i n thepoul try business fi fteen years ago , I though t I must work sixteen hoursper day in order to make i t go . NO doubt th i s helped

,and by sheer

force my business was establ ished . Today I can turn off more work ineigh t hours than I could ten years ago i n sixteen . System -and orderand machinery gets resu l ts wi th more sati sfaction and less wear . T OO

t i red to enj oy , we Often hear the rancher say . Let us stop,get a good

perspective of ou r ranch , and sit down and th ink ou t the dai ly detai lsand cu t ou t the th ings then and there that are lost motion . Moved i rectly , efficien tly , and thorough ly .

I t does n ot pay to wear yoursel f ou t physical ly SO that you driveyoursel f and are too ti red to th ink . Each pou l tryman needs to se t

apart two hours at least each day for study and th inking upon theproblems Of h is ranch . By concen tration , two hours each day upon thebusiness of the ranch , th ings wi l l assume order and steps be saved .

When you are ti red , rest;then work twice as fast and wi th morepleasure . By moving fast and wi th decision , one wi l l assume the rout ine work Of the ranch wi th much more ease and wi l l accompl ish i non e hour what i t takes und i rected two hours to accompl ish . Go at yourtask fresh and rested and make a record for speed and ski l l and thetask wi l l be amusing and en tertain ing , i nstead of wearing; I t i s a fineart to learn how to work hard and effectively and rest wel l . Keep upyour physical buoyancy i f you would have the keenest j oy on a poul tryranch . Physical buoyancy i s ki l led by dragging , plugging , grinding al lday when the same work cou ld be done in hal f the time wi th alertnessand decision . I f a man on a pou l try ranch would try to move j usttwice as fast as he usual ly does and take the hal f of the time thus savedfor studying and plann ing how to cu t short the detai l s , he wi l l catchup wi th h imsel f and also catch up wi th h is work . The work on a p ou l

try ranch is so varied that i t need n ot pal l . Each day and each seasonbrings i ts new tasks that add change to the dai ly rou tine . T O go fromon e piece Of work to another wi th the least lost motion and to keepseveral pieces of work going i n thei r due season requi res though t andprecision and affords men tal dri l l as wel l as heal thy exercise .

Can you imagine a l ine of work more i n teresting than to take a l i neof bi rds and breed them year after year for vigor and egg production ?These two th ings you must have—vigor and egg production—if

you get satisfaction and pleasure from keeping hens . You cannot haveegg production wi thou t vigor , bu t you may have vigor wi thout eggproduction , and the problem i s to keep both vigor and egg production .

The inven tor has been pictured as the happiest of mortals becausealmost obl ivious of sel f . The poul try man has many problems that canengross a l i fetime in experimenting

,making poul try raising on e of the

most scien tific as wel l as absorbing occupations that can be found .

One of ou r keenest pleasures i s to select a pen Of egg type hens andrecord them . We look forward to some wonderfu l th ings i n egg pro

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of con te ntment . Enron the -pus sy cat comes from under l he barn wi ththe ki ttens trai l ing after her , and she purrs and rubs up against thelegs Of the cow trying to demonstrate her affection and work on yoursympath ies un ti l you are tempted to treat her wi th a cup of mi lk . Upabove you i n the walnu t tree the bi rds are Singing , and in your ownhappy heart there i s a song also . You feel sort of a fatherly pride as

you look upon you rl

happy fami ly , and as you leave the barnyard wi tha bucket of ri ch mi lk for the strawberries , and peaches , and blackberries , and honey , you have also a feel ing Of grati tude for suchprovidence . You have al so carried away wi th you from that con ten tedbarnyard scene a lesson in seren i ty that wi l l give you poise and equan imity for the arduous duties of the day .

V i ew of R u n n ymed e

G a rd e n l ux u r i e s

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CHAPTER XIX .

MARKETING PROBLEM S OF POULTRYMEN

HE highest efficiency comes through co-operation . M work

Of the world is done by co-operat ion . Tunnel ing the moun tains ,digging canals , bui ld ing ci ties , can never be done by the ind ividual .The ind ividual i s only a cog in the economic mach inery of the world .

Alone,the i nd ividual has l i ttle force , bu t un i ted wi th a defin i te purpose ,

order and system spring from chaos . I t is on ly by j oin ing ou r energieswi th ou r fel low men that big movemen ts are possible . I t i s absol u telyimpossible to attain the h ighest independence alone . We need ‘

ou r

neighbors;we need ou r social l i fe;we need the economic d ivision of

l abor;and above al l , we n eed the strong co-operation Of ou r fel lowpoul trymen who are al l producing the same th ing . We must real izehere and now that the pou l try producers wi l l never reach the h ighestmarket efficiency except through co-operation . Every l ine Of production i n the Un i ted S tates is more or less organized , and the morethorough the organization the less economic waste . Withou t co-operation , the ci trus growers would have been ou t Of business long ago .

The raisin growers are pu tting a standard product on the market i n anefficien t way that makes prosperi ty .

The manu facturer Of any arti cle names the sel l i ng price of thatarti cle , and i t mu st

'

se l l for more than cost of production or the makergoes ou t of business . Henry Ford does not turn h is mach ines over toa merchan ts

’

exchange for them to gamble wi th and fix the prices .

The commercial world i s coming to a on e-priced system and i t wi l lnot be long ti l l the pri ce of eggs wi l l n ot be a gamble , runn ing up anddown a sl id ing scale at the wh ims Of a few men . On ly a few years agoand there was no fixed price for any article on the market .The dealer paid as l i t tle as possible and sold for as much as the

buyer cou ld be coaxed in to paying . I can even remember when weused to come home from the store and talk over the bargains that wehad made on goods that were marked so much and we j ewed h im downto what we were pleased to cal l the righ t pri ce . That day i s almostover . We buy today and pay the price asked wi thou t questioni ng thehonesty of the sel ler . There is a certain sense of busi ness honor thatbelongs to the highest type Of business man .

What a j umble of th ings i f al l the produce were sold th rough amerchants ’ exchange ! The man that produces the goods should beable tod ictate the price

,and so he does , i n most productions . What

an absurd th ing i t is that the men who produce the eggs have n ot theleast power to fix the sel l i ng price Of these eggs . I s i t n ot the heigh tOf fol ly for eggs to soar to 60or 75 cen ts at a certain season Of the year ,thus being unj ust to the consumer , and then have them drop belowcost Of production at the season of the year when the producer migh tmake some profi t , thus being unj ust to the producer ? Under theexisting system there is an inj ustice to both consumer and producer .

We are producers Of eggs . We know how much i t costs to producethem . Do we know that we wi l l be able to sel l them at a profi t ? Is

there any way by which we can say what we can afford to take for ou r

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eggs and give them to the con sumer: accordingly ? One Oi'

the largestbankers and financiers of San Francisco says that we have absolu tecon trol of ou r own produce i f we wi l l on ly get together .

This i s our problem— getting together . We are al l so busy producingou r eggs that we seem to have l i t tle time to pu t much though t on plansof co-Operation . Some O f us are afraid that we wi l l n o t he lp

'ma t ters ,

and migh t make them worse . Some of u s hate to give up that l i t tl eprivate trade we have been working years to bui ld up . Why

,bless

you , don’t you real ize that even you r private trade prices are governed

by the daily qu ota tion s ? What a rel ie f i t would be to have th is mil lwheel of private customers from your neck ! Our great question is ,what power wi l l bring al l the pou l trymen in to th is Cen tra l Ca liforn iaPou l try P rodu cers

’

Association ?

Every pou l tryman real izes that we should get together . He knowsth is , bu t the task rather staggers h im and he does not have confidencethat makes for the strongest co-Operation . Now , what on e th ingwould make you , my fel low poul tryman , j oi n th i s association ? Here ismy own private Opin ion . I f , on a certain day , an au to truck wouldpul l alongside my egg room , load on al l my eggs and give me due cred i tfor same , and if I knew that on that same day next week and weekafter th is same truck would cal l i n , and that I would form the habi t oflooking for the truck wi th the big letters , Cen tra l Ca liforn ia P ou l tryP rodu cers

’

Associa tion ,

” do you th ink that I wou ld trouble mysel f totry to sel l my own eggs ? I nstead Of you and I and al l the pou l trymenlosing time to del iver our eggs , on e truck for the purpose would makethe rounds . What a saving i n time and energy ! This comes home toevery rancher . I f some ranchers l ived off the truck rou te , i t would b ea smal l matter for each neighborhood to have a cen tral col lecting place

Th i s would enable al l the farmers who raise on ly a few hens to alsoco-operate and j oi n i n the work of making a fresh standard product .An instructor would gO i n to each neighborhood and give d i rect ions forgrad ing and packing the eggs SO that they would be absolu tely rel i able .

The system would be so perfect that any unrel iable sh ipper couldinstan tly be located .

When th is truck wi th 'the big letters , P ou l try P rodu cers of Cen tra lCa l iforn ia , had made i ts rounds , where would i t take its load Ofeggs and l ive poul try ? I t has reached the producers d i rectly , and thereis n ot a producer along the l ine who wi l l s tand back and hau l h is owneggs to town . The eggs being on ou r own truck , i t behooves us to havea place to drive to i n order to begin proper d istribu tion . We must havea cen tral packing house i n each d istri c t . This bran ch packing hou seshould be modern and up to date . I t should have cold storage roomenough to hold at least what cold storage eggs are needed for homeconsumption . I t i s absurd to have the cold storage eggs for Santa Cruzcome each year from San Francisco . San Jose , San ta Cruz and almostevery outside town depends on San Francisco for its cold storage produ et . What a loss i n freigh t each way

,and time , which makes a poorer

qual i ty . Why shou ld not San Francisco cal l upon ou r branch housesfor its supply ? Would not th i s be true economy ? We could then getou r eggs in to cold storage d irect from the nest wi th least possible delayand ensure a better product .

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done from the number Of hens—and have h im advance On e dol lar foreach case stored . After canvassing the d istrict and approximating howmany cases would go in to cold storage for the season and col lecting adol lar advance on each case , th is would be the necessary capi tal toerect the plan t .

I f th i s cou ld not be done , several pou l trymen whose means j ustifiedi t could go to the bank and get a loan to erect the plan t

,going securi ty .

This , perhaps , would be the most difficul t .

I bel i eve each local d istrict wi l l have i ts own home problem tosolve , and the sooner th is i s done the better . Al l surplus could then beSen t on to our represen tative in the ci ty .

We have 1230members al ready Signed up . The property own in gs

Of these 1230 members runs from $2000 to each . Perhaps ,$5000would be a fai r average . This means , then , that there i s al ready

worth of property beh ind the members Of th is organ ization .

Is i t not strange tha t'

we shou ld be wondering how we Shal l finance ou rundertaking ? We are trying a big th ing , to be sure . Did Phi l Armourreal ize when he was working by day work in the Stockyards in Chicagothat some day he would have a packing house i n nearly every largeci ty in the Uni ted S tates ? Did Heinz real ize when he was cann ingpickles i n that O ld shack that some day he would have canneries inevery state in the Union , and that h is 57 varieties would find the wayto the d in ing tables Of the world ? Fel low poul trymen , we must gettogether and standard ize our product and sel l i t ourselves , el iminatingas much lost motion as possible between producer and consumer . CO

operation wi l l el iminate lost motion , take up the! economic slack , and

put egg-farming on a stable basis .

REASONS WHY EVERY POULTRYMAN IN THE STATESHOULD STAND BY THE POULTRY PRODUCERS ’

ASSOCIATION AND MARKET THEIR OWNPRODUCTS

Poul trymen are manufacturers of a fin ished product . I t is thei rsby righ t Of having produced i t . They have produced this productspecifical ly for the consumer . To get th is fin ished product to theconsumer wi th the least loss of motion as qu ick ly and cheaply as

possible i s the pu rpose Of the Cen tral Cal i forn ia Pou l try Producers’

Association . The Association must protect the consumer as wel l assafeguard the i n terests Of the producer . I n caring for the producer theAssociation helps the consumer

,for by el iminating the speculative

feature , the consumer i s bound to get better qual i ty and at j ust pri ces .

I t i s decided ly to the consumer ’s in terest to help the Producers’

Association i n every way possible . By buying d i rectly from theproducers the consumer wi l l receive a fresher product and wi l l payon ly the in trinsic val ue and not a specu lat ive value . There is no otherway to get j ustice for both producer and consumer except by CO

operative sel l i ng of the produce by the producers themselves . Everyproducer knows and admi ts that co-operation i n handl i ng thei r . producei s the only way possible to get the ful l val ue of the product . Then whyshould a producer hold back from co-operating wi th al l the producers ?There is only on e reason , and that i s the prospect of gett ing a few cen ts

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more on the ou tside . This i s a l i ttle , selfish , pin-head , two-by-fourreason

,and the cal iber of a producer that stands ou t for th i s reason i s

not very large . As long as the price for,

our product is fixed by themiddle-men

,i t cannot always be j ust . At certain seasons of the year

i t i s much too low for the producer , especial ly at the season when eggs

go i n to cold storage . At the time when these cold storagss eggg ag re pu ton the market the price for fresh eggs runs SO h igh that i t is uwr f tothe consumer . I t 15 also a great inj ustice to the consumer to have eggsheld on a rising market , thus forcing the consumer to accept stale eggs .

I n marketing thei r own product the producers wi l l be able to el iminatethe speculative aspect and the consumer Wi l l get better qual i ty . Th i sfact alone should induce every consumer to buy d irectly from theproducer . Why buy produce that has been j uggled again and againun ti l i t is Old and stale ? T he consumer has long been wai ting for anOpportun i ty to buy d irectly from the producer , and th is opportun i tywi l l be keen ly appreciated .

I n the ten mon ths In which the Association has been In business thePou l try Producers have accompl ished a very remarkable feat in

growing from an unorgan ized body wi thou t capi tal or credi t to a wel lorgan ized body wi th capi tal and substan tial cred i t . The plan hasbeen successfu l i n the in i tiative . I n no other way could we haveestabl i shed capi tal

,cred i t and experience . Thanks to C01. Harri s

Weinstock and the loyal poul trymen who met wi th h im from week toweek organ iz ing the plan

,we have capi tal , cred i t and a measure of

experience , and th is has been done wi th on ly abou t th irty per cen t ofthe eggs . I t has been a difficul t task wi th two-th i rds of the eggs on theoutside , and cou ld never have been accompl ished excep t for the veryloyal few . We need the other two-th i rds and can never accompl ish afai r measure Of j ustice to both producer and consumer un ti l we getthem in to the Association . I f the ou tsider could on ly real ize what theAssociation means to h im and the poul try industry as a whole , hewould come in qu ickly .

What does the Associat ion mean to the producer ? I t means thatj ust as soon as the Association i s strong enough to market its own

products , i t wi l l e l iminate the specu lative feature and establ ish moreregular prices . There i s n o reason why the price on eggs could n ot beset for a week or ten days at a time . The prices Of pou l try are ann ou n ced for the week by some of the buyers , and eggs could beannounced in the same way and the price would depend upon supplyand demand . I t means that the producer would receive al l that hisproduct is worth and n ot an inflated price or a depressed price . TheBears and Bul l s would have n o voice .

I t means that the overhead cost Of handl ing the produce would beless th rough on e wel l -adj usted organization

,and that the consumer

could even pay less and sti l l l eave a l ivi ng profi t to the producer . Alarge volume Of business can be handled on l ess margin than a smal lvolume . I t el iminates the danger of the producer losing on badaccoun ts , and guaran tees regular pay days .

I t wi l l get the producer better pri ces i n the spring when prices aredepressed for cold storage purposes . I t wi l l get the producer a pa cebased on the best grade of eggs instead of the poorest .

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I n time , when the Association wi l l have grown i n capi tal andexperience , i t wi l l handle poul try feeds and el iminate speculation onth is end of the business as wel l .

What benefi ts wi l l the consumer receive from the Associ ationsel l i ng thei r own eggs ? The consumer wi l l receive a fresher productd i rect from the producer . By reason of the Association being able todo a large amoun t of busi ness at less expense , the consumer shou ld getproduce at even less price . The consumer wi l l pay more un i form pricesfor eggs and not be at the mercy of the speculative element . That Is ,the price wi l l not be proh ibi tive a part of the year and too low at othertimes . This wide d ifference in price i s the resu l t Of the speculat iveforces . There wi l l . be an increased consumption Of eggs when theconsumer can be assured that he i s getting a fresh product . Manyfami l ies forego eggs because at certain seasons i t i s almost impossibl eto get fresh goods on accoun t of eggs beingheld on a rising market .

Poul trymen are learn ing how to produce more and more fal l andwinter eggs i n th is cl imate , and th is factor alone wi l l tend to equal ize

prIces .

The commission men have decided that since the speculativeelemen t has been taken from them they wi l l be obl iged to

- charge8 per cen t for doing business . The Pou l try Producers

’

Associationhas al ready proven that i t can handle the product for abou t hal fthat amount . Now i s the time for every poul tryman to sign up wi ththe Association . Never before i n the h istory of egg production wasthere a more opportune time for the producer to standard ize h i sbusiness . There i s no other way possible except by co-Operativesel l i ng , and wi th the start we have every poul tryman Should haveenti re confidence i n the Association . We must n ot fai l;we cannot fai l;we have noth ing to loss , for we can get al l ou r eggs are W orth by sel l ingthem ourselves . We need the support Of every poul tryman at th isparticular cri si s , and we are absol u tely certain that i f we can only gettogether we wi l l succeed not on ly for ourselves but for the consumeras wel l .I n some n ot very far d istan t day al l the producers of al l l i neswil l

co-operate , and i t wi l l then be possible for poul try products and dai ryproducts to be handled under the same roof co-operatively and by theproducers themselves . The opportuni ties along thi s l ine are unl imi tedfor both producer and consumer .

PLAN SUBMITTED FOR MARKETING THE EGGS OF THECAL IFORNIA POULTRY PRODUCERS ’ ASSOC IATION

The on e big problem before the Board of Di rectors of the Cen tralCal i forn ia Pou l try Producers ’ Association i s the problem Of so marketing the eggs of the Association that the producer i n the Associationwi l l receive as much for h is eggs as the producer ou t of the Association .

J ust as soon as the Association has the marketing abi l i ty to real ize fori ts members curren t quotations

,j ust that soon wi l l the membersh ip of

the Association i nclude every pou l tryman wi th in reach of the Association . Every poul tryman real izes the importance Of co-Operation , bu ti t is against human nature for any member , however loyal , to see h isnext-door neighbor receive more for h i s eggs and sti l l be able to boost

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specific purpose of sel l ing ou r own eggs , and why should we , at th istime

,cast abou t trying to throw the responsibi l i ty Of getting rid Of the

eggs on on e or more parties ? We know fu l l wel l that we must get asmuch for ou r eggs as any Of ou r competi tive buyers before we can payhis price to the producer . We know ful l wel l that before we can do th i swe must sel l d i rect to the same d istribu tors as he does . We know ful lwel l that there is no other course for us than to organ ize ou r own sel l i ngforce j ust the same as any other merchan t on the exchange . I f wekeep ou r seat on the exchange we wi l l be obl iged to sel l to the legi t imatej obbers on ly .

I t may be a question as to whether we wan t to tie ourselves downto the j obbers only . By sel l ing to the whole world we migh t evenreal ize more for ou r producers than our competi tors cou ld do . I twould al so give the buying publ i c a chance to get closer to the producer .This i s the fundamen tal purpose of ou r organ izati on . We would beblazing new l ines i n the historv Of d istribu tion in San Francisco .

We have these two ways Open to us for sel l i ng the Association eggs :sel l ing to j obbers j ust the same as an y merchan t on exchange , or sel l i ngto the whole world Of buyers , whether retai lers , j obbers or wholesalers .

Whichever way we sel l we do not wan t to lose the prestige Of beingable to sel l i n carloads to the j obbing trade i n any part of the world .

I f ou r sel l ing to retai l ers would hurt ou r stand ing wi th the j obbingtrade throughou t the coun try , then we cou ld n ot afford to do i t . I fthe j obbers i n al l ci ties are SO strongly organized that we would beboycotted by sel l ing to retai lers , then there migh t be some danger i nconsidering th i s avenue . I f , on the other hand , we could get the tradeof al l the retai l grocers for ou r produce , we wou ld el iminate at on e strokethe temptation of ou r producers to sel l to the grocers . This would be ashor t cu t that would remove th i s very importan t factor in securingnew members . The groceryman is the on ly on e able to pay the produ cer a premium for his eggs . I f

,the retai ler could get guaran teed eggs

from u s d i rect from the producer he would be glad to do so . Producersare i rregu lar wi th thei r sh ipmen ts and wi th the supply , and I bel ievethe grocer cou ld be educated to depend upon u s for a steady supply ofguaran teed eggs .I f we sel l to the retai ler we cannot hope to sel l to private trade

Such as restauran ts and hotel s , un less we could be fortunate enough tocon trol enough eggs to force them to buy from u s .

I beg to submi t th is plan for consideration . Secure a conven ien twarehouse for receiving the eggs both in San Francisco and Oakland .

Le t th i s be the cen ter for candl ing what eggs necessary and recasingeggs in cartons for special fancy trade . Have a conspicuous and i n teresting brand on the end of each case that goes ou t . Also open an eggsel l ing room on the main street Of both Oakland and San Francisco andmake an in teresting and attractive d isplay and sel l to al l comersfor cash .

In th i s way we would give the publ ic a chance to get ou r eggs d i rectand fresh from the ranch . Many weal thy fami l ies would buy in hal fcase and case lots . Al l ou r cartons would be sealed and guaran teed i fseal was unbroken . I have tried th i s scheme in a smal l way and foundthat there was no l imi t to the eggs that could be placed in retai l placesal l cartoned and sealed wi th an ! ad ready for the customer . I t migh t

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take a l i t tle persistence to get the brand on the market , bu t I f we had

ou r store on a busy street and requested the people through the righ tkind O f advertisemen t to ask thei r grocer for ou r brand of eggs , wecould then hope to i n teres t the grocer in ou r brand . We must educatethe people and they wi l l i n turn cal l upon thei r grocer , whq fi re

spond to the wan ts Of h is customers .

I t would take time to work up a trade of th i s kind . I t cou ld not bedone qu ickly . No big business i s bu i l t up i n a minu te . But we wouldslowly grow in favor and prestige wi th con tinual suggestion un ti l wewould have a market that would pay a premium . Educate the peopleto know wel l ou r brand , and when they cal l for eggs they wi l l th ink of

ou r brand . In each carton of eggs could be some pri n ted matter tel l i ngj ust how the hens are fed that lay these eggs , and how Often they aregathered i n to the markets and j ust how quickly we get them to thecustomer from the nest , etc.We would need some Ford trucks , two tons each , at each ware

house . Also some l igh ter cars for quick del ivery . These would havethei r rou tes worked ou t and would cal l upon every grocery store ,restauran t and hotel i n both ci ties . With persistence , we would contin u e these cal ls on regular days un ti l on e by on e we cou ld win thei rtrade . With an ! ad ” i n the papers occasional ly , keeping the factbefore the minds of the people , that they cou ld obtai n ou r brand of eggsfrom thei r own corner grocery by Simply requesting that ou r brand behandled , and letting them know that i f thei r own grocer d id n o t

proceed to carry . ou r brand that they could get these perfect ly fresheggs at ou r own s tore on Market street , thi s would get resu l ts .

We would wan t to do a cash business righ t from the star tand haveour del ivery men bring i n the cash for the eggs . Get them

‘

i n to thehabi t O f paying cash from the very s tart . I t is human nature

‘

to pu t Offpaying the bi l l s O f the fel low that i s n ot i nsisten t . Le t them know thatwe must have cash and they wi l l n ine times ou t of ten admire ou r

pluck . I f ou r del ivery man cannot col lec t for some reason , le t u s havea col lector ready wi th a swi ft motor to fol low up each week al l suchaccounts . GO after the money from the very start .

I real ize that th is wou ld necessi tate much detai l and bookkeeping,

bu t I can see n o other way possible for u s to get the prices that wi l lenable u s to compete wi th other buyers . There is n ot a bi t of doubtbu t what we cou ld d ispose of ou r produce i n th is way so far as thesetwo ci ties cou ld u se i t . Surplus could be sold i n carloads as from anyother firm. We could have an adverti sing campaign that would pu t usin touch with buyers al l over the country

,and the simple fact that we

had the goods would move them .

The strongest feature i n handl ing ou r own produce would be thatwe would get al l the profi t on storage eggs and here is where we couldshow a profi t to our members over the non-members . I bel ieve th is i sthe on ly chance we have of showing a very great advan tage i n belonging to the Association . In storing ou r own eggs we would have to havea man out al l over the coun try con tracting them as fast as we put themin cold storage at a reasonable profi t

,thus el iminating the possibi l i ty

Of being stuck at the end of the season .

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0

Let the people know that we are on the map and ou t for businessand keep righ t after them ti l l we get i t . We have everyth ing ou r ownway i f we wi l l j ust simply do as any other wide-awake man would dowho had such a fine block of eggs to work on as we have .

l r r i g at i n g o n R u n n ym ed e i n ten s i v e fa rm s

T h e c ows h e l p in a good l i v i n g

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Hea l thy Peop l e

who appreciate the buoyancy and exuberance that comes from pureblood and strong muscles and who find i t worth wh i le to Obey naturall aws Of the physical body , and who have time and the wi l l power tobathe not on ly i n water , but also in the l i fe -giving sunshi ne .

In du striou s Peop l e

who are absorbed in thei r work because i t i s the most natural work forman

,and who real ize that the work of producing i s the h ighest and

most noble work given to the hands Of man to perform,and who

understand that ! Man Shou ld earn h is bread by the sweat Of h i sbrow ,

”

before he can tru ly enj oy i t , and who perce e that! he who

does n ot get pleasure ou t Of h i s work does not know what real pleasure

is w’

ho work not alone for dol lars , bu t for sel f perfection ,for the j oy Of

act ivi ty , and for the beau ty and weal th created .

Socia l Peop l e

who love to mingle wi th thei r neighbors i n the commun i ty C l ub Houseand exchange ideas on the best ways Of conducting l i fe i n order toobtain the greatest happiness;who love to l i sten to good music andread ings from the best l i terature .

Mora l Peop l e

who are n ot afraid to worsh ip the good , the true , and the beau ti ful ,wherever found .

These are some Of the vi rtues Of the people that have made Runnymede a desi rable place in wh ich to dwel l , a land that

! flows wi th mi lkand honey ,

” a land Of peace and prosperi ty , heal th and happiness .

We want only the h ighest type Of men and women for Runnymede ,and i f you , dear reader ,

‘

are search ing for that promised land , wherepeace and plen ty

,good wi l l , i n tel lectual and social l i fe abound , we

invi te you to investigate Runnymede , a place of garden homes wi thpou l try and rabbi ts and bees and goats and cows and hogs and al lthat pertains to the comfort of man .

Wh ere Th ere I S No Vision th e Na t ion s Perish

RUNNYMEDE is the real ization Of a V ISIon that was dreamed byCharles Weeks more than fi fteen years ago . For fi fteen years he hasbeen proving , step by step ,

on h is own l i ttle plot o f land , the wonderfu lpossibi l i ti es of a l ittl e lan d and a l ivin g. He has evolved a system Of

poul try raising that is fool proof and SO simple and sure that anyin tel l igen t , i ndustrious person can work i t . He did not wish to h idehi s l igh t under a bushel

,

” bu t wan ted to show the whole world thesan i ty of th is natural

,peaceful

,heal th fu l way of l iving on a l ittl e land;

and so i t came to pass that from ou t the vi sion Of many years before ,RUNNYMEDE

,THE CHARLES WEEKS POULTRY COLONY ,

was born . On the rich,l evel

,wel l -watered , garden loam soi l , there

sprang up, as i f by magic , pretty garden homes wi th long rows Of

poul try houses fi l led wi th profi table laying hens . Soon the first

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subdivision Of 150acres was wel l taken up and a second addi tion Of 135acres was opened . This second addi tion was wel l sold ou t i n eigh tmon ths and beauti fu l homes sprang up overlooking the blue waterof the bay .

T he commu n ity has grown so rapidly that a th i rd subd ivision hasbeen added to the colony formerly known asWOODLANDT ’Ij AIGEc r

Ravenswood . This th ird addi tion has many beau t i fu l l ive oak treesand l ies j ust at the end Of the Un iversi ty street car l ine , which makes i tdoubly desi rable for pretty garden homes wi th in easy reach of Palo Al toand S tan ford Un iversi ty . Th is beau ti fu l tract of 130 acres bordersSan Fran cisqu ito C reek ,

from which , i n ages gone by , i t has received i tsrich , sed imen t loam soi l so usefu l for gardens .

I n Cal i forn ia , land must have water for i rrigation i n order t oproduce maximum resu l ts . Underneath Runnymede , at a depth Of

between th i rty and sixty feet , i s a gravel bed fi l led wi th water from themoun tai ns

,from wh ich a superabundance Of good i rrigating water i s

pumped in streams from 250 to 500 gal lons per minu te . When aten - i nch wel l is put down sixty feet the water rises to wi th in ten tofi fteen feet of the surface and is easi ly l i fted by a cen tri fugal pump andfive horsepower motor . WATER IS KING AT RUNNYMEDE .

S ta rt i n g a p u m p o n a R u n n ym ed e L i tt l e F a rm

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G at h e r i n g ka l e fo r p o u l t ry o n a R u n n ym ed e ra n c h

RUNNYMEDE—A PLACE OF HIGHER INDEPENDENCE FORMAN IN H IS OWN GARDEN HOME

Men are slaves to men and to themselves . They l ive i n a beauti fu lworld wi th every natural advantage for a quiet , clean , heal th fu l ,natural l i fe ou t under the open sky , bu t instead of making u se of th isrich heri tage they bind themselves to perform the most rid icu loustasks during thei r soj ourn on earth . I nstead of going to the veryfountain -head and source Of peace and plen ty from the soi l , they set

themselves d isagreeable tasks whereby they may earn a few pal trydol lars wi th wh ich to buy the bare necessi ti es Of l i fe . Thus the habi tof chasing the dol lar is formed , and this habi t becomes a mania unti lthe whole world of men become gamblers trying to get as many dol larsou t Of each other as they possibly can . The human race is playingth is dol lar game unti l the whole world has become a place Of gamble .

The dol lar was first i nsti tu ted as a conven ience and n ot an end , bu tman has forgotten the true end of l i fe and goes on and on , weary andfootsore , doing heart-breaking labors for dol lars .He gets mixed up wi th the means and loses sigh t O f the true end of

l i fe . Few men are sati sfied wi th the task they are performing .

I f i t was n ot for the dol lar held up as the remuneration for th isdespised task , they would drop i t at on es . They are unhappy i n thei rwork and apologize for having no better j ob .

” Man says that menhave the h ighest i n tel lect of al l the an imals , yet wi th al l th is boastedin tel lect men l ive the most unnatural l ives of al l the animal kingdom .

God never i n tended that human l i fe should be j ammed together i nmasses i n large ci ties , l iving i n l i t tle box stal ls pi led layer on l ayer , wi thl i t tle sun l igh t , bad ai r , eternal noise , no exercise and no defin i te purposebu t to go ou t among the sea Of people and try and pick up a dol lar .The first and h ighest du ty that man owes to h imsel f is that of perfecting and preserving h is own bodi ly heal th .

The body is the temple , the dwel l ing place Of the h igher sel f , andwhy shou ld men force thei r physical bodies to dwel l i n dark places andto breathe ai r that wi l l i n the end wreck thei r heal th , and to subj ectthe nerves to severe strains i n order to accumulate dol lars ? Is i tbecause men have not been shown a better way of l iving ? I s i t becausethey are born i n to th is eternal grind of th i ngs and cannot extri catethemselves ?

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he cannot pay wages,and th is strain of making a business pay enslaves

a man .

The highest i ndependence would be that happy state i n which aman would nei ther h i re n or be h ired . This happy state can on ly comeabout where the envi ronmen t is made to produce the greatest part Ofthe necessaries Of l i fe . The fi rst essen tial Of l i fe i n the matter Of foodcan be produced from fert i le soi l i n tensively cu l tivated . Here 4n ~ this

favored S tate of Cal i forn ia i t i s possible to grow almost the en ti rel iving from a very l i t tl e land . With one acre of good ferti le wel lwatered soi l i n th i s sunny S tate O f Cal i forn ia , a fami ly can have thebest l iving in the world and better than any wages can ever buy .

Besides an abundance of good th ings to eat , the fami ly wi l l haveindependence

,which is the h ighest s tate for man . Any wage earner

can take the same number of hours he devotes to earn ing h is wages andmake a better l iving from on e acre , i f righ tly handled . With vegetablesand berries and fru i ts and flowers , l i fe has a fi t setting for the best thati s in i t . Among the growing , natural , l ivi ng th ings i s the place for themost abundan t l i fe . With poul try and rabbi ts and pigeons for i ncomefor clothes , bees to make honey , a goat or cow for mi lk , wi th plen tyof good rich cream for strawberries , raspberries , blackberries , curran ts ,gooseberries , and al l the del icious fru i ts , wi th al l these l uxuries freshfrom the garden , a fami ly is a Royal Fami ly and the man King Of h isown l i t tle kingdom . I n such a kingdom , man needs bu t l i ttle money ,

for he has more than money can buy in peace of mind , heal th of bodya nd the most del icious nourish ing food .

RUNNYMEDE is the n ame of this practica l commu n ity of associatedl ittl e farms . I t i s a visual man i festation of the dreams Of men cometrue i n l i t tle garden homes wi th poul try for income . Runnymede i s nota real estate proposi tion . There are no agen ts . I t i s a CO-operativeCommuni ty formed on practical l i nes , bui l t up on the richest , bestwatered soi l i n the S tate , near the best school s and wi th home market .This prosperous communi ty owns i ts own warehouse and sel ls i ts

own produce . T o al l i n terested in find ing a garden home wi th poul try ,

rabbi ts , pigeons , bees , e tc . , for income , Runnymede Offers the bestopportun i ties i n the four essen tials Of soi l

,water , cl imate and market .

T O those weary of working for wages , Runnymede offers a h igheri ndependence .

T o special i sts , ti red O f monotony , Runnymede Offers a l i fe O f morevariety . Here teachers , m in isters , lawyers , doctors find a larger freedom wi th peace of mind and heal th of body .

T O those who have weal th in money,Runnymede offers a new kind

o f weal th in qu iet nerves,rested mind

,good d igestion and strong

m uscles .This T hird Addition to Ru n nymede is especia l ly adapted to peopl e of

mean s who wish a pretty setting for a garden home with every essen tia l in

soil an d water so'

that they may make a parad ise al l thei r own . Themind cannot picture the possibi l i ti es i n beau ti fu l homes on th is rich ,wel l -watered soi l overlooking the bay and surrounded by mountains .

We have here a far better setti ng than even the far-famed Pasadena forbeauti fu l homes . I t on ly requi res the magic touch of landscapegardeners to transform th is beauti fu l t ract i n to fai ryland . With S tanford Un iversi ty so near that the ch imes are heard , wi th the finest

1 1 9

l ive oaks in the S tate , wi th San Francisco on ly th i rty‘miles away ,

Runnymede has a setting that money cannot buy . I t was mean t forgarden homes Of rare beau ty . Thi s th i rd addi tion to Runnymede ofWood land Place or Ravenswood wi l l be the setting of beauti fu l homesof people who wish to make garden ing a hobby or pleasure and who wishto keep poul try , rabbi ts , pigeons and a cow on the side as an aid to thebest l iving .

R U N NY M E D E C L U BS oc i a l l i fe i n a co -o pe rat i v e c omm u n i ty m a kes c o n ten ted peo p l e

I n ten s i ve p rod u ct i o n of g ra pes

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M aste r T h om as W ee ks a n d h i s p et r a b b i ts

visi t Runnymede and learn of i ts many advan tages . A communi ty ofpigeon fanciers is the place for a pigeon man .

T h e Rabbit In du stry

Up to the presen t t ime no on e has ever made a fortune on rabbi ts .

The Uni ted S tates has not been ready for in tensified production of

meats because food products have , i n the past , been too cheap andplen ti fu l . I f a fami ly wanted rabbi t for d inner , some member took agun and wen t ou t hun ting . Even yet there are big rabbi t d rives i ncertain parts of Cal i forn ia that bring i n tons Of rabbi t flesh to the ci tymarkets . But these condi tions are changing . The ci ties are becomingovercrowded , and meat production i n hogs , cows and sheep i s fal l ingOff or not keeping pace wi th increase of

' population .

For many years the rabbi t has been one Of the ch ief sources for meatin the overcrowded European countri es , especial ly among the peasan tclass . There the rabbi t has been bred and developed in to a wonderfu lan imal that stands close Confinemen t and grows rapid ly in to a verychoice meat . I t has proven on e of the best i ndustries along the l ine ofi n tensified farming

,and is especial ly adapted to smal l places . I n the

O ld coun try the rabbi try is a part Of each l i t tle farm .

With the scarci ty Of food in the new world , the rabbi t i s find ing i tsplace . There have been two premature rabbi t booms in the past thatfel l flat simply because the new world was not yet ready for rabbi ts .

But wi th the change in cond i tions and increase Of population , therabbi t industry i s here to stay . I t has i ts place on every l i t tl e i n tensifiedfarm

,and fi ts i n wel l wi th poul try raising , which i s the most in tensive

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B LAC K A N D W H IT E S H O RT F U RO n e of t h e fi rst f u r -bea r i n g ra b b i ts i n t rod u ced to t h ep u b l i c . T h e f u rs f rom t h i s v a r i ety m a ke be a u t i f u lg a rm e n ts fo r c h i l d re n . Th e m at u re s k i n s a re st ro n gas b uc ks k i n . M at u re we i g h t a b o u t e i g h t p o u n d s .

i ndustry at presen t i n the world . The breed ing o f h igh class rabbi tsi s an in teresting game because they respond to selection qu ickly , andproduce so rapidly .

Runnymede has every essential for success i n breed ing al l kinds ofrabbi ts . I t has a rich wel l watered soi l for growing al l kinds Of greenfeed , especial ly al fal fa . I t has the finest cl imate i n the world for rabbi tsas i t never gets too hot

, on accoun t Of the bay breezes , and i t i s alsotempered in winter by the bay and does not get so cold as fartherin land . Co -operation i n buying feeds and sel l i ng the produce gives bigadvantages . Nearness to San Francisco markets is a big feature .

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B LAC K LO N G F U R

Th e f u r of t h i s v a r i ety c l ose l y resem b l es t h at of t h e s i l v e r fox a n d i spe r h a p s t h e m ost e l e g a n t of a l l . Th e f u r i s a s i l v e r g ray n ext th e s k i n ,s h a d i n g i n t o s o l i d b l a c k , t h e w h o l e t i c ked w i t h s i l ve r h a i rs . Th ese m a ket h e fi n est f u rs , m uffs a n d g a rm en ts fo r l a d i es . M at u re w e i g h t a b o u t

n i n e p o u n d s .

Fu r Bearin g Rabbits

The field for Fur Bearing Rabbi ts seems un l imi ted . The strangeand beauti fu l creations i n fu rs by proper Sel ection is an absorbinggame , and one that wi l l pay wel l when the indu stry is more developed .

There i s on ly one hand icap in breed ing rabbi ts for furs , and that i s toget enough of them produced so that a tannery can be establ ished forcuring the furs , and a tai lor shop for makin g beau ti fu l garments ,muffs , etc . I f we could have an assured supply so that th i s un iqueindustry Could be establ i shed ,

i t would add another co-Operat iveindustry to the communi ty that would give both profi t and employmen t .The scarci ty of fu r bearing an imal s i n the world today has stimu

l ated breeders to produce fur bearing an imals to take the place Of thewi ld ones . Fur farms have been establ i shed for rearing foxes , skunks ,

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H IMA LAYA F U R

T h es e a re t h e d a i n t i est of a l l ra b b i ts . T h e i r f u r resem b l es t h at of t h e e rm i n e .

M at u re we i g h t a b o u t fi v e a n d on e -h a l f p o u n d s .

A g a rd e n h om e , t h e p l a ce fo r b oy s a n d g i r l s

Th e fam i l y m i l k g o at fo r sma l l f a rms

Mil k Goa ts

Breeding mi lk goats i s a new industry i n the Un i ted S tates , andon e that Is becoming very prominent . With the tremendous production Of al fal fa In Runnymede i t makes an ideal place for a goat ranch .

Runnymede Is a communi ty of pure-bred stock breeders . T O belocated i n the colony is a broad advertisemen t . To be able to meet a tthe C l ub House wi th keen men and d iscuss breed ing problems

,

i s awonderfu l opportun i ty . Those desi ring a location for breed ing shouldvisi t Runnymede , where more tons Of feed grows to the acre than anyother place i n the Un i ted States .

T h e Fam ily Mil k Goa t

I sn’

t i t strange how Slowly the people Of one part Of the world wi l ltake up and try ou t the experiences Of a people i n another part Of theworld ? Ancien t civi l izations may have thei r fau l ty customs , but theymay also have learned many truths i n ways of l iving that newercoun tries migh t profi t by .

The mi lk goat has been an aid to the fami ly support i n the Oldercoun tries for generations . I t has i ts place among smal l land ownerswhere a cow could n ot be kept . I n America we have had SO mam

broad acres , and so much feed ,that the heavy consuming cow could

easi ly be kept . But as the larger tracts of land near the large ci tiesbecome subd ivided in to smal ler and smal ler hold ings , there i s createda place for the economical mi lk goat j ust the same as i n th ick settl edd istricts i n the Older coun tries . The mi lk goat i s finding its place O II

the smal l farms in America j ust as i n European countries .

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Swi tzerland is perhaps the most famous for i ts wel l bred h igh produ cin g goats . A Swiss fami ly would hard ly th ink Of subsisting wi thou tits fami ly goat . I f a mi lk goat is an economical feature in such a scan tcountry , why should i t not be a blessing i n such a productive countryas America;thus enabl ing more fami l ies to Obtain a good l iving fromless land .

As has been said before , the goat i s not subj ect to tuberculosi s , andi ts milk is considered more wholesome and heal th fu l than that fromcows .

On an acre farm on e or two goats could be kept to good advan tage,

consuming what otherwise would be wasted . There i s no food morenourish ing or wholesome than mi lk . I t takes the place of meat , andel iminates the cruel feature of slaying an imals for thei r flesh .

There are many breeds of goats that have been developed i n to h ighstandard production . Perhaps the best known is the Toggenburggoat . I t has been developed in to a heavy mi lker , producing as muchas four to Six quarts per day . I t i s very easy to mi lk , as the teats arelong and large . They are very domestic , making fine pets for ch i ld ren .

O ther varieties are the Nubian,Saanen , etc .

Hogs

While hog raising requi res more land than any Of the above ment ion ed i ndustries and cannot be carried on as i n tensively , yet wi th thetremendous tonnage Of al fal fa grown in Runnymede a five-acre ranchwi l l produce enough feed for qui te a herd . I t i s said that an acre Ofal fal fa wi l l grow 20 pigs up to 100 or 150 pounds , when they are readyfor grain fatten ing . Of course

,a l i ttle rol led barley wi l l make them

grow faster .

Each l i ttle farm in Runnymede has i ts brood sow to clean up thewaste , and these wi l l be registered . At the Runnymede Annual Fai rand Sales Day good prices can be Obtained for al l the surplus stock inthe colony .

There i s no better cl imate i n the world for raisi ng hogs than atRunnymede

,for i t never gets too hot , on accoun t of the bay breeze .

CO-Operatively the colony can have the best males at the head of thecommuni ty herd .

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P ra ct i ca l l es son s o n i r r i g at i o n o n Wee ks Po u l t ry R a n c h

WEEKS PRACTICAL POULTRY SCHOOL , WHERE STUDENTSLEARN TO DO BY DOING

I have long dreamed of a practical poul try school where those whodesi red to l earn the poul try business could do SO by working wi thpoul try . The poul try business can never be learned from books ,nei ther can any other business . I f I cou ld have had the Opportuni tyfi fteen years ago of taking a course of poul try work on some payingranch I could have saved mysel f many years ’ time and also severaldol lars .

I have been repeated ly urged , by parties wish ing to becomeaccompl ished poul trymen , to start an ind ividual ranch poul try schooland give amateurs a chance to get a practical working knowledge Ofhow to make hens lay . I have had constan tly at my ranch for the last '

few years parties helping on the ranch who were in tending to go in tothe pou l try business . They have expressed themselves as so wel lpleased wi th the practical experience Obtained that I have beenencouraged to prepare to handle more who wished th is experience .

AS th is i s to be a school Of practical experience I wish to make i tfree and each‘ studen t wi l l pay for his course of i nstruction by doing acertain amoun t Of poul try work each day .

A regular course Of work is laid ou t , each studen t doing the actualdu ties i n each departmen t . The course wi l l i ncl ude INCUBATION ,

BROODING , FEED ING LAYING HENS , GRIND ING ANDM IXING OF FEEDS , GROWING ALL KINDS OF GREENFEED FOR POULTRY , candl ing and packing eggs for market ,dressing poul try for market , del ivering poul try to customers , selectingthe heavy layers by type

,and in fact every detai l wi l l be thorough l y

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Demo n st ra t i o n i n d ry -p i ck i n g p o u l t ry fo r m a r ket , on W ee ks Ra n c h

mastered . There wi l l be a course Of even ing lectures and a read ingroom wi th magazines and l i terature . Each studen t wi l l be requ i red towri te h is experiences in each departmen t and read them to the class .

There wi l l al so be practice in plan ti ng and cul tivating the homegarden , giving experience in vegetables , fru i ts and berries . This wi l lfurn ish a golden Opportun i ty for those con templating starting on agarden home wi th pou l try for income :

Cou rse -.in Rabbit Cu l tu re

This course wi l l take up the study Of Breed ing,Feed ing and Care

Of Rabbi ts , wi th dai ly practi cal experience . Dressing rabbi ts andtann ing the skins is a part Of the work .

T o take a you n g man away from work, say a t 18 yea rs of age , a nd

keep him from u sefu l labor , in the n ame of edu ca tion ,-for fou r yea rs , wil l

some day be rega rded as a most absu rd proposition . I t is the most

gigan tic il l u sion of the age .

A practica l fa rm school where the eye l earn s to see , the ear to hear , the

pa late to enj oy , the han d to do and the hea rt to feel .

Wisdom is the distil l ed essen ce of in tu ition ,corrobora ted a nd proved

by experien ce . An d wisdom tel ls u s tha t l ife , an d l ife in abu nda n ce, l ies

on ly in work, love a nd lau ghter . . And when I u se the word work, I mean

work with head , hea rt a nd hand.

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wonderfu l privi lege i t i s for the ch i ldren to dwel l under a paternal roofwhi le attend ing grammar school , h igh school , and un iversi ty .

What a wonderfu l privi lege for a fami ly wishing to educate thech i ldren

,to be able to l ive in a productive garden home whi le the

ch i ldren are ! going through school , thus keeping the home tiesunbroken and a t

'

the same time having the most abu ndan t l iyi ng in aren t-free home , wi th in tensely in teresting work . While the boys aregoing to school , father can raise pou l try and rabbi ts and choice fru i ts ,and vegetables , and who knows bu t what th is natural envi ronmen twi l l mean more to the boy

'

than h is col lege career ?While the gi rl s are studying

,mother can have a -flower garden and

song bi rds and create a fi t setting for '

th‘a t romantic period .

Add to these school advantages the finest cl imate in the world , andi t is l i tt le wonder that Runnymede is made up of the best fami l ies .

PALO ALTO

Palo Al to,th i r ty mi les from San Francisco

,has become famous as

the seat Of Leland S tan ford J unior Un iversi ty . Bui l t among beau ti fu ll ive oak trees

,its arti stic flower-burdened homes attract tourists , who

go away wi th t he dream , and who many times return to make thei rhomes in th is choice in tel lectual cen ter . I t has the cul tured atmospherecommon to un iversi ty towns . There are many pretty churches .

Saloons are not tolerated . Many weal thy people bui ld elegan t homesin Palo Al to , because Of its natural beau ty ,

fine cl imate,un iversi ty

atmosphere , and proximi ty to San Francisco . Popu lationMenlo Park is one mi le from Palo Al to and i s noted for i ts beau ti fu l

homes , surrounded by flowers,sh rubbery

,and magnificen t l ive oaks .

Runnymede l ies on e mile and a hal f from Palo Al to , and abou t thesame distance from Menlo Park .

PALO ALTO H IGH SCHOOL

From the Runnymede Grammar School the studen t en ters thePalo Al to High School . Palo Al tohas become famous

: as a un iversi tytown , and i ts beau ti fu l new ,

modern $200,000High School 15 tn keepingwi th i ts scholasti c atmosphere : al t i s bu i l t on arti sti c l ines and has

‘

i tsSetting in a beau ti fu l grove Of l ive oak trees

,surrounded by spacious

grounds . Lucky the boy or girl who has the oppOrtu in ty » Of en teringth is modern , efficien t Pa lO Al to Union H igh School . I t i s three mi lesfrom Ru n n ymede

‘

to th is h igh school,wi th street car connections and

fine macadanf roads . S tuden ts can l ive at home in Runnymede andattend h igh school , which means much to them .

I

3»

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U n l oa d i n g g ra i n a t t h e R u n n ym ed e comm u n i ty wa re h o u s e , r u n by R u n n ym ed eF a rm s , I n c o r p o ra ted

CO-OPERATIVE BUYING OF FEEDS

One of the greatest advan tages in bei ng located in a communi ty Ofth ickly settled pou l try rai sers is that Of buying feeds co-Operatively , Inlarge quanti ties , d i rect from farmers or wholesalers .

‘A

The Runnymede poul trymen own thei r own warehouse , which isSi tuated on the spur track runn ing in to the colony

,which is also near

the bay land ing , g iving sh ipping advan tages of both water and rai l .From th i s warehouse the grain feeds are del ivered by the colony truckto each pou l tryman at cost . At the season of the year when feeds arecheapest a large supply can be con tracted for

,thus el iminating the

exorbi tan t middleman ’s profi ts . A grinder and mixer prepares the !

feeds for the commun i ty so that the best materials are guaranteed .

Where the pou l trymen can buy and mix thei r own feeds there isno danger Of adul terated or moldy material .

This means a great deal , for much poul try is lost by in ferior feeds .

CO-OPERATION IN KNOWLEDGE OF POULTRYPRODUCTION

Perhaps one Of the most valuable advan tages Of being located in ath ickly settled commun i ty Of pou l try producers i s that Of being able tocome i n con tact wi th the best knowledge Of the business . With thecen tral colony C l ubhouse for poul try meetings every new tru th abou tthe business i s qu ickly d isseminated . I t would be hard to go wrong inthe midst Of a successful group of poul trymen .

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Enthusiasm runs h igh i n a commun i ty of poul try experts andcarries a man to far greater accompl ishmen ts than i f he were alone .

At the l ive pou l try meetings inspi ration is received that leads to alarger success . Friendly rival ry between breeders adds zest and makesthe game in teresting .

Every industry that reaches a h igh place 15 made so by es -ope rativecommun i ties . I t Is the gathering together In a favorable location of

the accumulated knowledge of poul try raising that makes Runnymedesupreme .

WAREHOUSE OWNED BY COLONISTS

The warehouse at Runnymede is owned by the colon ists and poul tryfeeds and suppl ies are sold at cost . This enables the poul try raisers toget the advantage of buying in large quanti ties and to buy di rec t fromthe farmers . Grinders and mixers prepare the dry mashes for thesettlers , so that al l have the advan tage of getting the very best poul tryfeeds at min imum cost . Co-operation is the keynote that sounds for alarger success in Runnymede . I t i s easy to organ ize a new growingcommuni ty on the righ t l ines to start wi th . After a commun i ty iscrystal l ized i t i s hard to Change . Runnymede co-operated from thevery start , thus forming preceden ts that are righ t . The warehouse islocated on a spur track that runs in to the colony and grain is un loadedfrom the cars d i rect . There is al so a boat landing from San FranciscoBay on colony lands so that fla tboa ts can un load grain d i rec t from thein terior val leys in to the Runnymede warehouse . This makes u n ex

cel led sh ipping faci l i ties . This feature Of buying grains in bulk for thewhole colony gives a wonderfu l advan tage to al l poul trymen inRunnymede .

ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL AND L IVE STOCK EXH I B IT OFRUNNYMEDE

While Runnymede is primari ly an egg-producing cen ter yet muchatten tion i s being given to the breed ing of pure-bred stock . Alsogardening and strawberries yield amazing resu l ts . T O stimulate production of pure-bred stock and choice vegetables an annual fai r isheld and premiums awarded to winners i n the competi tion .

This annual fai r wi l l develop in to an annual sale Of pure-bred stock ,

thus making i t possible for each smal l farmer to sel l h is choice stock tothe best advantage . Each l i ttle poul try farm wi l l have a goat or cowfor fami ly mi lk . These wi l l be pure-bred and registered . Also eachsmal l farm wi l l keep a brood sow ,

which wi l l be registered , to clean upthe waste . The colony Of Runnymede wi l l keep the best-bloodedmales co-Operatively , thus making i t possible for the smal l farmers tobreed the best .I n such a favored local i ty

,wi th h ighest co operation , the best

pure-bred stock can be produced the same as in the smal l farm districtsi n the Old coun try . With the annual fai r and sales day to stimulateexcel lence there Is no l imi t to the q ual i ty that can be created .

I n tensive farming must come in th is coun try , the same as i n theEuropean countries . The most favored local i ti es wi l l be subdividedin to small farms wi th in tense production .

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The highest independence comes from a smal l plo t of groundin tensively cu l t ivated and made to min ister to the needs of eachi nd ividual fami ly wi thou t h i ring help .

The most abundan t l i fe comes from l iving close to nature andproducing the necessi ties wi th the two hands . NO other l i fe gives theheal th , variety and independence Of th is l i fe , l ived ou t under the opensky on the soi l , close to Mother Nature .

Another strong feature Of th is co-operative colony Lis the ideal sthat are constan tly held before the people . T o make an ideal commun i ty there must be h igh ideals constan tly held before the ind ividu a ls . Continual suggestion is the force that accompl i shes worthyth ings .

Pure bred , registered stock for every l i t tl e farmer i s one of theideal s that i s being worked ou t . Each l i t tle garden home wi l l have agoat or '

cow for milk . These wi l l be the best blood that can be had ,

and registered . I f 100 fami l ies have 100pure bred Jersey or Guernseycows th is wi l l make a fine large herd to do big business on and the herdmale can be as good as the best , and when the settlers have any surplusto sel l i t wi l l bring extraord inary prices . I t wi l l take no more feed torear choice , wel l bred stock and whi le one l i ttl e farmer alone canno tafford a registered cow , col lect ively they can have the best b lood atthe head of a co-operative group of cows .

Each l i ttl e farmer wi l l keep a registered brood sow and rear pigsthat wi l l be an honor to any stock Show . With a choice regi steredboar at the head Of a group Of sows the best resul ts wi l l be Obtained .

Likewise the h ighest standard wi l l be main tained in goats , rabbi ts ,pigeons , bees and pou l try . I n time Runnymede wi l l have al l the bes tpopular varieties Of poul try and wi l l be able to stage i ts own poul tryShow in the ci ty . This wi l l enable each producer to get the wides tadvertisemen t wi th the least ou tlay .

I n time Runnymede co-Operatively wi l l be able to exhibit'

a t th estate fai r a fu l l l i ne Of registered stock that wi l l enable the producersto profi t from the sales of good stock wel l advertised . What a pleasurefor each producer to own the best an imals that money can buy , forthere i s an aestheti c beau ty abou t pure bred an imals as wel l as

la

commercial value . A communi ty ben t on producing the best animalswil l have a sort of emulation that wi l l i nvoke the h ighes t efforts .

What a wonderfu l marketing advantage th is wi l l give each settler o fRunnymede , for there wi l l be enough registered stock produced tomake the whole world Of stock raisers wan t to see the in tensified l i ttl efarms at Pa lO Al to .

In ten sified farming on a l i ttle land i s destined to revol u tionize Oldways and bring the people back to that natural l i fe that God in tendedman Should l ive . Chi ld ren should grow up ou t under the blue sky andin the open ai r and sunsh ine and l ive close to nature . Man has wandered from his natural l i fe to the artificial l i fe of ci ties and has sufferedtherefrom . I t takes on ly a l i ttl e garden soi l to make an abundan tl iving wi th independence

,heal th and freedom . Why shou ld men work

long,weary hours i n

.

unheal thy places al l the days of thei r l ives for amere subsistence

,when th i s fu l ler , more abundan t way o f l iving i s so

natural and practical ? The fau l t l ies wi th our schools Of the past .We have not been taugh t that th is Simple , natural l i fe on the soi l gives

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PA LO A LTO—T h i rty m i l es f r om S a n F ra n c i s co o n t h epe n i n s u l a between S a n F ra n c i sc o B ay a n d Pac i fi c O ce a n .

Best a l l -yea r -ro u n d c l i m ate i n U n i ted S ta tes .

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SUMMARY OF RUNNYMEDE ’S ADVANTAGES

Rich,l evel sed imen t loam soi l , making a sure foundation .

2 . Superabundance Of i rrigating wa ter , which i s the first essen tialin Cal i forn ia .

3 . The most even al l -year temperature in the Un i ted S t ate s , . bygovernmen t su rvey .

4 . Best home market for choice products , by reason of so manyweal thy homes wi th in del ivery d istance;al so th i rty miles to SanFrancisco .

5 . Schools unsurpassed . Grammar School , High School , andUn iversi ty

,wi thout ch i ldren leaving the home fi reside .

6 . Social organization resu l ting from the h igh class Of se ttlers,

with C l ub House as cen ter .

7 . CO-Operative advantages in buying feeds wholesal e and sel l i ngproduce in block .

8 . Knowl edge Of in tensive production part of co-operative planby lectures in C l ub House .

9 . Enthusiastic n eigt rhood carries to h igher success .

10. Varied i ndustries possibl e in cannery for berries , vegetablesmeats

,e tc .;tannery and tai lor shop for rabbi t Skins .

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RUNNYMEDE COLONY IDEALS

Colon ies are as Old as h istory . England establ ished colon ies al lover the world . The Uni ted S tates started from th i rteen colon ies .

Rel igious organ izations have establ ished colon ies,as the Puri tans

,

Quakers , Shakers , Mennon i tes , Mormons , etc .

Authors,wri ters , men Of letters , artists , musicians , etc . ,

have eachattempted colon ies , as in example , Brookside Farm .

Colon ies of ! Li ttl e Landers” have been attempted by theorists,

dreamers , impractical men , i n poor soi l , wi thou t i rrigation . Eachgeneration has i ts Utopian dreams .

Runnymede is a l iving , breath ing , palpi tating , organ ized CO -Operative commun i ty Of i n tel lectual American people , earn ing an honestl iving by intensive production on smal l acreage .

Runnymede Is poin ting the way to a h igher independence for al lpeople by in tensive production in a practical , common -sense way . I tdoes not promise great weal th in money bu t i t does give more thanmoney can buy in heal th Of body , peace of mind , social envi ronment ,i ndependence .

The world i s i nvi ted to visi t Runnymede , the Charles WeeksPoul try Colony , and see what wonderfu l resu l ts have been accom

pl ished along the l ines Of i n tensive production i n pou l try,rabbi ts

,

garden ing and co-operation , and a personal i nvi tation i s extended toal l i n terested i n i n tensive production on smal l acreage to visi t Weeks

’

Poul try Ranch,the most i n tensive pou l try farm today , and see what

fi fteen years ’ experience have accomp l i shed along the l i nes Of anabundan t l iving on very l ittl e lan d,

and to have a personal talk wi thCharles Weeks , the promoter and organ izer of RUNNYMEDEPOULTRY FARMS

,INCORPORATED .

R u n n ym ed e h om e

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