My theory of the
business was entirely different. I could plan for results, and, what was
more to the point, I could wait for them. Mistakes, accidents, even
disasters, were disarmed by a bank account; my bread and butter did not
depend upon the temper of a whimsical hen. The food would cost the
minimum. All grains and green food, and most of the animal food, in the
form of skim milk, would be furnished by the farm. I meant also to
develop a plant large enough to warrant the full attention of an
able-bodied man. I felt no hesitation about this venture, for I did not
intend to ask more of my hens than a well-disposed hen ought to be
willing to grant.
I do not ask a hen to lay a double-yolk every day in the year. That is
too much to expect of a creature in whom the mother instinct is
prominent, and who wishes also to have a new dress for herself at least
once in that time. I do not wish a hen to work overtime for me. If she
will furnish me with eight dozen of her finished product per annum, I
will do the rest. Whatever she does more than that shall redound to her
credit.
Pages:
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133