"The Same Thing Over and Over," 1904

"The Same Thing Over and Over," page 110

...'It was five or six years ago I was still taking a poultry paper, and I suppose they're still talking away just as they were then about cleanliness and warmth and a variety of feed. You see I have it all down pat.'

'No, there has been a slight reaction from the high toned poultry keeping of those days, especially for those situated as you are, with many things to attend to besides your hens. It is allowable now for a farmer not to clean the droppings boards every day in the year. And as for warmth--warmth is not thought as much of as it was once. You may remember there was a time when people were putting steam pipes into their hen houses. I used to know a man that stacked his barn manure in compartments at either end of his hen house for heating purposes. The tendency would now seem to be all in the other direction--toward plenty of fresh air; it makes no difference how cold if only fresh. I spoke of your stoves just now when we looked over your houses. You say that you only use them on the very coldest days; but really they're the least bit out of date. And your double windows, too. The tendency now is toward no windows at all. If you haven't seen a poultry paper for five years, it is probably news to you that some are building hen houses, even as far north as this, with not even a wall on the southern side. The open front scratching shed is made to do duty night and day. So you see there has been some progress--or at least change....'"