Considerable profit may be made by the sale of eggs for hatching and surplus stock, if the breeds kept are good, and the stock known to be pure and vigorous. The "Henwife" says: "You may reduce your expenses by selling eggs for setting, at a remunerative price. No one should be ashamed to own what he is not ashamed to do; therefore, boldly announce your superfluous eggs for sale, at such a price as you think the public will pay for them." This is now done extensively by breeders of rank and eminence, especially through the London _Field_ and agricultural papers. But, "beware of sending such eggs to market. Every one would be set, and you might find yourself beaten by your own stock, very likely in your own local show, and at small cost to the exhibitor." The great secret of success in keeping fowls profitably is to hatch chiefly in March and April; encourage the pullets by proper feeding to lay at the age of six months; and fatten and dispose of them when about nineteen months old, just before their first adult moult; and never to allow a cockerel to exceed the age of fourteen weeks before it is fattened and disposed of. CHAPTER II. THE FOWL-HOUSE. In this work we shall consider the accommodation and requisites for keeping fowls successfully on a moderate scale, and the reader must adapt them to his own premises, circumstances, and requirements. Everywhere there must be some alterations, omissions, or compromises. We shall state the essentials for their proper accommodation, and describe the mode of constructing houses, sheds, and arranging runs, and the reader must then form his plan according to his own wishes, resources, and the capabilities of the place. The climate of Great Britain being so very variable in itself, and differing in its temperature so much in different parts, no one manner or material for building the fowl-house can be recommended for all cases. Plans for poultry establishments on large scales for the hatching, rearing, and fattening of fowls, turkeys, ducks, and geese, are given in our smaller work on Poultry, referred to on page 3. The best aspects for the fowl-house are south and south-east, and sloping ground is preferable to flat. "It is only of late years," says Mr. Baily, "poultry-houses have been much thought of. In large farmyards, where there are cart-houses, calf-pens, pig-styes, cattle-sheds, shelter under the eaves of barns, and numerous other roosting-places, not omitting the trees in the immediate vicinity, they are little required--fowls will generally do better by choosing for themselves; and it is beyond a doubt healthier for them to be spread about in this manner, than to be confined to one place. But a love of order, on the one hand, and a dread of thieves or foxes on the other, will sometimes make it desirable to have a proper poultry-house."