284 FLORIDA.

ately high, and this is another department of stock-raising
to which farmers should give more attention. Specimens
that I have seen show that under proper care and treatment
the native variety is capable of being made a very present-
able as well as serviceable animal.
 Barn-yard fowls of every description do remarkably well
in all sections of the State. Eggs and chickens are a cer-
tainty at all seasons of the year, and the only thing from
which they need protection is the pilfering fingers of the
negroes. As a flock of fowls is very useful in keeping the
insects out of an orange-grove, they may be allowed con-
siderable space for roaming, and under these conditions
would require but very little additional feeding. More-
over, it pay8 to raise them, as the demand in the vicinity
of towns or settlements nearly always exceeds the supply,
and the prices asked and obtained for them are surprisingly
high.