The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1882-03-30
THE FARM
POULTRY AND EGO PRODUCTION.
A Source Of Nssssh 10 the Psepss.

POULTRY AND EGG PRODUCTION.
A souros Of Wsslth 10 the People.
France is,perhaps. the only nation
that recognizes the poultry tnd egg
trade as q source of welth to the peo-
ple. and protects and encourages II
a Il would any other business which
brings q revenue to, and betters the
financial condition of Its citizens.
Under this fostering care the poultry
and exg trade of that country mas
grown wear by year until II mas
reached gigantic proporfions-not
only meeting the demands made
upon II for home consumption, Out
aiso simplifying English markefs with
more than $40, OOO, 600 worth OF this
class of food annually. The value OF
eggs and poultry sold in home mar
kets and consumed by the French
people is estimated at $l00. OO0, Ou;
add to this the exports TO England,
and we have Sic, 100000, which rep,
resents an industry that Ii looked
upon by too many Of our farmers
and business men as Icing 700 III,
significant to merit consideration:
Ii must be borne in mind tnat tnis
$40, OOO, 900 represents only the eggs
and poultry consumed annuaiiy.I
does not include the stock carried
over to commence business upon tne
following year. The value OF me
stock on hand-which Is carried over
for the purpose mentioned-is est
mated al about $40 ,3Is, 46O, thus snow
ing that the annual poultry ana egg
production of France amounts 10
$50, 378, 400.
Doubtless, most of those who may
read this article will conciude-wneh
they reach this point-that no otner
nation u as productive in this partic-
ular as the French, but the facts, sup
ported by reasonable estimates, DEM
onstrate that the Cuited States are
vastly more so. I'm 1878 conven-
tion of butter. cheese and egg pro-
duccrs was held In Chicago the most
careful and reliable statistical reports
that could be gathered relating 10
these products. were placed before
this convention from them we nnu
that the annual production Of eggs
was valued at sls0, 1000, 900, and poul-
try sold at $40. 600, 900" Thus, accord
ing To this report, which / shall pres
entity show to he incorrect, $21O,OOV,
600 were annually realized from
business too insignificant to merit
consideration" To some II will sound
like one of Munchausen's stories, but
to those who are i'm the business and
understand something OF Its magni-
tude, Il seems like too modest tale;
il does not tell half the story. The
population of the United States Is
more than fifty millions. III each
one Of this population were to eat
an egg today there would be consume
ed i'm eggs alone, at the present. mark
ct price. 1900, 600; and IL each one
were to eat an egg each day for year.
the consumption of this one article OF
food would amount I'm the aggregate
TO 1896, OO0, go add to this the value
Of the poultry consumed, which Is es-
timated at Sl2l $3.50, 64S and 1t will be
seen that the eggs and poultry con-
sumed i'm the United States annually,
represents a money value of $4S6, 866,
s4s; add TO this $i5 ,OO0, 900, the value
of the stock carried over, and to this
the sum realized from sales of fancy
fowls and eggs, which is not less
ohan s., OO0, 600 annually, and you have
the enormous sum of S5322, l66, 84S,
which is So, OO0. 600 more than the
corn crop of the United States for
1873, and SlS9. 81, S57 more than the
wheat crop of the same year. But
some "dOubting Thomas" will say
that there are many thousands OF
our ;people who do not eat an egg
each day, Granting this to be true,
We must face the fact many other
thousands eat from two to four daily,
and that eggs enter very largely into |
the composition of many articles Of
food which we consume each day,
such AS cakes, pies, salads, coffee, GUS |
tards and puddings ;and I'VE must not
neglect TO include in our account the |
eggs used i'm saloons. and for nedici-
nal and chemical purposes.
Perhaps there are few OF our pro-
fessionai men, clerks and merchants, |
who. when they run like wild men to
a restaurant and order cup Of coffee
and a piece Of pie. stop to think that
when they have finished their lunch
they have rendered unfit for ,iucu-
baton two or three eggs but such II
the fact. Then We are not so certain
that there are many thousands of our
people who do not consume eggs or
poultry In some form daily. We
might jump to the conclusion that our
poorer classes could not afford II but
Il would be a jump in the wrong d.
rection, for whoever has travelled and
been ordinarily observant has noticed
that the. poor almost always keep
poultry. Even in our large cities you
will find chickens congregted on the
sunny side of the most dilapidated
novels, and you will also find that
this class largely depends upon their
poultry for their supply OF fresh meat.
Out upon the magnificent prairies
- a. .tas. lix-n 20 L
mote from towns large enough to
,uport meat markets; therefore they
are compelled To produce on the farm
al, or nearly all, the animal food they
consume, and observation shows us
that this food is drawn to a great
extent from the poultry house. This
IL because such meat costs them much
less than beef, pork, or mutton, and
is more easily prepared for the table,
and IL more nutritious and palatable
when ready for use. and next because
they can or think they can sell their
cattle, hogs and sheep to better adj
The non-producers will he
found more largely among the rich
than any where else. though many
of these take great pride i'm raising
their own poultry and eggs; but
" lille this class may not be producers
they are strong consumers and buy
what the poorer class do not need for
home consumption. The estimate Is
based upon the superstition that the
average price of eggs, the year round,
il but twenty-four cents per dozen |
and this superstition, I venture to say,
IL not sustained by the facts, because
at most times in the year-during
the winter fall and latter part Of
being In, in our own
from thirty-five to fifty cents
per dozen, land In Eastern markets
from fifty to sixty-five cents, the price
Of course, depending upon the sup
ply and demand. Many of the East
ern hotels make contracts with those
who keep large flocks of fowls TO
furnish them so many dozen of eggs
and so many pounds Of dressed poul-
try daily, and pay for these eggs, in |
of their being fresh laid,
from forty to sixty cents per dozen.
In view Of these facts, conclude
hat any reasonable man who does
ne tho honor to read this article care d
bully, will conclude that the figures I
have given are not too large: that the
business Is not Insignificant, and that
his industry should receive more I
.areful attention from our farmers @
han il nows does.
Ii. under system of mismanage-
nent and neglect, the poultry and