Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-08-17
Table Poultry.

| The chicken question presents an
anomalous condition in this country.
| Wherever we go, North, South, or any
where, we find farmers, merchants me-
chanics, sometimes even sailors, breed
ing poultry, contending at fairs, adver-
Using through the papers and raising a
general hue and cry in behalf of their
pets, and all on account of nothing on
earth but the feathers. One would think,
from all the fuss, that those people were
breeding ostriches instead of chickens !;
that feathers were of more value in the
market than flesh; that the American
people preferred to wear feathers on
their bodies rather than put flesh in their
stomachs. Nothing finds favor with
| these chicken fanciers except the So
called blooded or thoroughbred fowls
that are simply bred to the feather.
| The size of the Brahma is sacrificed to
the correctness of the tail and hackle
IN arkings. The Dorking has lost his
breast in the struggle to preserve the
| flesh color of the legs and the uniformi-
| ty of the feather markings. How far this
craze has gone in England we are not
informed, but we know some of the best
table fowls known to the trade were
originated there.
In France not only are breeds of fine
table fowls originated, but, according
to all reports, they are still bred with
an eye sirgly to table qualities: and,
not only this, but methods of feeding to
the end of quick maturity, economy of
flesh production and perfection of flesh
quality are closely practiced and ex-
perimented with. The French seem to
understand this question as practical
one, and 60 at it in way to make
fowls not only a pleasure to breed, but
profit to handle. Chicken food that
is wasted by the ton in this country, as
dead horses, stale bread, ETC., is care
fully husbanded and turned to the finest
kind of chicken flesh in France. Our
people are so fearfully squeamish about
such things that, while they can stand
and see the hen eat worms or carbon at
her own sweet will, and chop her head
off the next hour to put her in the pot,
they will not hear of feeding her carrion
as business. The lady who eats the
oyster raw from the shell is Mortified
at the Italian who does the same with
the snail.
It is wonder to many people why
Americans can succeed so we'll with
fancy fowls, and yet meet with repeated
and unvarylng failure when they at
tempt to raise fowls for the market. In
one they succeed; with the other there
seems to be no profit. Itlooks as though
the American character was built upon
too large a scale to make profit with
fowls unless he can get from three to ten
dollars a piece for his cocks and hens.
No one seems to be able to reduce this
thing to purely business basis. It has
been our pleasure to examine the equip
ments of many farms where it was in.
tended to raise poultry on a grand
scale, and, generally, from the elabo-
rate and costly fixtures, one would think
the purpose was to raise children rather
than chickens. 1t is very much to be
doubted if large establishment can
ever be made a success from the start.
Just as large oaks from little acorns
grow, large establishment must grow
out of a small beginning that has devel-
oped capacity in the owner for con-
Quoting a large business. We hope
some day to see this, but not until the
craze about color markings has some
what subsided.-4merican Dairyhaan.