St. Paul daily globe., 1889-10-25
SPECIAL PURPOSE POULTRY.
Some Experiences Gathered by
the Farmers Review at an In
atitufn


the Farmers Review at an In
stitute.
At arecent Wisconsin institute, which
1t was our good fortune to attend, the
feature which most impressed us was
the almost unanimous sentiment in
favor Of special purpose farming. fhe
most practical speakers, those who re-
ported the greatest success in their sew
eral lines, all advocated special purpose
farming. Over and over again was the
advice repeated, even if you do not
cOnfine your farming TO one branch,
whatever you undertake. do it in spe-
cial purpose way" One Of these advo-
Gates went so far as to say: 81 do not
believe that the man who is dairying or
breeding has anything on his farm that
does not go through the stomachs of his
animals"
We may not feel prepared to indorse
this idea in totum, but it embOdies a
truth, nevertheless, that will impress
US more and more the longer we think
of it,. There is probably no business in
regard to which opinions differ more
than in regard to poultry raising. One
man will assure us that the margin of
profit is so small the business cannot be
made to yield paying return for the
labor and capital invested. Another. as
for instance, Mrs. Townsend, of Genesee
county, n. Y, who raises HOlStein cat
tie, PercherOn horses and MerinO sheep
in addition to poultry, asserts with
equal emphasis that fowls will pay
larger per cent of profit than any other
stock. The successful pOultryman or
pOultrywOman, in her opinion, requires
large capital of common sense. but
only small capital of time and money.
Most of the failures, she declares, come
to those who are too proud or shiftless
to attend to details. Her speciality is
raising early pulletS for winter layers,
and she makes it very profitable. This
brings us to the other important
branches Of the industry, such as sell
ing eggs, raising brOilerS, and market
ing fowls for the table.
A poultryman who adopts the special
purpose idea must decide in the begin
ming which branch or branches of the
business offer the greatest inducements,
and devote himself to those. By having
special object in view, every margin
of profit can be estimated and saved. If
he ''gOeS in" for egg production, ne
should choose nOn-sitting breeds, such
as Leghorn and kindred varieties; he
must plan to have his hens laying when
eggs sell for the highest price; ne must
find the best facilities for shipping:
must see that the eggs, if sold in large
lots, are carefully sorted according to
sizes and colors. If he can sell to pri-
vate customers, he will probably realize
more money than the commission men
could afford to give him. 1t is one
thing to get your eggs; it is another
thing to market to Advantage, but care
full attention to the details will pay
every time. AS we have said, it will
pay to have his hens laying in the win
ter time, when eggs are high, but good
many things besides hens are necessary
to bring about that result. He must
have special houses that will be snug,
warm, light, and. above all, clean, for
his hens to winter in. If he would keep
his flock during the summer, they must
not be confined in single small yard
until the land becomes foul and disease
breaks out.
Right here he may voice the objection
that he cannot afford to build a picket
fence around ten-acre lot. Admitting
that, the argument is not good one.
He can and should afford to have dupli-
cate yards, SO that when one becomes
foul, the chickens can be transferred to
the other, and the soil meanwhile be
turned over, and a crop be grown upon
which the fouls can feed when returned
to it. Or his yards can be of movable
materials. which can be readily trans
fered from one plot to another. By
this method the fertility of the soil
would be kept up for the production of
food crops. The kind of food is another
important factor. Why should not the
pOultryman, in common with other
breeders, utilize his surplus acres in
growing the crops best adapted to his
business? If his laying hens require
wheat, oats, roots, cabbages, etc, wher
is the economy in seeding the land to
grass, or raising corn alone? Many
other points no less important, will sug-
gest themselves, but they all lead, it
seems to US, to the inevitable cOnclu-
sion that success in the poultry busi-
ness, as in everything else, calls for
well directed effort toward special Ot-
j. ct, and diligent attention to details.
If any of our readers have tried this
special purpose plan, we shall be glad
to hear their experience.