Wichita eagle., 1889-12-05
POULTRY AND PETS
At Garfield Hali-A Fine Display and Well At
tended-Poultry on a Large Scale Purely
an American institution.

American
The poultry show still continues at the
Garfield hall and was yesterday generously
attended by poultry fanciers. The birds
will remain on exhibition until O'Clock
Friday night, and in the meantime the
hall will be open to visitors up to o'clock
or later, every evening. While the exhl-
bitlon is in progress interesting ana IN
structive papers will be read from the
stage written by practical men, which
will give everyone good idea OF the poul-
try business. Probably the collection,
amounting to nearly four hundred birds.
will score higher than any exhibition, at
first annual show. has ever done anywhere.
The origin of the domestic fowl is in
volved in much uncertainty. The tradi-
lions of the ancients carry back the his
tory of poultry to the remotest antiquity.
Every civilized country keeps fowls and
recognizes them as indispensable. Even
Jules Verne considered it necessary to
take few with him on that memorable
trip he made to the moon. At present the
domestic fowl is found in small num-
Der in nearly every family in both the
old and new worlds where it is possible to
keep them. They will live and thrive
where man will and their daintiest food is
the crumbs that fall from his table.
But the keeping of poultry on a large
scale is purely an American idea and is
practiced no where else. Any one can
keep few hens about the yard and reap a
handsome profit from them without know
ing it, buf to raise poultry by the hun
dreds is a science which as yet is not very
wei understood. This one point practical
men agree upon that in poultry as in other
stock it pays to keep the best. In the first
place the best cost 10 more and eat 10
more, and in the second place are more
productive. to say nothing of the pride one
feels in we'll bred stock. The favorlte
breeds il America are the Asiatic, OF CHI
nese origin, large sized, with fluffy plum
age and feathered legs; the East Indian be-
ing close feathered and clean shanked; the
European, being mainly the crested fowls,
and the European, the games noted
for their beauty and courage. All the
other breeds are produced from crosses OF
tie above and many good varieties are
known to breeders, and in some in
stances several different strains Of the
same variety. The last great sensation in
the poultry world was produced in 1876
when the large Asiatlc fowls were hrst
brought to America. In few years
poultry was on boom and the first show
held in America was in Boston in 1891.
Those who get the poultry craze get it bad
and become very much infatuated with
the business. The profit in well managed
poulty almost justifies the infatuation but
like all other businesses there are failures.
The reasons for failure in this business are
obviously the same as in all other failures.
The object the Poulty associetion has In
view is mainly to disseminate good profit
able stock throughout Kansas which Is
well adapted to successful poultry culture
and to arouse the interest in the business
its Importance warrants. The present ex-
hibition shows what one year of Intelligent
work will do in improving stock and the
success is unparalleled in any other state in
the union. 1t is a difficult matter to find
any poultry in the collection that will not
score ninety points and better. The pub
lie are invited to come and
see for themselves and 1t is
safe to say any one can learn in
one hour what is worth ten times the
value of the admission. A gentleman
during the day yesterday said he did not
suppose any poultry show was worth q
quarter, but he guessed he could drop in
for few minutes He remained for over
two hours and only went then because he
had to.
No one that has attended has regretted
the visit and several ladies said they were
so sorry the children had been left at
home. The most important consideration
is perhaps the money that can be made IN
keeping poultry of the right kind. Every
body has room for few hens in the yard
and why not have good ones when the cost
of keeping is the same. This exhibition
affords an opportunity to select a strain of
fowles that suit you in comparison with
other good fowls and affords a splendid
opportunity to engage them and learn
from practical men all that you want to
know about them. a few years ago
Wall street merchant retired from busl-
ness. because his health demanded rest
He was rich and his business involved
thousands of dollars. To occupy his mind
he purchased a few fowls and took them
to his country residence just for amuse-
ment. in the course of a few years he
found himself in the poultry business in
yolvlng tens of thousands of dollars.
The following facts have been pretty
generally agreed upon by pou't men and
have been given publicity by them:
"The cost of Keeping a hen from the
time she is Matched until she should be
eaten Is 3, provided ali food is purchased.
If Matched as early as April she will lay in
SIX months but otherwise it viii probably
be nine months. From an economical
standpoint hen should be Matched by
April / and killed at eighteen months
when she is ready to moult. Most of the
unsatisfactory results in poultry keeping
are traceable to lack of knowledge in
feeding and to keeping birds that make no
return for the care and food they demand.
The egg trade alone of New York by
statistics if 100000 a year and the trade
of the United States is variously estimated
from Sl3o, O0O, 600 to $3.50, 100000.
TO PROTECT THE BOYS,