Smyrna times., 1890-01-22
For the Smyrna Times
What Can a Farmers Wife Do?


What Can a Farmers Wife Do?
Mr., EDITOR:
In your issue of January 9th YOU
p9Ollshed an inquiry from farmer,
WlIe as TO any way in which she can
earn money at home. As there NAV he
others and perhaps many of them who
are deslrOus to know the same thing in
these hard times on farmers, l will Offer
some OF my own experience and oh
serVatlons for the consideration of any
who may feel interested.
might speak of small fruits. such as
strawberries, gOOseberyies, grapes. &c.
and tell you of an instance that / knew
OF where man l was acquainted with
cleared five hundred dollars off of one
acre OF strawberries. Or, might speak
OI large fruits, such as pears, ounces,
&C, put Tor this time l propose to only
invite attention to the business of rails
ing poultry. This is more in line with
the tastes of farmers wives, and thew
are more likely to be successful at It
than cultlyating crops, or planting and
tehdlng trees and vines. Poultry of all
Kinds have steadily advanced in price
Tor many years. This of course means
that the supply does not keep up with
the demand. Grain of all kinds is lower
now than it was fifty years ago.
Corn was then double its present
price, and it is now lower than it has
Deen at any time during the last half
century. Twelve cents per dozen was
considered fair price for eggs. while
uurlng the summer season they W0uld
not bring more than from six tn fen
cents. Some of your readers will re-
memOer when good pair of fowls
could be bought for fifty cents. A rair
Oh ducks or goose for the same. From
SI TO Sl.25 would buy a good turkey.
10 say that all these have advanced
from one hundred to one hundred and
nifty per cent. would not be the whole
truth. For during the early summer
months, chickens the size of partridges
VIII bring one dollar per pair If it
PAID to raise and tend poultry during
the times l speak of, as nobody seemed
70 doubt, how much better it must nav
now. P'''
The amount and cost of feed must of
course be taken into consideration in
calculating profits. There will be a
difference III the amount of feed rs-
quired in different places as some nIsces
as is we'll known, afford more rance han
oIhers ana access can be had to stack
yards and stubble- fields. But the oues-
tiOn l am dealing with is what profit
there will be when there is no range,
ana the dependence is entirely on Dur,
chased feed. If there is percentage
oil proht at all, the more that can be
caTed for the more profit will result.
visited farmer over in Western
maryland last summer and found his
wife engaged in solving that very prob.
lem lem OF what a farmers wife could do
Inc poultry was hers, and her own
Speciai charge, and she had a splendid
lot OF 1t. She told me she bought an
the feed and kept it separate and that
sne led them regularly all summer
ohe also told me that the returns were
Justabout double the expense.
1 have not gone into the business
very extensively myself, not having
Iuom' we have to depend entirely
upon ieeding. From fifty to seventy
nVe chlckens constitute oar stock. We
cannot get along with ducks and tur-
Keys not having enough range. Com
menclng with the 1st of February LAST
10 the end of the year our sales amount.
ed to: Eggs, $3.50; chickens, $56. rs:
total, Sl43.25. This is exclusive of ali
mat were used in the family. did
not keep the feed separate and cannot
give the exact cost of it. NV impres.
SION Is that the S43 bought ali the feed
leaving two hundred per cent. on the |
outlay as compensation to her who |
wants something to do to make money,
our original stock is more than whole |
At the present date.
Farmers shouldn't be DISCOURAGED
yet Turkeys brought % cepts ner |
poqnd IN wilmington for Christmas.
jan 4oth, 1850. A SYMPATHIzER.