The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-30
Is There ANY Money in Eggap

Poultry raising, under proper manage
ment, does certainly pay good profit on
the investment. OF course the invest
ment is small, and one cannot make
very large sum from a small investment.
For instance, common hen in Georgia
can be bought for 30 or 40 cents, some
times as low as % cents One hen can
not be expected to yield clear profit of
anything like 50 or -. 1t should be CON
sidered as good return if a 25-cent piece
of property yielded a net return of 50
cents. The whole wOrld-eVery man and
his wife, would like to invest 25 cents and
get 30 cents profit in twelve months time
If in ordinary business one could get such
o return he would soon grow rich, if he
had a fair amount TO invest.
In the south the average price of eggs
may be put at 1917 cents. Now the ques-
ton is how many dozen eggs should be eX-
pected of a % cent hen in the course of
twelve months and how much would it
cost to feed herr What is a reasonable
return from a common hen? Is it ten
dozen, or eight dozen, or only five or six
dozen eggs year, What is the value of
the food to be supplied to a men to make
her produce these results?
We have no doubt if the truth were
known there is very little profit if any
made by the majority of poultry keepers
in the south nO-day Every farmer keeps
a lot of hens-anywh from twenty to
hundred, some few more than the latter
humber, but we wonder how many or
how few OF them actually clear cents a
dozen on the eggs they carry to market,
or consume at home. If the truth were
known it might be shown that eggs were
the greatest of Injuries that the
average farmer used. More so
than the fish or oysters that
he buys occasionally in the market
10 carry home for his Sunday repast. If
IA full account were kept Of all the corn,
wheat and oats that is fed to his fowls,
this might be shown very conclusively to
be the case. 1t is a fact, however, that
IA very large number, if not a majority of
Farmers, keep a lot of fowls for which they
Snever provide any food beyond what the
fowls find for themselves. Perhaps lit
tie corn and other grain may be fed during
the severe weather of winter. Fowls
thus treated may not yi9,9as many eggs
as those that are better ~ gated, but it
may be that what is obtA8ed is at a less
cost per dozen than wh& the fowls are
fed recklessly without regard to expense
To clear 90 cents on a 25-cent hen should
be considered a very good business, prob
ably, though there are some who claim
Ito have done better than this.
OF course our remarks have nothing to
do with fancy poultry and high-priced
eggs. We speak only of common poultry
Our farmers, as rule. do not give
spoultry the attention that they should. If
8they did our egg product would be
greater and much more profitable thing
than it is now.
If we conducted this part of our farm
business with half the intelligent interest
and zeal that the French farmer does we
would he the greatest producing coun-
4trV in the world no doubt
Have any of our readers found a de-
cided profit in raising eggs for market or
1Or home consumption! We have no
8doubt many of our readers who raise
plenty of grain, sorghum and the like,
have done so, and we should be glad to
hear from them.