The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-04-18

DO HENS PAY? Why? HOW?
Ten Thousand People Trying to
Answer These Questions.
Nearly ten thousand persons in
this country have recently entered
contest the object of which is to
answer three apparentlyVery simple
little questions. The questions are:
Do hens pay? If SO, why and how?
The man, woman or child who can
answer these three questions and
demonstrate the correctness of his
answers in the briefest yet com
pletest fashion will, on April l,
1901, be entitled to something like
$500 in gold and may also obtain
some of about two thousand special
prizes offered by various individuals
and firms that have become inter
ested in the contest. The con
! ditiOns of the contest have been
arranged SO that the city man who
keeps hens in his back yard has an
equal chance for first honors with
the man who makes his living by
raising poultry on farm. In fact,
under the conditions a man with
three birds may compete on even
terms with the man who owns
900, and furthermore man who
loses money on his chickens during
the time he is competing may still
win the cash and special prizes,
providing his system of recording
his methods and the results Of
putting then in operation is better
than that of some other man whose
benefits have been greater
The contest is one OF series hav
ing to do with the various phases o.
the farmers life that have beer
conducted by the American Agri
culture. A few years ago the pro
prietors of this paper undertook te
collect some statistics that woulc
give an adequate idea of the mum
Der of fowls in this country, the
number of eggs produced in the
course of a year and the value O
both fowls and eggs. The figures
obtained we're rather startling, bu'
there was no reason to doubt thei1
accuracy, for they were the resul
of statistics sent in by thousands 0
correspondents in hundreds of diff
ferent localities and were compiled
with the greatest care. The figures
383, 900, 900 fowls in this country
in the year 1896; the number o
eggs produced, reckoned in dozens
was 1.141 900, 900, and the value o
it all in dollars was $343. 900, 600
These figures showed an increase o
about 335 per cent. over 1890 and O
almost 200 per cent. over 1890. Al
the present time they figure the
number of fowls at 500, 900, 900
which, with their product for the
year 1900, represented total value
it is estimated, Of more thar
800, 100000 The figures given fol
the year 1896 were reached on the
basis of an average valuation fol
chickens of 80 cents each; for tur
keys, ducks and geese of 81 each anC
for eggs of II cents a dozen. Con
sidering the large amount of money
invested in breeds of fancy strains
throughout the country, which d.
considerable to bring up the aver
age value of barnyard fowls, to
gether with the relatively higher
values of both poultry and eggs il
producing regions adjacent to large
cities, these figures are regarded
as conservative.
For many years the editor of TIL
| American Agriculture has invitet
correspondence on the subject o
poultry raising. The best method
of raising fowls and the easies
ways of making them pay, hav
been discussed at length in thu
columns Of the paper, and of cours
there have been conflicting opinions
The Western farmers have pointe'
out methods to their brethren i
: the East, which have caused tn
! EEasterners to write humorous lei
: tiers about the farmers of the Wes1
Then the Westerners have sal
things about their Eastern critics
while the Southern poultry raiser
O bova +o1-on fa1lc ont of ooah N