The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-02-21


which Is hard and sharp.
WHY POULTRY PAYS.
1t is a very easy matter to figure out
why it pays to raise poultry. Why, the
prices paid for eggs aud poultry fol
market purposes are so much higher
now than they were several years ago.
Ten years ago the average price paid
for eggs was eight esuts per d'Zen,
while to-day it is nearly twenty cents.
Ten years ago live poultry sold on the
market for five cents per pound, while
to-day the price paid is eleven cents.
The reason for this is that eggs and
poultry occupy about the same place on
the table as beef. The price of beef has
been steadily advancing for number
of years, and will continue to advance
for some time to come. The reason for
this is the millions upon millions Of
acres of grazing lands in Texas, Kan
sas, Nebraska, and other Western
States, have been converted into farms
by sturdy young men and women from
the Eastern States. This great beef
supply being cut of, it is natural that
the price should advance; and, as eggs
and poultry are a good substitute for
beef, the demand for them Is sure TO
increase; and with the increased de-
mand comes the advance in price. The
demand for poultry the past year for
table purposes has been unusually
heavy; indeed, at times it was impcssi-
ble for the markets to supply all that
was called for, even at the increased
price. Taking the above facts into con-
sideratio8, the outlook for the poultry
industry is very bright, and we hope
our brother farmers will be encouraged
and give more attention TO their pOul-
try in the future than they have in the
past; for there is certainly more money
10 be made with poultry than with any
other industry, considering the amount
of money invested. These are facts
no guesswork about it. The poultry
business is built upon a solid founda-
ton, and is here to stay; and the man
OF woman who will stick to his or her
poultry is sure TO succeed. But remem-
Der that profit can only be obtained by
close attention to details and the appli-
cation of labor. Apply these, and 81
cess is assured.
THE HEN AS A MANUFACTURES.
In these days Of gigantic trusts and
corporations, and when it is no uneOm-
mon thing to have half billion of
capital advanced in single week, the
manufacturers seem 10 think that they
are the very salt of the earth. Their
figures are large, but we wish to intro
duce an humble little friend who "lays"
over them as a manufacturer in every
sense of the word. Our little friend,
the hen, is a philosopher, poet, a
chemist, a manufacturer, .rO an all
around good citizen. OG- manufactu-
rers think they are doing a great thing
when they take from the earth crude
iron ore and crude copper or other ma
terials; when they go into the forest
and cut down the trees, and with these
materials fashion the articles that make
society warm and comfortable. They
never create anything, however. They
are mere handlers. Their work stops
short of adding to the vital forces Of
life, or creating food with which to
nourish these forces. Our little friend
exc sls them all in the care and quality
of her work; also in its extent. She
will take a bug, weed-seed, few
blades of grass, a piece of oysier-shell,
few scraps of food that humans have
thrown away, and, in "a hours, turn
them into that most marvellous of all
creations-an egg. 1t is marvellous be
cause it contains not only a balanced
ration of animal food, but it also con-
tains life, the wonderful forces of he
redity; all these are packed within its
perfect shell, and all created and put
together by our industrious little man.
ufaeturer, the hen. We seldom stop to
think what an egg represents. Think
of our little friend gathering, mixing,
and putting together in organic form
$50 grains of water, l25 grains OF fat,
los grains Of lime, so grains of albu-
men, 26 grains of sugar, and 10 grains
of ash. Hold up an egg and examine
it critically by the side of modern
watch, or by the side Of some marvel
Gus bit of machinery, and if you are
honest you must admit that the hen
has excelled them all-not perhaps in
inventive genius, for the first hen laid
eggs, perhaps, as well as our modern
birds. There is no animal mixture un-
der the sun SO intricate, 50 compact, so
full of power and force, as an egg. Go
through any large city at dinner time,
and you will find thousands of work
ing men eating egg sandwiches for their
dinner; fried egg between two pieces
of bread and butter provide a large
soare of the motive power that is rais-
ing the buildings in all of our cities,
paving the streets, erecting palaces, and
adding to the pride and wealth Of the
cities of our now famous country. In
other words, the hen is laying some of
the great buildings and some of the
marvellous monuments Of industry that
shall live for coming generations to ad-
mire and attempt to copy.
THE HENS GREAT TASK.
Most creators that perform delicate
work of this character do but little of
it. As rule, genius is not coupled
with the extensive product. Let Us see
about this in connection with the hen
4 comparison between one Of our own
LeghOrn hens. A bag containing the
grain food for one year and basket
containing one years work, show the
following result: The hen weighs about
five pounds, bat the bag contains 60
pounds Of a grain mixture. The basket
contains 140 eggs, the total weight be-
ing 20 pounds. In other words, the s.
pound hen consumed on the average
one-sixth of a pound ofsgrain per day
during the year. She turned that grain
into 20 pounds OF eggs, besides making
a fair growth Of flesh and feathers, and
leaving fertilizer enough to produce one