The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-08-18
Poultry Notes.


There are constantly going the
rounds of the papers most astonishing
estimates as to the volume of the
poultry industry in this country. We.
hear speakers at farmers Institutes
glibly reel off the statistics as to our
poultry products, and an unsophisti,
Gated listener would suppose the sta.
tistics to be worth something. But.
they are not. Poultry estimates are
the widest kind of guesses taking the
country as whole. 81 In some of our
large produce centers it is not difficult
to approximate the number of birds
and eggs received and sold; but those
reports are Of little consequence COM
pared to the $4,000 small markets OF.
which there are no reports. The num-
Der OF birds and eggs that are used on
the farms cannot be known, for no
record is kept of them When we eon-.
sider~ that there are over 100000
farms we see how inestimable must
be the poultry produce disposed Of on
those farms. But to illustrate the way
IN which statistics are made: One
writer says: When we compare the
most careful statistics that can be
compiled, we are astonished at the
magnitude of the figures. for we find
that the combined product OF eggs and
poultry as an article Of food, from a
commercial standpoint, alone, amounts
to- the enormous sum of 500, O0O, O00
Now, when we add to this the number
OF live fowls in this country, about
5O,0OO,OOO, at an average value 1 of
81 each. which is a fair valuation of
the whole; that is, placing all Of the
standard varieties Of fancy bred poul-- $
try with the common grade laying
stock Of the whole country; thus, the
live fowls plus the commercial poultry
and eggs, amounts to 1,000,000,0OO. -
We can but regard such figures as
most extravagant. Instead of 81 per
fowl the estimate should be Is cents
per fowl; for the proportion Of high
priced fowls in the country, compared
to the whole number is insignificant.
The estimate Of $50, 100000 live fowls
is entirely guesswork. We. have at
the present time no poultry statistics
that are worth anything. .a$s +
We sometimes hear about a hen lay
ing two eggs in day, and it seems
quite an incredible story. But it may:
easily happen and doubtless does. But
it does not indicate any great laying
power, but rather a arrangement Of
the laying organs. We have seen a
hen egg-bound and on examination
found the production Of the egg So
delayed that another full-sized8 one
was pushing up behind it. The two
eggs would naturally be dropped With
in a few hours OF each other.
s Without doubt hens are helped BY
exercise. such as scratching III cut
straw for their grain, yet we feel that
the idea is oVerdone. The value Of
this exercise must depend tosa yerys
great extent on the food that is ted I.
Where q fowl lis fed corn, and corn
only she needs the exercise to help her
TO digest more OF the corn 50 as to get.
from It enough protein to serve her
purposes, without at the same time be-
coming too tai. The exercise causes
|rapidity 81 breathing and that means
tie burning up of more tat through
the agency Of the lung g. But the tirst.
outlook should be- to feed 8 fowl =
alton SO sconst tied that no necessity
will exist for burning up 4 part 81 tho
feed through the lung 25ss: