The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-30
CHICKENS AND EGGS.

few days ago Mir. Humphrey, of | Tennessee, stopped over in Birmingham on business and while there he talked He is said to be the largest shipper of chickens in the South, and his talk led to a discussion of the profits of poultry raising in Alabama. Any one who will l take note of the scarcity, quality and price of eggs, will easily understand why there should be money in the business. There Is no trust or combination among the local dealers that we are aware of, and 1t is not reasonable to suppose that they make inordinate profits, but the fact remains that both chickens and eggs are scarce and high.
 But there is a combination which affects prices, beyond doubt. A special from Chicago to The Minneapolis Free Press
 some days ago stated that three firms in | the former city are practically in control of the poultry market. They are stated | to have control of two-thirds of the poul- | try in the country, and they are buying
 1t up and placing 1t in cold storage for | the purpose of sending up prices. The es- | timate of those in position to know is that these three firms haev now packed away 50O.0O0 cases of dressed poultry, amounting | in the aggregate to not less than 25,000
 tons of poultry.
 1 As a natural consequence, this buying
 and storing up such quantities of poultry | must send prices up, and in Chicago the
 price is about fifty Ter cent higher than 1 1t WAS one year ago. The same firms. so | it is stated are also engaged in getting
 control of the egg, supply, and even from Boston come complaints of high prices and prospective egg famine In Mont l gomery. we have been feeling these high | prices all the while, and there seems It, tie prospect or hope of relief unless the | combinat ton can be broken.
 | The remedy for this condition of affairs | is obvious, pr rlcticable and easy It is | now too late in tho season to get the full
 benefit of 1t. but not too late to provide
 against recurrence of the trouble. The
 natural remedy is for the people of Ala
 bama to raise more chickens and better I w State is not as well adapted as any other
 to the business-large portions of it. at | all events. We do not claim any expert knowledge of the business, but with some | experience and long observation, we are
 prepared to say that it can be made prof | itablc. No large fortunes can be made In | Alabama at the business, but 1t has the | advantage of not requiring extensive | grounds or q great outlay of money to
 begin with. That there is money in it Is l beyond doubt, and we know of nothing
 that is likely to pay better profits with
 the same. outlay of capital and labor. It
 matters not what may be the result of
 the meat combine. the decreasing area of
 pasture land and the constant increase of 1 population in this country must necessa-
 rily make all kinds of meat expensive.
 Something must take its place and we can
 conceive of nothing so likely to do it as
 poultry Of all kinds.
 As before stated, it is probably now
 too late In the season for the farmers of | Alabama to go into the business on a
 scale which would enable them to inter- | fere materially with present conditions but it is not too late to prepare for an l other year. or even for next winter. The
 preparatiohs made and the experience gained during the present. suminer would lay the foundation for a successful busi-
 ness next year, and in our opinion those farmers who will devote some consider
 able time and attention to poultry VIII
 find material profit in it next season.
 While there may not be millions Tn It, there may be d snug balance on the credf
 side of the ledger for those who go at Il 1 rightly