Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-12
THE AMERICAN HEN.
Importance Of the Barnyard Bird as a
Factor in American Life.

0StOA AA <AmCA1CaA L1lC~
| From the Boston Transcript.
Probably the principal interest felt in the
egg industry by the average American citi-
zen lies in the fact that within the past six
weeks eggs have been working up from
about 80 cents dozen for the best quality
to close onto 40 cents, to the purchasing
consumer. This. however, is not paying the
American hen the respect that Is her due.
She is not only an important but wonder
fully potential factor of the agricultural
industry Of the United States. Yet even the
average farmer considers her almost be-
meath his notice. He leaves her to the wo-
men and children and begrudges her al
most everything that makes even the
slightest inroad upon his ordinary crop
products. To her is assigned the stunt
of providing her own living. and she must
do that by cleaning behind every regular
harvest. After he has dug and garnered
and threshed and closed his account with
each particular item of production-pro-
vided he keeps such an account-the hen
can find her subsistence in what he has
overlooked
In other words, the poultry yard, to a
great extent, is somewhat contemptuously
regarded a mere incident of his general
business. Sometimes his wife or one of his
children will take hold of that neglected
branch and put him to shame by making
it the most profitable feature of the whole
establishment. Yet a deliver in census re-
turns, working for the Brooklyn Eagle, in
forms US that last year the poultry and
eggs produced and eaten in the United
States were worth more than all the gold
and silver mined in the world during the
same year. Except for the year 1909, the
egg product of this country has exceeded
in value that of its combined gold and sill
yer output for every year since 1880. which
takes in the entire bonanza period of our
history That. with the poultry product,
also exceeds in value the wheat crop or
twenty weight Of the most fruitful states and
territories.
Reduced to concrete terms. in 1899 the egg
record of this country was 1,29O,OO.ooO
dozen. There are thirty dozen to crate,
and four hundred crates to a car. so train
of cars sufficient to accommodate the trans
from Chicago to Washington. a distance of
S68 miles, and then there would remain sew
eral cars of eggs to spare. In 1900 Iowa
produced 99, 600 900 dozen and Ohio 81. OOo.-
COO having value of over $l00OooOO for
each state. OF course the incubator has con-
siderable to do with poultry production. but
tncubators do not lay eggs. In a single year
the value of the eggs and poultry or the
country has been as high as $3.50. 600, 600.
Think what a hullabaloo has been raised
over threatened ruin to beet sugar and
wool. How much burning breath has been
expended by the lobbyist and the political
spellbinder in appeals for higher tariffs and
protests against reciprocity propositions
Yet in 1902 our whole sugar production
amounted to only about $40, 600. 600. while
the wool industry Is only about a third as
important as the egg and poultry industry,
It. is only In quite recent years that we
have thought 1t worth while to impose a
duty on foreign eggs, and when 1t did come
1t was rather to make the schedule sym.
metrical than because of any agitation o.
any conviction that 1t was necessary. There
is no danger of Cutting the market FARM
ers are neglecting great opportunity, In
summary of recent reports to the state
board of agriculture they generally COM
fessed IT. yet, acknowledging the expedien1
they s@ill the inexpedient pursue