New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-06
THE AMERICAN HEN.
Importance of the Barnyard Bird as Factor
in American Life.

Probably the principal interest felt in the egg IN
dusry by the average American citizen lies In tho
fact that within the last six weeks eggs have been
working up from about 30 cents a dozen for the
best quality close 70 40 cents to the purchasing
consumer. This. however is not paying the Amer
lean hen the respect that Is her due She Is not
only an important but a wonderfully potential fac
tor OF the agricultural industry Of the United
States Yet even the average farmer considers her
almost beneath his notice. He leaves her to the
women and children. and begrudges her almost
everything that makes even the slightest inrOad
upon his ordinary crop products. To her is as
signed the stunt Of providing her own living. and
she must do that by cleaning behind every regular
harvest After he has dug and garnersd and
thrashed and closed his account with each par
ticuIar item CT neutrality-suspicious. he keeps such
accountable hen find her subsistence in
what he has overlooked
In other words. the poultry yard 20 a great ex-
tent. is somewhat cOntemptuousIy regarded as a
mere incident OF his general business Sometimes
his wife or one OF his children VIII take hold OF
Taking Il the most profitable feature OF the whole
workns FOR The brooklyn Eagle informs Us that
last year the poultry and eggs produced and eaten
gold and silver mined in the world during the same
year Except Tor me year 800 the egg product o.
bined gold ana silver output for every year since
our history That with the poultry product also
exceeds in value the wheat crop Of twentyeight OF
Reduced TO concrete terms. n 1899 the egg record
OF this country was lE0oO.01 dozen. There are
thirty dozen TO q crate. and 400 crates TO car.
train OF cars sufficient 70 accommodate the trans
pOrtation OF all these crates world reach from Chi
cago 70 Washington. distance OF SIS miles. and
then there would remain several Of eggs 20
spare. In 1900 Iowa produced s9.000O00 dozen and
Ohio 100000. having value OF over $lOoe0010 for
each State. or course. the incubator has cOnsid-
cradle to do with poultry production but incubators
DO not Law eggs In a single year the value OF the
and poultry OF the country has been high
as $3.50 600 COO
Think what a hulabaloo has been raised
threatened ruin 20 beet sugar and wool. How much
burning breath has been expended by the lobbyist
and the political spellbnder in appeals for higher
tariffs and protests against reciprocity propositions
Yet in 1902 our whole sugar production amounted
TO only about SEQ 100000, while the wool industry is
only about a third important the egg and
poultry industry. IL is only in quite recent years
that have thought Il worth while 10 impose
duty on foreign eggs. and when Il did come IL was
rather TO make the schedule symmetrical than be-
cause OF agitation conviction that IL
was necessary. There is no danger Of Cutting the
market Farmers negleCting Sreat OppOrtu-
nifty. In summary OF recent repOrts to the state
Board OF Agriculture they generally confessed IL.
yet acknowledging the eXpedient they still the
inexpedient pursue-(Boston Transcript.