The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1905-04-27
POULTRY SPECIALIZATION.
In the Biggest Poultry Producing
County of the United States.

In the Biggest Poultry Producing
County of the United States.
Poultry raising is largely carried on
by farmers in America as q minor fac
tor In diversified agricultural practice.
In consequence poultry Is found dis
trbuted on large number of farms In
small groups. This fact is illustrated
by figures from the last census, which
show that SS.S per cent of the farms In
the United States report poultry This
tendency is less marked in the west,
for the census figures show that only
1873 per cent of the farms in the Rocky
mountain and Pacific coast states re-
port poultry The diffuse distribution
of the poultry industry has to certain
extent masked the Importance of poul-
try diseases. Individual losses are nee
essarily slight and have not constituted
an incentive for demanding the more
extensive investigation Of the cause
and prevention of disease. Unquestion-
ably, too, the isolation of poultry III
small groups has contributed to restrict
the spread of infections.
An Amazing Poultry Population.
A complex combination of factors
made Sonoma county, CAL, the great
est poultry producing county Of the
United States. The census of 1900
credits that county with an output Of
321S,450 dozen eggs and with AS1.425
fowls three months old and over. The
poultry population has increased since
the census, as shown by figures COM
piled by the Petaluma Poultry Journal
from data supplied by produce con-
Germs in Petaluma, the principal ship
ping point in the county. During the
calendar year 1908 the territory tribu
tary to this one town supplied 3,407,334
dozen eggs. This divided by g. dozen,
the census figures for the average an
nual production for California fowls
over three months of age, would indi
cate the presence Of 549,40S fowls near
Petaluma.
Fowl Concentration and Disease.
The concentration of this number of
tory has demonstrated the Importance
of the infectious diseases of poultry in
undermining the profits of the bust
ness. The proximity Of poultry estab-
lishments to one another as we'll as the
traffic in laying hens affords favorable
conditions for the spread of disease.
The owner of 5000 hens naturally
breads the practical humiliation of his
stock more keenly than the average
farmer owning a few barnyard fowls.
Sanitation a Necessity.
California poultrymen are united to
an unusual extent in affirming that
failure and diminished profits are due
principally to diseases. A study of the
poultry diseases and of the conditions
under which they occur leads to the
conclusion that a large percentage Of
the losses among chickens older than
broilers is due to preventable diseases.
The man who would reap the great
est profits from poultry husbandry
must become thoroughly Informed con-
corning the recognition of the various
diseases and the sanitary methods nee
essary for their control.
| Horticulture furnishes striking ex-
ample Of widespread popular educa-
ton on matters pertaining to prevent
able losses from disease and the para
| site insects. This is q necessity Sc
quent to specialization and concentra-
| ton