The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-31
SQUAD FARMING IS
THRIVING INDUSTRY
"Plant" at Spencer, Iowa, Sup.
plies Many Eastern Cities
with Dainty EQUAL"
Correspondence Of The Jourual,

poople VI tue uOTGuWtSt 10 Guo 6QudU
plant" Spencer has one and SO has
Ruthven on the east Of it and Sanborn
on the west. But even in this section
squad farming is no open book to the
great masses Of the settlers.
A 'squab plant' is the home of sew
eral thousands Of pigeons or doves. The
one in Spencer is owned by the North
western Iowa SQUAD company and is
by W. j. Beckett. The invest
ment in buildings and fixtures is small;
nothing elaborate or expensive is re-
quired for a business of this sort. The
Spencer plant consists Of a main frame
building approximately 50x2O feet in
size and small sales building. A com
paratively small area to the south of
the main building is wired and screened
SO that the birds may have room for
exercise and live in the open air az
much as possible. ~
All the business Of the "plant" can
be carried on if necessary in COM
paratively cramped quarters. Another
distinctive feature of SQUAD culture is
the fact That anybody with ordinary
horse sense can engage in it with good
chances of success. There is nothing
intricate about it. A boy, girl or
woman can master it's simple details.
SQUAD farming is admirably suited to
the limitations Of persons who cannot
do strenuous physical work, yet who
seek a calling which will take them out
Of doors, but which has few, if any,
disagreeable features. On the surface
it seems to be an ideal avocation or
"side issue' for those who have
logged along for years in fixed grooves
or ruts, and whose souls fairly hunger
for a change or diversion that will
bring them rest.
Profit in Squads.
Manager Beckett Of the Spencer plant
has put about all the money he has
cleared and some more into expand
ing his business. Now he has it where
he expects it will fast become reliable
and steady money maker. The produc-
ton Of birds and eggs, he declares, is
decidedly profitable; those who follow
it with a fair degree Of care, energy
and common sense, will always find it
profitable, he says, whether conducted
on a small or large scale.
Choice white squabs-the young of
the pigeons-are said to be always in
demand at the highest market prices.
It takes; from twenty-eight to thirty
days to raise marketable squad worth
from rs to 40 cents apiece, and each
pair of Homers, the kind Of birds bred
in, the Spencer plant, will raise from
eight to eleven pairs Of squads year
With reasonable good luck. 500 pairs
Of birds will bring an income Of $1,000
a year clear Of expenses. - -. Ave..
j.. The cost Of keeping a pair of Homers
for year is estimated at about &c
! cents. There is little risk in the bust
ness provided the old birds are prop.
erly attended to. Chickens must be
fed by the keeper, but the old pigeons
feed their young and no more time OF
care has to be given to birds with
i young than to those without.
Much Like Poultry. ..
! r The Homer in the Spencer plant
| when full grown and feathered, is a
handsome fellow. The blue and blue
checker predominates, but there are the
red and red checker and the black and
silver. Their eyes are bright and their
coats glossy and exquisite. They are
almost the perfection Of gracefulness
Their keepers declare they are wonder
fully intelligent and remarkably free
from disease. Their feed consists al
most wholly of shelled corn and screen
ings. An abundance Of pure water is
an essential Of pigeon farming. Gen
orally speaking, much the same ex'
,perience is required in handling pigeons
as in raising poultry. There are, OF
course, essential points Of difference
but there are many points Of similarity
The combination with poultry is sale
to be good one. '...'
Eaten as Quail.
Upon regularly appointed days, thu
SQUAD farmer goes thru his plant ant
gathers the squads preparatory to kill
ing, dressing and Slipping them K
market This is one Of the busy day
about the plant. The remainder Of tn
week, the keeper has little to do ez
cept to feed and water his birds. TIL
squads Of this section are usually sen
to Chicago and then distributed in col,
storage to New York, Boston, Phila
delphia and other cities in the east
Somewhere on the road wonderful
metamorphosis takes place. A squal
pure and simple at the starting point
he becomes quail on toast and luxur,
of the table in the great marts alon,
the Atlantic. The deception is cas-,
enough, for the flesh Of the SQUAD re
sembles in cs1er that of the quail AM
is even more tender and nutritious
Recent quotations Of New York com
mission men make squads worth fror
$3.50 to Sc a dozen, depending O.
weight and color, the heavier the squa
the more to the pound being paid.
! The ordinary bullhead Of Canno
river and other Minnesota streams
, served in the hotels and restaurant
Of Kansas City and other places a
genuine Cannon river trout. The col
sumner doesn't mind the deception
rather does he encourage it and drea1
Of the cool rushing waters Of the Cal
, non. The SQUAD is admirably adapte
=. to be pigeon when alive, and qua
: when dead and ready for the tabl
His flesh supplies the call for gam
3 having favor between wild birds an
a spring chicken from the farm. a
! is palmed off as "Bob White, becaus
he most resembles him when dinner
served. Grouse, quail and prair
chicken are rapidly being exterminate
and if the SQUAD fills the bill for gam
: or even half fills it, he has genui1
9 mission on earth and will become MOI
S and more factor, in domestic econom
e The prospective squad farmer is al
! xious to know what will be the CO
. Of birds with which to begin his e
!. terprise and what he may fairly p
!. g.. L;.l, 1ybo,, bo hoe 4l,o...tE - -