Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1908-05-07
Poultry For Profit


pure pred stock, written by A. F.
Hunter, editor of the Reliable
Poultry Journal:
Armour & Co. are killing and
dressing three thousand to six thou
sand head of hickcns a day; it
would pay you to see their place
YOU would get some interesting
facts" wrote Mr.. Hawk, of Kan
sas City, when we were consider
ing the advisability of trip west
this winter. A few days later,
while tut ming over the pages of
the Midland Poultry Journal, of
Kanass city, we came upon the adj
vertiserncnt of Messrs. Armour g.
Co. urging farmers to get thorough
bred Wyndotte, Plymouth Rock or
Indian Game males to improve
the quality of their poultry. That
certainly is unique we thought.
There is meaning to that if we
could only get at it. Business men
are not as a rule paying advertising
bills without there being reason
able grounds for expecting returns
in the shape of profits
THAT advertised advise was a
puzzle, and the solution of the puz-
zle was one of the first things we
asked for when we stepped off the
train at Kansas City and found Mr..
Hawk awaiting us. 1t is a simple
story. Armour & Co. have added
poultry dressing and shipping to
their beef, mutton and pork packing
and shipping. One day last fall
there came to the slaughter house,
among a great many other coops
of chickens, several coops contain
ing ''culls' from farm where are
kept Wyandottes only. Instruc tions
were given to have the lot kept to
gether and by themselves that they
might be compared with the COM
mon "dung hills" of which the
bulk of the receipts consisted.
When dressed and arranged for
comparison, it was easy to see that
the purebrcd Wyandottes were far
superior in plumpness, smooth
fair skin, yellow legs-in fact it
was far better average lot of
dressed poultry than the common
stock Mr.. Armour's attention
was called to the display and Re in
structed the for eman in that de-
partment to pack five cases, of one
hundred pounds each, ship one of
them to each of five commission
houses at different points in the
east, and hand him a special report
of the returns-also report prices
retui ned OIL common chickens sent
to the same places on the same
day. When the returns came in II
was found the five cases of Wyan-
dottes we're graded as ga No. 1, .
and the price was three cents {
pound more than the common chick
ems.
''What an object lesson"
1t is worth the while of Armour
& Co., to advertise that advice tC
the farmers, how much more it is
worth to the farmers to heed thai
advice, and improve the quality
of their stock The bulk of thai
additional $14, 600 that is paid ex'
ira for thot tough bred fowls goes to
the farmer. 1t is only their COM
mission 70; killing, dressing anc
packing that Armour & Co. gets
If Armour & Co. get but eight cents
pound for the common stuff. the,
can pay the farmers but six and ont
half or seven cents a pound for it
while if they get eleven cents cent?
pound for the "a No. - lot the.
can pay the farmers nine and
half or ten cents for it. 1t costs t
kill and pick and scrup as it doe
a pure brcd-and the expense o
handling is the same. Ii the com
pany gets three cents a pound more
fer sthe good stuff, they get theii
commission on a third more re
tuins; but the farmer gets the ful
third more. 1t costs him no NOR
TO hatch and raise good stock thar
II does to hatch and raise scrubs
and he will get three cents more
pound for it.
The point would be better un
derstood if one coud walk througl
the cold storage room, where Their
are about 500, 900 pounds-a hun
dred and fifty tons OF dresse'
poultry and game, the good stuf
carefully wrapped in paper AM
placed in boxes ready for shipping
Each box has stenciled on 1T thu
kind and quality of the contents
as, for example, forty broile
chicks, one and one-half POUNDS
thirty rooster chicks, three ant
One-half mounds -, ..tWeutY-i1Yl