The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-11
GOLDEN GOOSE
IS 0UTDONE.
Modest American Hen is Bigger For
tune Producers Than the Fableu
Goose Which Laid
Golden Eggs.
OVER seoo,ooo.ooo WORTH
ENORMOUS and Almost Uncomfortable
Value of the Hen Fruit Crop
of the United
States.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11.-Amazing
figures given out by the government
show that the worth of all the golden
eggs ever laid by the tabled goose is
overshadowed beyond measure by
the exploits Of the modest, unassum-
ing American hen.
Her annual contribution to the
wealth of the country exceeds $780,
100000. It equals the value of the
wheat crop, according to government
experts.
This surprising fact and many 9th
ers are presented in lore of the hen
embalmed in pamphlet of 40 pages
just issued from the humming presses
of the Agricultural Department.
Somebody in the department be-
came possessed of the notion that,
perhaps, the commonplace egg, fried
for the laborer and shirred for the
rich, might be one of the bonanzas
of the United States. The idea was
submitted to A. D. Melvin, chief of
the bureau of animal industry Melvin
saw at once that eggs were a bigger
issue in the welfare of the country
than most of those that cause politi-
clans to below and turn red in the
face while they labor to impress fool
ish propositions on the citizenry.
Melvin called in Harry M Lamon
and Charles L. Opperman, junior ami
NAL husbandmen, of the animal hus-
bandry division, and he babe them to
istics of the hen and to discover, if
possible, means to reduce the large
and annoying crop of bad eggs. On the
latter point, Chief Melvin has said it
has been shown by Investigation that:
There is very large loss in our
annual egg output, nearly all of
which is due to improper methods of
handling on the farm and at the
country store. A conservative esti-
mate of this loss is IL percent of the
total value, amounting to about $45,-
100000 annually"
sas because they regarded that state
as typical of the great Mississippi
valley, which cuts big figure in the
egg industry. AS to the extent of the
industry they say in their report:
There is probably no other do
In which hoc
eral distribution than the hen, and
! the part which she plays in the agri
cultural wealth of this country is al
most incredible. According to the
most recent statistics of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, the products of
the American hen aggregate total
value of more than s620,000,D0O an.
nually. This sum is stated to be equal
to the value of the hay crop of 1908
and greater than the combined value
of oats and potatoes for the same
year. 1t is nearly nine times the
value of the tobacco crop and equal
to that of wheat
Poultry and eggs are produced in
all sections of the country. It is a
noticeable fact that the bulk of these
important products is produced on
the farms of the Mississippi valley
In this section there are practically
no large intensive poultry farms
such as are commonly found in the
eastern states and on the Pacific
coast. Poultry keeping, therefore is
largely incidental, the hens beine
considered and treated largely as ar
agency for converting material which
would otherwise go to waste into q
salable product Consequently the
eggs and poultry produced constitute
merely by-product OF the genera
farm. Because prices for poultry prod
ucts are comparatively low the farm
ers make no effort to keep larger
Hooks than can be supported by this
waste without much attention or ex
ira feed, and because individual
flocks are small little attention OF
thought has been given to improving
the product or the method of dispos
ing OF it. 1t should be kept in mind
however, the aggregate for the yea
is large, reaching for each state II
the middle west, a total of many mil
lions of dollars.
Ut is an accepted fact" says th'
report, that the commercial egg o
this country is of a very poor qualit,
and when the housewife purchases
eggs of the local grocer she is Otter
compelled to break them first in ;
saucer before using them for culin
airy purposes. This poor quality II
eggs has been attributed by the ma
GRITTY of persons to the retention o
eggs in cold storage until larg
percent Of them are unfit for humal
consumption. This condition, howey
er, Is not as rule due to cold stor
age but to the condition OF the egg
when they were placed in cold stor
age"
Evparfo "a ~. tn,,I. TIM TINT tho 1Q