Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-10-21
CHICKENS CAN Be
MADE HELPFUL
To FARMER
Planters at Present Do Not Get
as Much From Poultry as
Is Possible.
Bv VIM. ]. STITH.


W. 5asire in this article to advance
,ne IDEAS. which If put into practice,
In ha blessing to the great army of
-, who are engaged in farming. While !
4 a are speaking to the farmers as a !
A,bols the lessons herein contained
,,av he absorbed by all who read, if so
i asred.
In the FIRST place, the writer is well
.stsfed after careful consideration, |
Abat farmers in general do not get as
A,,uch clear profit out of their poultry
II Is possible for them to get, espe-
Il 'al'y those who do not make poultry a
.neciaIty. Speaking of farmers as a
se,hola very small per cent make
1nch out Of their poultry. not because
{ t5sv are inferior to others In the man
her n breeding poultry, but largely be
4 rnuse they are careless as to this part
( NJ the work connected with their farms.
4 The majority think the. business of
4.ais;rg chickens is too small a thing to
8 lain their attention, and the work is
argelv left to the busy housewife who
vitb all her work, manages quite often
I Ia snr,pjv the family with the most of
he groceries needed, and the profit or|
8Ioss on the poultry kept is seldom
counted so far as the farmer himself is
concerned.
Now, If the farmers as a whole do
Hat derive much revenue from the
&poutrv kept on their farms, it is clearly
manifest from more than one stand
E noint that as class they are to blame;
&lor II has been proven, time and again,
#lhst there is profit in poultry keeping
Ind Of all classes the farmer has the
q rest opportunity for getting profit out
Hi this line of business. Unlike those
%gho breed poultry in towns and cities.
H. has ample room for carrying on the
q business. either on a large or small
q csle. He can devote as much space TO
&+ as he desires, and without disad-
q rautage 10 other lines of farm work.
1 For the most part, the poultry kept
proves blessing to the others; for in
humber Of ways the flock helps to in
rease their profits,
a One Of these items is the profit arts
Ing from the fertilizer gathered from
a he poultry houses and placed on the
Il so for the production of different
y reps There are few better fertilizers
4 ind II carefully preserved and added to
+ ne soil, will count greatly in bringing
q he crops 20 maturity IN the most per-
Isot manner. and figure largely in the
Profits when marketed.
II all farmers could be made to real
ss how far the fertilizer procured from
he keeping OF two or three hundred
a lsns would go toward producing crops
hsy would be investing more in poul-
8 ~ and less in commercial fertilizer,
suaembering that the chickens bring
rood profit on the amount invested, not
sounting the fertilizer at all.
Il Again, poultry proves a wonderful
d help to the farmer in destroying in
lects which destroy fruit and different
q 'rops, and the ever busy hens not only
nd the farmer of these pests, but help
q urnish their feed at very low cost
Il n this day of insect destruction, the
& lock Of fowls Is almost Indispensable,
and the farmer is beginning to realize
8 now much he owes to the poultry kept
8 m his farm. A neighbor OF ours, in
4 discussing the question of plum grow
ng said he would not think of trying
I 10 grow them il he had to dispense WIN
Il ais chickens.
Il But the poultry of itself assists in no
q uncertain degree in enlargins the
j farmers bank account The fact Is
oeing demonstrated by not a. rev these
q lays that with a few hundred hens one
man can make good living for himself
and family when he is compelled TO
purchase all the feed which the hens
n ronsume; and if this is possible, how
much more easily can a farmer VINO
raises all his grain, vegetables, etc
make splendid profit, say, on four or
& i've hundred hens? 1t should also be
81 remembered that the keeping of poultry
IL profit will mean but very little
Il more work and will scarcely interfere
with the other farm work To be sure,
u VIII necessitate looking after TINS
part of the business of the farm as
carefully as any other department. and
hecessitates taking as much interest in
1t as IN other things.
We urge upon all farmers who read
ms article the great Importance OF
heeplns pure bred stock for the best
interests OF all concerned discard the
uongrel and get a flock of pure bred
owls, It has been demonstrated time
ana again that a flock of pure bred
poultry will bring in more profit than a
.iongrel one, and then there is some
treasure in having a beautiful flock on
H7 premises. The flocks on many
ms are a disgrace TO those who keep
mem, for. like Jacobs cattle of old
"ey are ring streaked, speckled and
spotted. and off in shape. combs and
~" Any old thing so far as poultry
Concerned seems to be the rule with
'oNe farmers. where II the herd of cat
!e showed such negligence. those keep
'Hs Them would hide their faces with
shame