River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-05-07

L1OuSS VI representatives.
Dear Mr.. Frear:
Referring to your request for in
formation on poultry raising and
the organization of poultry clubs, l
will say that the Department has
been engaged for several years in
studies of the problems pertaining
to the poultry industry and the beS'
methods to use to bring about il
extension. As you doubtless are
aware, our poultry industry repre-
SCENTS an enormous aggregate of Z
great many small units. The large
mass of poultry and eggs which en-
tiers into commerce comes from the
farms of the Central West. and is
handled by commercial b 0 u s e =
which carry on an extensive bus1
ness in that locality. A certain
amount of this trade exists in South
err States as we'll. Small pm
mnnities and the exclusive trade in
cities, such as hotels, clubs, ard
he better residence trade, are sup
piled to a considerable extent by
nearby producers on farms and n
suburban communities.
Raised in small numbers, poultry
make excellent returns on the in
vestrnent, but rarely do large poul-
try farms make much profit when
engaged solely in supplying poultry
and eggs for the trade. Few o
these large poultry farms maintain
an existence without sooner or later
getting into the breeding business
selling Matching eggs, day-old chicks
and other breeding stock. The pro-
duction of hig h-class breeding stock
is profitable.
The business in which most
people are interested, however, is
the production of a good quality of
poultry and eggs in a small way,
and il is the large number of such
focks which make up the most of
our poultry industry. The most
popafar breeds are those known As
the American breeds; the Plymouth
Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode
Island Reds, with a considerable
amount of popularity for the Orp-
ingtons; these breeds being used
both for the production of eggs and
meat. For egg production the Leg
horns are far the most popular.
The Department has studied the
poultry industry both from the
standpoint of the small producer
and the large commercial operator.
| take it, however, that you are
more interested in the small pro-
Queer. 1t is such persons that we
are endeavoring to assist by the or
ganization of poultry clubs among
boys and girls. This work is being
done by cooperation between the
Animal Husbandry Division of the
Bureau of Animal Industry and the
Office of F a r m e r s. Cooperative
Demonstration Work of the Bureau
of Plant Industry. The poultry ex-
pert is supplied by the former office;
the organization of these clubs was
started in Virginia in 1913, and
agents are now stationed also in
South Carolina and North Carolina.
1t is expected that similar work will
soon be started in Tennessee and
Kentucky.
The idea of the poultry clubs is
to give the boys and girls better
knowledge of the value and import
anc of the poultry industry and
the marketing of a first class uni
form product, to teach better meth
DDS of caring for the poultry and
eggs, to show the increased revenue
to be derived from well-bred poultry
when proper methods of manage
ment are pursued, and to stimulate
community interest and co-opera-
ton. Each club and the clubs in
each county are urged to confne
their attention to a single breed so
that in time a reputation may be
built up in that community for uni
formity and quality, and the output
of poultry in that community stand
ardized to a considerable extent.
Each club should adopt the fol-
lowing general regulations in add
ton TO a simple constitution and
bylaws:
P0uc = GIRLS iCinino the o1ub