Evening star., 1915-09-24
NEW MARKET OPEN
FOR EGGS AND POULTRY
Middle Atlantic Poultrymen May
Ship Products to Boston-New
England Conditions Described.

ested in poultry, and who has recently
| made a trip covering large part OF
New England, is of the opinion that
poultrymen in the middle Atlantic
states who are in a position to ship
eggs in considerabl BILE numbers. fresh
from the henneries, are going to reap
| harvest in Boston, Providence and
New York markets during the coming
winter and spring, and at the same
| time open up a new and paying mar
ket for their products never before
| touched by poultrymen of this section.
Speaking of conditions as he observed
them during his trip, he said:
Now is the time for poultrymen in
this part of the country to take pos
| session of the big New England egg
and dressed poultry market II they
REALLY want to extend d their field
prices for poultry products and ex-
tremely high prices of feed of all kinds
has resulted in putting hundreds Of
larger and smaller poultry plants out
of business in the New England sec
ton. and retailers. jobbers and COM
mission men are already beginning to
notice the scarcity of really fresh eggs
in all of the New England markets.
And it isn't eggs only that are scarce
Broilers, flyers. roasting fowls-in fact,
poultry of all kinds is becoming rare
to the point that commission men are
offering advanced prices for any kind
of goods.
Many Quit the Business.
"The other day the secretary of one
Of the larger poultry associations said
that in Massachusetts alone, to his per-
sonar knowledge. more than 600 large
and small poultry plants have gone out
of business in the last ten months, and
he stated that conditions were much
the same in Vermont, Rhode Island,
New Hampshire, Connecticut and
Maine.
Most of these places" he said, made
| a speciality of day-old hennery eggs,
which they shipped every evening to
the Boston. Providence and New York
| markets. In Boston alone receipts of
this class of eggs have decreased fully
so per cent in the last ten months or q
year. More shipped eggs are coming
into Boston now than at any time in
the last fifteen years or more. and as
the season advances this condition will
grow worse.
mot only are the men who raise
hens to supply the markets with high
grade eggs going out Of the business.
but breeders of fancy exhibition poul-
try are being hit just as hard, if not
harder. Hard times. caused by the busi-
ness and industrial depression that is
IL,
cause of much of this. The so-called
hard times brought about low prices
for eggs and for all kinds of market
poultry; and on top of this prices for
feed of all kinds have been advancing
steadily until feed is now higher in this
part of the country than it has been at
any time in the memory of New Eng
land poultry men.
High Cost of Feed.
New England raises little corn, by
far the greater part of the corn used
in this section being shipped from the
west and south. We produce little of
our own wheat and oats, and these
three grains are the foundation of
poultry feeds. Right now corn is bring
ing from $1.50 to s1.65 a bushel, shell
| ed. all over this section, and cracke
corn is several cents higher Wheat
screenings that used to sell for around
! so cents a bushel now brings Sl.4O to
S1.o0. and clean wheat has been as high
as $3.50 bushel, though it is some
what lower now. Oats sell at around
| $1.25 a busiIel. OF course, in large lots
prices rule little lower; I'm giving
| YOU the bushei prices as they have been
throughout this region for nearly a
year-in some cases for more than a
year.
/ with all kinds of feed at such prices.
| and people unwilling to pay more than
So to 40 cents for day-old hennery eggs,
it is easy to see where the poultryman
got off. He simply couldn't keep going,
so he sold off his stock and quit the
business: at least a very large number
have done so. Retailers, commission
men and jobbers gave slight demand as
the reason for the low prices they
quoted. the slackness in demand being
due to hard times Well, business and
industrial conditions are rapidly i'm
proving in almost all parts of New
England; more men are being employ
ed. more mills, factories and shops are
starting up, and trade generally is get
! ting better. But the slight demand
appears to continue. if one is to judge
from prices paid to producers, and the
prices of feeds of all kinds remain high,
while poultrymen by the dozen are
coming to the end of their string,
growing disgusted and selling out.
Well all have a chance this winter and
spring to see how we like cold-storage
eggs and poultry. l guess, and the
farmers and poultrymen in other parts
| OF the country where conditions are
better than in this section will have
wider markets for their eggs and
| dressed poultry"