Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-03-05
(By ]. HOWARD SLEDD.)

While the poultry output in the
United States is accredited with being
a billion-dollar industry. productive OF
more wealth to the producers than
any one crop, save corn, IL us no soft
snap. The rosy side of the business
is the one usually depicted by the
press, and the failures are never men,
toned.
/ am not given to looking on the
dark side of any enterprise but to
the contrary am always sanguine OF
success even when failure stares mo
in the face. l am writing this with
the hope that it will be help to
those who read 1t. When l gather
from statistics that about 80 per cent
Of those who enter the poultry busi-
ness abandon 1t, / am compelled to
ask myself. Why? And 1t is in reply
to this very pertinent question that
i write the following.
To amass a fortune from poultry is
an exceedingly easy matter, If we
do it on paper. If a man can make
$500 year on a city lot with only
few hens, then why can't he make
as many more thousands as his place
and the number Of hens he would
keep would justify on this basis? It's
extremely easy on paper. but in tho
doing of the actual thing it will be
found that your calculations were
veritable castles in the air.
To get down to the bed rock in the
business 1t must be looked after as a
business and not as a pastime. An
inventory Of the exact cost Of your
plant should be kept, as we'll as an
accurate account Of the cost Of all
feeds, medicines, etc. Your profit can
only come from the increase of the
selling price over the cost Of produc-
ton, and I am fully persuaded that
comparatively few poultrymen know
what IL costs to produce eggs or to
bring chick to maturity. Then get
down to the foundation Of things in
the start and remember that every egg
is not chick, nor every chick prize
winner.
Many quit the chicken business be-
cause they have been lured into 1t
either by the tales told Of the money
easily made, or else because the
glamour and chicken talk around
them has enticed them to enter. Be-
ing totally unfit for the business and
anticipating finding richer sources Of
wealth than ever Golconda or the
Klondike afforded, they are woefully
disappointed and become disgusted
and throw up the whole thing.
The fault is not in the business. 1t
is not a get-rich- quick scheme, but it
is a profitable business when proper
ly conducted. AS in every walk of
life, location, markets. transportation
help and adaptability or preparation
are all taken into account, so, too,
they count in the real chicken mans
estimate Of things.
Tulsa a Good Point.
AS to location. markets and trans
portation there is no place within my
hnt 10 Tt,lg
The local demand Is In excess Of the
supply, and the outside markets of
both Kansas City and st. Louis are in
easy access over quick lines OF trans
portation. Tulsa with its immense
hotels and cafes that cater to the best
Of trade demand supply of extra
fresh eggs and broilers every month
in the year. and there is no local man
supplying that demand. While there
are some poultrymen of prominence
in and around the city. they are not
market poultrymen, but are breeding
few fine fowls for their pleasure
and for fancy points. In the COM
mercial world no place presents a
better opening for an up-to-date
market poultry plant. and 1t will not
be long before they have one, unless
all signs fail.
One Of the chief reasons for failure
lltS III tIo ldCh VI Ut
preparation for the work. Trsining
in schools or colleges gives one the
theoretical part Of the business. the
technique. SO to speak. but 1t does
not. will not. and cannot make sue
cessful poultryman. His mental pow
ers may be trained to grasp facts, to
reason from cause to effect, but un-
less he couples with this training the
actual doing of things the fact that
he can reason logically will never
make him success. So with the
would-be poultryman. He may know
the theory Of incubation and brood
ing. the cause and cure Of tho dis
eases to which the chick is heir. the
preparation. according to science, to
feed, and have by note the names
AMI characteristics Of every breed of
fowls known. with their proper shape
and color. yet II he does not put to
practical use this knowledge he will
never succeed. Too many who are IA
miliar with all these things class
them as Of no value. although they
have stored them In mind. and leave