The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-18
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASkIN, Director,
Washington, D. g.
THE CASE FOR THE HEN.


chickens,
This mandate now goes forth from
the department of agriculture. The
bureau of animal industry, by cooper
alton with state agricultural colleges,
is putting corps of forty poultry eX-
perts into the field, for the purpose of
stimulating the people to keep chick
ems and raise chickens.
This effort is not to be confused
with the poultry club work, which has
been going on for some time. This is
a new project. And, Furthermore, it
is not to be taken lightly by the city
man, as som ething that concerns him
little or not at all. 1t is addressed to
the city and town dweller as much
as to anyone else, if not more SO. 1t
is war measure-one more appeal to
the complete patriot. If you would
do your full duty by your country and
clVllizauon, you must keep a hen!
Already a number of American
cities have lifted the ban on chick
ems by SO amending their laws that
poultry may be raised within their
hnits. Many more cities are expect
ed TO follow suit. as the federal bat
tery OF poultry orators gets into ac-
tlon. 1heSe prophets of the new
chicken coop will address chambers of
commerce, church sociables. business
men ciuos, schools-all sorts of or
esting and timely poultry news to the
press IN their respective districts
Convlnc1ngly and fulsomely they will
set forth the case for the hen.
Iney are not talking to the profess
slonai poultry man. The operations
u, .iIis WHY gentleman are sufficient
~ ana unaltera bly, regulated by the
eondltlon of the market. He produces
what he can sell, and he knows what
and how much that is better than
anyone else. Furthermore. he buys
gram IN large quantities for his chick
ems and that grain would otherwise be
used for human food or converted into
some other kind of meat There is
no real saving of food values that
would otherwise be lost in his OPERA
tons
But very different is the case of the
small farmer. who raises chickens in
c1dentally. and still more so the case
or the city or town dweller who Keeps
few hens Both of these classes. and
especially the latter are annually
throwing away great quantities of food
in the form of table waste. IT is all
good chicken feed. There is believed
to be enough of it available to feed
about two hundred million chickens.
And the department hopes to actually
increase the number of chickens in
the country, by perhaps a quarter of
that number.
The laws which prevent the keep
ing of chickens within the limits of
cities are the most formida BILE barrier
to the increase of poultry, and the
conversion of garbage into eggs. The
cities and towns must change their
laws. For upon study of the ques-
ton, it is found that the hen is not
the party who brought this legal dis
ability upon her kind. 1t was her
noisier half. II was the growing roost-
u yod rCt CT u,
exile. The ideal municipal law with
regard to chickens provides for in
spection of all poultry yards to see tina t
there are no ROSTERS. and that they
are kept reasonably clean. The hen
is certainly a much more cIeanly ami
NAL than the bull pup who eats the
scraps in so many households and a
more useful one than the parrot who
consumes expensive feeds in so many
others.
Neither of them, you will say, is as
much expense and trouble as a flock
of chickens. But there you are wrong
For you are not asked to keep large
flock. Two hens for each member of
the family is about right. The table
scraps will keep these with a very
| ment it. You will buy the hens in
the market-young- hens if possible.
They will provide about an egg a day
for each member of the family. That
| is more than the average family eats.
To be exact, the average consumption
| per capita is fourteen dozen eggs a
| year, and the average consumption of
| poultry is two and one-half fowls per
capita. Thus, if a family of three
| keeps six hens, it may in theory get
more than the average number of
| eggs. When the hens quit laying
| they can be eaten, so that each mem
Der of the family will be only half a
| hen behind his regular allowance of
poultry. If the birds have been fed
| on the table scraps. the only expense
of the whole operation will be the diff
| ference between the market value of
the birds when they were bought and
| when they were killed. There may
even be favorable balance of trade
i Such would be the case now with hens
| bought in 1915.
OF course, this theoretical operation
is subject to many practical diff
ficulties. The neighbours dog may
cause an abnormal mortality among
the flock; they may get the pip OF
fly over the fence. But the thing car
it isn't. you can comfort yourself with
| the thought that it is patriotic
| 1t VIII be noted that there is nc
embarrassing connected with this
| backyard hen-keeping. This inspiring
| phase of the chicken business is rem.
dered impossible for the city man b,
the unfortunate vocalizations of the
rooster. The egg is the only increass
possible from a single parent. o.
4 course. it is possib BILE to buy fertile egg.
| in the country and hatch them in al
| incubator. But in that case every
| youthful chantic1eer would have to b,
| disposed of before he reached a crow
ing age. Otherwise both the law ant
your neighbors will be against you. No
this city chicken farming is a matte
of letting the farmer raise the chick
ems, and the giving those of the gen
tier sex the proverbia1 good home.
The case of the man who lives il
suburbs or the country is different
He is urged to raise birds and to keel