Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-16
WAR TIME BACKYARD FLOCKS
TO CONSERVE MEAT SUPPLY
If ii is Patriotic to Observe
Meatless Days, Why Not a
Step Farther7
Produce Your Own Meat Along
With Your Own Vegetables.
BY John A. Fishel
Practical Poultrymhn

More meat More eggsl The
mouths Of an eating public will not be
stopped except by an adequate supply
Of edibles. Here. then, Is our op-
p0rtunity. When Uncle Sam sent
out the call for large supply Of
vegetable foods, the best way to
meet that call was found in millions
Of small gardens-war gardens. Not
much wheat was produced in these
war gardens. yet wheat was the grain
most needed. They produced a dozen
substitutes, and saved the wheat for
the soldiers. Wheat was left for the
broad acres of the west, and the pro-
fessional agriculturists Of the whole
country; while cabbage, tomatoes,
beans, peas, beets, potatoes and
dozen other things were raised in
abundance by the town gardener to
supply his own family, and incidental
ly to release other foodstufTs for ex-
portation.
II war gardens worked well with vege-
tables, why not with meat and eggs2
Send the beef and pork TO the soldiers.
and live on ehicken IF it is an act
of patriotism TO observe meatless DAYS
so that more meat can be preserved for
the boys Mt the front, 1T is Just as much an
act of patriotism to avoid the meat mar
kets altogether and raise your own meat
for the other days. If 1T is an act Of
patriotism to cook without eggs so that
the hospitals may have a larger supply
for the weak and wounded, II is Just as
much an act of patriotism to produce
your own eggs instead of robbing the
market by buying them; and It IS still
more An act Of patriotism to produce
more than you can use to help with the
supply in the market.
The logic Of the home chicken yard
is unassailable Cows and pigs can not
conveniently he raised on every town
lot The cows are too large and cumber-
some, and the Town Council might oh
Iect to the pig-sty. Chickens, being
small and friendly, are the logical deni-
zens of every patriotic back yard. They
20 hand in hand with the war garden,
and do their bit nobly to help win the
war tt is no wonder that thousands
not heretofore interested are casting
their eyes about for hint as to whether
and how, to take the first step In the
chicken business. And it is no wonder
that thousands Of heretofore small own
ers are hesltating on the verge OF a
larger investment.
NOW IL THE TIME.
You who are thinking Of beginning
arc asking yourselves, If | feed my
flock for six months without any returns,
how can | be sure they will make up
for the expense later
There is but one criterion by which
tins question may be answered IN a
general way, and that is the actual
| accomplishment Of other poultry yards
1t is a mistake to suppose that no re-
turns are possible within the first SIX
months Reckoning that half your flock
| will be roosters, you have two possiDlll-
ties. on may market them at q good
| broiler age two or three months, there
| by realizing Immediately on your invest
ment enough to keep the remainder OF
| the flock till they begin to lay; or you
| may caponize them at the same age,
! thereby giving them quiet disposition,
avoiding all fighting and similar trouble
and producing within SIX months from
| birth, birds OF mulch finer quality for
| the table as well as heavier by from one
| to three pounds each than your cockereis
/ of the same age Leave these birds for
year, and vour ordinary Thanksgiving
| turkey will come IN a poor second so far
as quality and weight are concerned.
| Where a market for capons Is accessible,
you will probably find these the most
| paving part Of your flock
| But let us get back TO the eggs. On
| the basis of a year, l50 eggs Is recokned
| as 4 flock average. That Is, large
| flock of good stock, we'll cared for. can
| be depended on TO produce an average
of 150 eggs per hen. Now 1t Is a known
| fact in poultry circles that q small flock
we'll cared for will ordinarily have q
| larger egg yield than a large flock, but
Il l.. >, fs.R
| 1870 eggs for the beginner. Now, the
price of feed and the price OF eggs Will,
as rule, balance, and one should be
able to care for one hen on the price of
| so eggs, thus leaving j gain of fifty eggs
| per hen each year. above the cost OF feed.
All this figuring may mean something
or it may mean nothing 10 you. The
vital fact is that your risk Is covered if
you have a good breed, by the fact that
whether they lay or not. You have the
hens left TO cover YOUR investment. and
any time you feel like dropping out, YOU
can turn them into money very easily
by dealing with your nearest meat
market.
THE Personal RISk.
Thoroughbred stock, bred to lay, from q
reliable firm, is absolutely no risk
They have the blood They have the
inherited tendencies. They have the
machinery to produce the eggs, and
they can't help producing far more than
enough to pay for their lodging and
board if they have half chance. |
would not advise a beginner who ex-
poets TO make money on eggs TO buy
any other stock than the best Other
wise there is the risk that the stock will
not be able to produce eggs even with