Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-22


tied space for the growing Of his
chickens and with no land upon
which to grow any considerable
amount of the various foodstuffs Is
handicapped. inasmuch as he must
purchase practically all feeds re-
CURED. and If his chickens are COM
paratively few in number. ne must
purchase at local retail prices, while
his poultry products are frequently
sold at wholesale.
Under such conditions it is usually
more profitable to dispose of the
young cockerels as soon as they reach
marketable size and weight, which
varies according to the season and
to the demands Of the local markets.
any IN the 'nsn. ass. for srs.
in the hotels for what is known
as the SQUAD broiler. or dressed
chicken Weighing from one to one
and-a.qnarter pounds, and high prices
are paid. owing to the fact that the
weight during the months Of March,
April and May. when the highest
prices may be obtained. the chicks
must be Matched in January or Feb
ruary. It should, however. be borne
In mind that comparatively little
Matching is done, and with good rea-
son. during these months, except on
the specialist furnishes only small
percentage Of the poultry products
produced and marketed in the United
States, the demand for the early
broiler is not supplied.
At this point I should like to call
to the attention of the reader the
fact that broiler production. as q dis
tinct branch Of the poultry industry.
has seldom proved successful In this
country. and would advise those
who. in their ignorance Of actual con-
broiler raising. favor this branch Of
the work, to consider carefully the
problems involved. a discussion OF
which would require more space than
can give in this article.
For the poultryman, who has un-
limited range for his growing stock.
whose fields will furnish q variety
of food materials in abundance. great
er profits may be secured by growing
the rooster. The roaster IL spring
chicken weighing anywhere from four
pounds up, though in our markets
there is little demand for Individual
chickens of more than ten pounds IN
weight The rooster is the pride OF
the marketman and the poultryman.
In the south shore district of Massa-
chusetts and on the farms in the cen
trail part Of western New Jersey the
growing of the so called soft roaster"
ia an important industry. and many
farmers on the south shore depend
largely upon this for the bulk OF their
income, though the work may be car
ried on as a side line or as an ex-
section are small. and the growing
Of chickens is confined to more or
less limited areas. while in New Jer-
sey the farms are larger, and the
Young stock Is allowed unlimited
range over the grain a =. ana "a. p paioa1I1
ready for market. The average net
profit Der bird for the south shore
product IT, in normal times. or was
before the war. from IS cents to 81.
while, according to Prof. Lewis OF
the New Jersey experiment station:
roasters in central New Jersey av-
era1ed from one to two dollars for
every bird of this kind marketed.
For this work the fowls of the
larger breeds, such as the Brahma'
dottes are used, though the Rhode
island Red and Orpington NAV be
grown at a profit. The latter is large;
meaty, full-breasted and meets all
fowl. but. unfortunately. it is handi,
CAPPED with pinkish white legs and
skin. which are in many cases OBJ
fashionable to our buyers. The mar
kets Of this country demand yellow
skin and yellow legs. while in Eng
land the white skin and legs are pre-
ferred.
The popular fowls in Massachusetts,
are the Brahmas and the Plymouth
Rocks or a cross between the two.
The old time Brahma is one of the
largest breeds Of chickens and Is
ed, dne favored. and tender flesh. but
Of late years it is becoming less pop
ular. It is falling off in weight. as II
gains in egg-laying qualities. Tho
Plymouth Rock, because of its size,
its rapid growth and higher egg
place Of the Brahma, and while its
flesh is not quite SO fine grained as
that Of the Brahma, it makes in every
respect first class roasting chicken.
Henry D. Smith, one of the most
successful growers of the soft rooster
tween the Brahma and the Plymouth
Rock.
The rooster grower of the south
Sh0ro SELDOM maintains any preceding
stock on his farm. but buys his eggs
from others who produce them for
this purpose. and as the natives Of
this section have contracted in ad-
vance for the full CROP" a stranger
settling in the neighborhood expect
ing to purchase eggs for his incu-
bators would have little. If any.
chance Of securing them.
The New Jersey farmer follows Q
somewhat different method. He car.
ries his own breeding and laying
stock and grows only limited mum.