The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-22

In Catawba county, North Carolina live two boyH Their lazt name is Wagner and their first names are Paul and Aleen. me poultry club agent who supervises their work does not state in his rarort Mhat their middle names are. but. tudg- ms rom their achievements, Hustler @ oe emlnently suitable, for in 1919 tHese two lads made a profit of x547 7a on their backyard poultry and so,Iahs anu won v prizes in the best shows in 1ie state, Tn both open and club classes
 raul and Aleen belong to one of the many poultry clubs which are organized oy me United States department of az
 'ure ana the state colleges Last so eal .ney started the seasons work with oo standard-bred hens of three differeu, oreeds-White Leghorns, Barred PIvn- outh Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. The esss ana chickens which the boys sold rom thelr flocks during the year amount ed to SS9S.74. As their expenses were sZ96.22, profit of s2s7.52 was left.
 one end or the poultry house in the
 asher pack yard Is devoted to pigeons, oI which Paul and Aleen have about 1ou palrs. flying pen outside allows the
 pirus an opportunity for outdoor flying ana completes a practical, inexpensive pigeon loft. Almost every week these c,uo poys ship dressed squabs to New
 aorK. In 1919 they sold 7S5 squads, a num- per which, from losing most of the sQuans matched In January and Febr,1- ary is far below what they hope to sell m an ordinary year. The amount re-, celVeo for the squabs sold was s445. g. Ihe cost of their feed was SEA 96. leaving a profit for the boys of s25o. .27.
 only in comparatively recent years has poultry production been recognized as both valuable national asset and a very Imn0rtant ri re ty,. farm One of the important factors in bringing about the realization of the ihn- portance Of the poultry industry is the establishment of poultry clubs among tn. boys and girls Just as poultry Keeping was formerly considered a minor branch or farm work. so 1t was formerly thought that the keeping of fowls was purely an activity for adults. With the deyeIop- ment of other forms of agricultural clubs among children it was found that there was very definite place for clubs hav- ing for their object the production Of poultry. In 1912 this project was formal ly launched by the department of agricui- ture in the state of Virginia
 The poultry club work was begun on a very small and conservative scale. 10 see IT It would be profitable and practical At the end of 1913 the success of the work. as It was carried on in three counties In Virginia with 15o members, proved that 1t had wide possibilities for effective re- suits The project was not only highly practicable in accomplishing It's principal obJect-interesting the boys and girls in rural sections in raising poultry-but It demonstrated that the people in sections where the clubs were formed realized the importance of the work
 In 1919 there were 29,4S0 boys and girls engaged in poultry work in the United States From reports submitted by over l2,oOo of them it is shown that they raised 1852 chicks to maturity and their flocks produced for them s493, 36 in poultry and eggs. When it is considered that thls amount of poultry products was produced by less than one-half of the number O. members enrolled, it Is reasonable to assume that the poultry products pro-