42 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



garden, raise small fruits abundantly for family use ; they come in 

 the hot season of the year, promote health, are agreeable to the 

 palate, and every way worth the cost of cultivation, and a great 

 deal more. 



Mr. Stackpole presented the following report on 



Poultry. 



The term poultry attaches to all kinds of domestic fowls. The 

 keeping and rearing of poultry has become quite an important 

 branch of rural economy. Until within a few years the subject 

 has attracted but little attention. It may at first be received as 

 too insignificant to merit serious consideration from the farmer. 

 This is natural ; little things are frequently treated with contempt, 

 although, in the aggregate, they assume magnitude. Because a 

 fair stock of hens, turkeys, geese and ducks, can be bought for a 

 few dollars, they are regarded by many farmers as beneath their 

 attention, as a money making matter. Yet, although the breeding 

 stock of poultry on a farm may be estimated at a few dollars only, 

 a fair valuation of all the poultry in the country gives them a 

 commercial importance ranging with some of our best productions. 

 And although many persons think the profits from this kind of 

 stock is doubtful, yet I think no farmer can consider his establish- 

 ment complete without a supply, for when rightly managed, they 

 are a source of considerable profit. It is true that poultry, to be 

 a source of profit, must receive attention, as well as other 

 stock ; the eggs must be gathered daily, coops must be provided 

 for chickens as they are hatched, and they must be fed. It has 

 been shown by our Agricultural Keports, and by personal 

 experience, that the stock of poultry on the farm may be made, 

 and by many farmers is made, a source of profit exceeding that of 

 any other investment on the farm, in proportion to the expenses, 

 and that it contributes its full share of profits and comfort to the 

 farmer. The use of poultry and eggs have become a necessity, 

 and how to obtain them in the cheapest manner is now receiving 

 more attention than it did formerly ; the number of breeds has 

 been largely increased, and all the poultry of the country has been 

 improved, and its use for food has become much more common 

 among all classes of society than formerly. 



From reliable data, it seems probable that the annual production 

 and consumption of poultry and eggs in the United States, 

 exceeds $20,000,000 in value. I have no doubt that it would be 



