REPORT OF TEE POULTRY MANAGER 227 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



EEPORT OF THE POULTRY MANAGER. 



The rapid development that is taking place in jKiultry-keeping, as a profitable 

 branch of agriculture, is well instanced by the large and increasing demand on the 

 part of farmers and others for information. This demand has been met with all 

 possible despatch and liberality from our Division. 



The favourable opinion of the farmers of the country towards the poultry branch 

 of their farm work, is forcibly shown by the following quotations from an official 

 publication entitled, ' Crops and Live Stock of Ontario,' which, for many years past, 

 has been issued annually under the auspices of the Ontario Department of Agricul- 

 ture. It gives the opinions of farmer correspondents, at diiferent points of the pro- 

 vince, on the value of poultry-keeping. In the issue of last year the opinions of fifty- 

 three individuals are given. Of this number fifty speak favourably of poultry-keeping. 

 Some of these favourable comments are as follows : — 



The correspondent at Harwick, Kent, Ont., says : * Poultry are the best paying 

 thing on the farm, but they take careful looking after.' 



The correspondent at Sydenham, Grey, says : ' Poultry are selling high. In fact 

 the economically-kept poultry farm is the best money-maker just now, the cost of 

 equipment being taken into consideration.' 



The report from Minto, Wellington, says : ' Good, well-bred poultry, if properly 

 attended to, will give their owner a clear profit of one dollar per hen. We get $4 

 apiece for our Bronze turkey cockerels, and $3 for pullets, and so on.' 



Many more quotations might be given, but the foregoing are sufficient to show the 

 farmers' appreciation of poultry-keeping as a profitable branch of farm work. 



SOME USEFUL LESSONS LEARNED FROM A VARIED CORRES- 

 PONDENCE. 



The careful reading of this correspondence leads to the conclusion that the great 

 majority of those who intend to begin poultry-keeping, or who ask as to its possibili- 

 ties, have a very imperfect conception of how profitable poultry-keeping should be 

 conducted. It may be beneficial to many such inquirers, as well as to those Avho have 

 recently commenced poultry-keeping, to note and comment upon some of these 

 erroneous impressions. The more common of these impressions are noted as follows : — 



EUKOR NO. 1 AND COMMENT THEREON. 



That poultry-keeping, unlike other branches of business, can be successfully 

 undertaken without any previous knowledge of it. 



Comment thereon. — A thorough knowledge of the latest and best methods of 

 poultry-keeping by the intending poultry keeper, particularly if he aims to be a spe- 

 cialist, is requisite to success. The two following letters may serve to illustrate right 

 and wrong estimates of poultry-keeping. The first reads : ' Dear Sir, — Kindly send 

 me all information as to the most up-to-date methods of keeping poultry. I intend to 

 take up the business when I know something about its proper management.' 



The second correspondent says: 'Dear Sir, — I have just purchased 100 Barred 

 Plymouth Rock pullets. Please tell me how to manage them, for I know nothing about 

 poultry-keeping.' 



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