RETORT OF TEE POULTRY MANAGER 111 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



REPORT OF THE POULTRY MANAGER. 



The rapidly increasing value of the poultry products of the country during recent 

 3 ears has been very marked. This gratifying development of the poultry branch of 

 farm work merits the earnest attention of the farmers of the country to whom it 

 should mean much that is profitable. Some of the principal points in this develop- 

 ment may be noted as follows : — ■ 



1. The steadily increasing value of our home market. 



2. A growing demand, at high prices, for strictly new laid eggs and the better 

 quality of poultry. 



3. The adoption of the co-operative principle in the marketing of eggs and poul- 

 try. 



4. The establishment of egg circles in different parts of the country with the 

 object of collecting and disposing of strictly new-laid eggs with greater despatch than 

 by the usual methods. 



5. A marked preference for eggs which are stamped when laid as a guarantee of 

 their prime quality. 



6. A greatly increased inquiry on the part of farmers for information as to up-to- 

 date methods in the housing, breeding and feeding of poultry. 



POINT I. — INCREASING VALUE OP THE HOME MARKET. 



The rapidly growing value of the home market for both eggs and poultry was 

 strikingly instanced by the increased prices of the past winter, during which time fifty 

 cents per dozen were paid to farmers on the city markets, for strictly new-laid eggs 

 and from sixteen to eighteen cents per pound for the best quality of poultry. Mrs. R.i 

 A. Craig, of Osgoode, near Ottawa, wrote that she received fifty cents per dozen for 

 new-laid eggs during December and January from a Montreal dealer. 



In the grocery and provision stores of this city, higher retail prices were asked 

 and were willingly paid for choice poultry products. 



The eggs which obtained the highest prices were not only new-laid, but presented 

 r clean and inviting appearance. They were put up in neat cardboard boxes, on which- 

 was printed the name of the party who sent them, and on each egg was stamped the 

 date when laid. Such packages found ready sale. 



It is claimed that the egg and poultry trade of the Dominion occupies a position 

 that is actually unique, for while we have decreased exports and increased production 

 we have increased prices. But it must be borne in mind that these increased prices' 

 are for the better quality only. The following official figures show the steady decline 

 in the export of eggs and poultry during the past eight years : — 



