No. C. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 2fl5 



Earnings of poultry, .1?21J(),(}U0,0UU 00 



Total of pensions, i:iD,280,078 15 



Total of school expenditures, 17S,215,55G 00 



Total interest on mortgages, 70,128,077 00 



Value of swine, 180,520,745 00 



Value of potato crop, 78,984,001 00 



Value of tobacco crop, 35,574,220 00 



Value of cotton crop, 259,104,040 00 



Value of oat crop, 103,055,008 00 



Value of wheat crop, 237,938,998 00 



Salaries of all school teachers, 110,377,778 00 



Value of all church property, 079,030,139 00 



Total military expenses, 52,947,075 00 



Value of all minerals, 218,108,788 00 



Value of gold, 40,010,000 00 



Value of silver, 72,510,000 00 



Value of wool, 38,140,559 00 



^'alue of sheep, 08,107,725 00 



Value of milch cows, 203,955,545 00 



Now, you will see that there is only one industry or property, that 

 exceeds the value of the poultry industry, and that is our church 

 valuation, which is more than 079,000,000; and there is only four in- 

 dustries that exceeds 200,000,000, the cotton crop, all minerals, wheat 

 crop and the value of the milch cows. I give you these figures so as 

 to impress upon you the'magnitude of the business. It is one of the 

 industries that nearly every one contributes to. 



To get down to my subject, let us ask ourselves, ''How can we 

 make poultry profitable?" Can we make any business profitable 

 by keeping inferior stock or goods, and not give it our most careful 

 consideration and attention. In the first place, prepare yourself 

 to properly house your poultry w^hen they need your assistance to 

 keep them comfortable. Allow me to give you a little advice, al- 

 thougii being younger than some of you in years, I feel confident I 

 can aid you in this matter. It has been proven beyond a pread- 

 venture of a doubt, that where poultry is kept in flocks of more than 

 twenty-five head, they are not profitable. As to the size of the 

 house, the building should not be less than 50x14 feet, for a flock of 

 fifty and) seventy-five at the most, and the flock should be divided 

 into two or three flocks of tw^enty-five each. Your house should be 

 well built, not costly or extravagant, but substantial. It can be 

 built for $75 complete. Perfectly dry, and allow me to impress this 

 upon you, and thereby save yourself trouble in the future, when 

 you least expect it. In winter time have it well lighted and ven- 



