114 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



people of the State. How well we feed lier, liow intelligently we breed 

 lier, how appropriately we lionse her and how successfully we hatch and 

 rear her young will determine her standing among the hens of the world. 

 In other words, the destiny of the Missouri hen or any other hen rests 

 primarily upon the education and the enterprise of her keeper. 



In other words, what we know about successful poultry husbandry 

 and how well we apply our knowledge, the other conditions being equal, 

 will decide whether the Missouri hen is to be superior or inferior to 

 other hens. The responsibility is upon the°people, not upon the hens. 



What, then, are we going to do about it? Is the Missouri hen 

 destined to be any better than are other hens? Education is the key 

 note to the situation. It is the determining factor. Other things being 

 equal, the State or nation that is best educated will win out in competi- 

 tion with the world. The answer, therefore, is to educate the people in 

 the science and the art of poultry husbandry. The people cannot be 

 left to educate themselves. The State and the Nation must take the 

 initiative. Man cannot "Lift himself by his boot straps." The govern- 

 ment which represents all the people must boost. 



There are at least eighteen reasons, all good arguments, why the 

 State should develop its poultry industries. Briefly these will be pre- 

 sented. 



First — Poultry husbandry is one of the largest of the agricultural 

 industries. Its size and importance command attention and deserve 

 consideration. The value of the poultry products on the farms, based 

 on the census of 1900, is undoubtedly in excess of $500,000,000 a year, 

 and in villages and cities at least $15,000,000 more. In 1900 it is esti- 

 mated that more than 1,000,000,000 dozen eggs were produced. It is 

 estimated that one egg per day and five fowls per year are consumed 

 by each inhabitant. On this basis it would require over two and one- 

 half billion eggs to supply our present population. 



Poultry husbandry contributes an important part to the agricul- 

 tural wealth of the country. Over 16 per cent of annual products, ac- 

 cording to the census of 1900, was poultry and eggs. Of the 5,730,000 

 farmers in the United States in 1900, 5,000,000 of them kept poultry. 

 Or, in other words, 80 per cent. 



Second — Poultry husbandry is concerned in the production of 

 human food of great economical importance to tlie entire people, and 

 because of this fact whatever aids in improving the quality or increas- 

 ing the quantity of poultry products will directly aid in the problem of 

 feeding the race and keeping it strong and efficient. 



Third — Poultry luisbandry is one of the great branches of agricul- 



