No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 435 



papers, household papers and tie great popular magazines even have 

 paid much flattering attention to poultry husbandry within this 

 last year. 



Nor have as many students in any one year been enrolled as tak- 

 ing the poultry courses as this year at our State College. Nor has 

 all this great increase in interest and knowledge and amount of 

 poultry kept, as yet affected prices as some would seem to think. 

 Or, as some Avould even fear, that the business be overdone. So 

 large is the demand for fresh eggs and good table poultry, and so 

 enormous tbe amount of both annually imjiorted into the State, 

 that it will be many years if ever that the above will como about. 

 What temporary slumj) there has been in prices in poultry meat and 

 in eggs, was due to that tlie past summer was unusuall}' favorable 

 for the rearing of late chicks, throwing an enormous amount of 

 killing stock on the market. And the very unusual weather con- 

 ditions of December set the pullets of this late stock to laying, 

 where usually it would have been postponed until February. In 

 fact it set all sorts of non-winter la3dng fowls to laying and thus 

 lowering the price of eggs by the unheard of increase in supply. 



Most important G<f all, never before has the poultry industry in- 

 cluded within its ranks so many earnest, intelligent and resourceful 

 people, and the industry at lai-ge has in this country today the 

 largest and most active livestock organization in the world. Penn- 

 sylvania has never before had so many organized poultry associa- 

 tions. One at least in nearly every county and in some counties two 

 and three and even four. Its State organization, known as the Penn- 

 svlvania Branch, American Poultrv Association, includes all the 

 larger and most of the smaller of these organizations as members.. 



At their annual convention at Scranton last week, they transacted 

 much important business looking towards the uplift of the poultry 

 industry in this State; among other things, voting unanimously 

 to make an effort to secure from the next Legislature an appropria- 

 tion giving State College a suitable plant and equipment to teach 

 poultry culture, and as auxilliary to this, an annual appropriation for 

 the support of poultry shows, where people could be interested and 

 shown directly and locally the work being done at State College. 

 Also, an annual appropriation towards the support of a Division 

 of Poultry Husbandry of the State Department of Agriculture, for 

 the more direct benefit of the people at large wanting advice or aid 

 or needing protection or regulation so that they may have actually 

 fresh and clean eggs and clean and healthful meat. 



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