8 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



are omitted, pending appearance of the new Census for 1919. 

 A publication containing these detailed figures by counties is 

 contemplated. 



The Present Poultry Situation. 



The poultry industry of our State received a decided setback 

 during the war period due, first, to the fact that at the very 

 beginning of the war the price of feed almost doubled in a 

 comparatively short time, while the price of eggs and poultry 

 remained stationary during the same period; and, second, to 

 the peculiar status of our poultry industry. In other sections 

 of the country, farm flocks constitute practically the entire 

 poultry population, but not so here. The small backyard 

 flocks, the small commercial flocks of from 50 to 200 hens, 

 also a side line enterprise, and the truly commercial or specialty 

 flocks, containing 300 to 1,000 or more hens, constitute a very 

 material part of our poultry industry. As the cost of feed is 

 the main item of expense in handling such flocks as the first 

 two mentioned, particularly, and since the demand for labor 

 in the war industries was so great and bonuses offered so 

 tempting, it is no wonder that these classes of poultry were 

 very hard hit. On the other hand, farm flocks suffered very 

 little because most of their feed was raised and accounts were 

 not kept on most farms, so the owners did not know whether 

 they were being handled at a loss or not. As long as high 

 priced feed was not purchased they did not worry. These 

 are the reasons, then, why our poultry industry has suffered 

 more than that of other sections. However, it is coming back 

 and coming fast, for the economic conditions that caused the 

 decrease are now reversed. Prices of feeds are lower, while 

 those of poultry and eggs are still high, and there is no great 

 demand for labor in the industries. 



There is, however, a brighter side to the business. The best 

 poultrymen stayed in the work, and particular attention was 

 given to culling, that is, disposing of the poor or non-producing 

 birds. This was resorted to early in the war as a means of 

 reducing production costs, and proved so advantageous that it 

 was continued and is now an important factor in systematic 

 poultry keeping. It has been adopted by practically all breed- 



