CHAPTER XIX 



POULTRY, BIRDS AND BEES 



POULTRY ON THE FARM' 



Importance of Poultry Industry. — Many persons believe 

 that raising poultry is a small business, hardly worthy of 

 a man's time, and that a few chickens are good simply as a 





Figure 108. — A neat flock of Barred Plymouth Rocks. 



pastime for those who live in town, or as a source of pin 

 money for women on farms. 



It is true that the greater part of the poultry raised is 

 raised in just this way; but, in spite of this fact, poultry 

 brings to the farms of the country many millions of dollars 

 annually. In fact, the poultry product of the United 

 States is greater than the dairy product. In many dairy 

 communities, where creameries ship out twenty to fifty 

 thousand dollars worth of butter a year, the poultry and 

 eggs sold bring in as much, and in some cases more, than 

 the butter. 



Poultry Records. — The Minnesota Experiment Station 

 has been gathering very accurate statistics for several years, 

 on eight average farms in each of three counties in Minne- 



