BROILERS AND ROASTERS. 13 



the demands of the best market, and are marketable at the 

 right time, is good enough to make it worth while for 

 those producing them to pay more attention to these points,, 

 and perhaps to make such changes in their general stock 

 and system as will give them the most profitable by-product 

 of soft roasters. 



11. Combining Broilers and Roasters. This com- 

 bination does not appeal much to the large roaster 

 specialist who had demonstrated to his own satisfaction 

 that for one who is able to carry his stock through to 

 roaster size the best prices paid for broilers are no tempta- 

 tion to dispose of growing stock at the broiler season. 

 The grower of large roasters considers that his work is 

 practically done, that all ordinary risks are over when the 

 chicken has reached broiler size, and nothing more 

 remains but to keep it supplied with feed, keep the pullets 

 if possible from laying, and hope that the proportion of 

 caponized cockerels that develop intcT slips will be small. 

 The end and aim of all his plans and work is to have as 

 many large roasters as possible ready to market at the 

 height of the season. With the broiler grower it is differ- 

 ent. Many times he is in doubt as to whether to market a 

 particular lot of chicks as broilers, or hold them to sell as 

 roasters, and many times he inclines to hold them, or 

 would if he could handle them to advantage without inter- 

 fering with his other departments. A lack of knowledge 

 of the easy and economical methods which prevail in the 

 " soft roaster" section has no doubt kept many from hold- 

 ing chicks for roasters which would have been far more 

 profitable if so handled. Then the ease of handling 

 roasters, with the proper facilities, is such that it would 

 be a comparatively simple matter for many a poultryman 



