BRIEF REVIEW OF FOREIGN POULTRY KEEPING 35 



the one most often cheated. Simple records and a short method 

 of accounting should be worked out which will show at any time 

 just where the business stands financially. 



Such a series of records should show an inventory which gives 

 the nature and value of equipment at the first of each year. The 

 distribution of crops and the arrangement of birds in flocks should 

 be planned and shown on map. A simple set of single-entry 

 books should be kept, showing the actual expense of operation ns 

 well as the income and the different sources from which it came. 

 With this information at hand it is a simple matter to strike a 

 balance and know the exact financial condition of the business. 



The vital question confronting the American poultryman 

 to-day is not, How can I get better prices for poultry products? 

 but, How can I produce a higher quality at a lower cost? This 

 same question was the important one years ago, and its solu- 

 tion will always be of vital moment. The factors which can 

 be made to partially solve the problem at the present time 

 are: (1) Better birds; (2) more careful mating and breeding; 

 (3) scientific study of laws governing nutrition; (4) more liberal 

 feeding during heavy producing periods; (5) more economical 

 and sanitary housing of the laying stock; and (6) more attention 

 to the handling and marketing of poultry products. With thought 

 and attention to these points the 3'earl3' profit per bird would 

 show a great increase. 



Brief Review of Foreign Poultry Keepmg. — European countries 

 ,is a whole have received a great awakening along poultry lines dur- 

 ing recent years, there being a great increase in the number of 

 fowls kept, also a great improvement in birds and methods adopted. 

 (Facts from Bulletin No. 65, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 



In Englcnid the poultry industry is greatly handicapped by 

 the preservation of foxes for the purpose of the hunt. There is 

 a special tax which goes to defray the injury done to poultry from 

 this source, j-et in man}'' cases justice is not done. In some in- 

 stances false claims are entered which tend to make unpleasant 

 conditions common. 



In spite of this handicap the industry has increased annually 

 until the yearly production has reached about ten million dollars. 

 The one great peculiarity of the English system is the use of small 

 portable houses, sometimes on wheels, which can be easily moved 

 from place to place, thus giving the birds new ground at all times. 

 The majority of English flocks of poultry are kept on small 



