WTIY RAISE SQUABS? 19 



is to say, if one raises squabs and grain, the amount of grain 

 that he feeds his birds should be charged up against his birds, 

 and credited to grain, for he could have sold his grain on the 

 market, and taken the same money and bought grain from a 

 neighbor with which to feed his squabs. The two businesses, 

 therefore, are separate industries. Of course, if grain is used on 

 a farm where it is raised, the expense of delivery is eliminated, 

 and it is possible to raise a particular kind especially for pig- 

 eons to an advantage over purchasing it, on account of freight 

 ■charges and middlem^an's profit. 



One of the greatest assets of a squab plant located on a farm 

 is the fact that a farmer could in many cases use an extra hand 

 if he was raising squabs as a part of his business; while without 

 the squab plant he would not have sufficient work to justify 

 an extra hand, and the man with just a squab plant would 

 also not have sufficient work to justify an extra hand. As an 

 example, chickens require careful attention in the morning and 

 night, especially during the hatching and brooding season. 

 Pigeons can be cared for any time during the day, so a chicken 

 raiser could breed squabs to an advantage. 



Probably the best way for one to calculate the most suitable 

 place to raise squabs is to reckon from his present position, and 

 then change his location and vocation the smallest degree pos- 

 sible to enable him to embark in the squab industry on a scale 

 his experience and convenience will permit, and then change 

 his location and vocation as the growth of the squab industry 

 demanded. 



WHEN TO START IN THE SQUAB BUSINESS 



Josh Billings wrote that "the time to set a hen was when the 

 hen was ready." Pigeons breed the year round. There is noth- 

 ing therefore to be gained in waiting for a certain time of the 

 year to start. It seems to be natural for every person to want 

 to undertake some outdoor work in the spring of the year. All 

 nature seems to be awake at that period, and the human body 

 and mind is no exception, and for that reason more people 

 start raising squabs in the spring than any other season. I 

 know no other reason for so doing, and there is no advantage 

 to be gained by starting one month over another. Squabs 



