COOPERATIVE MARKETING 449 



favored by that particular firm, and thus* realizes a higher price. 

 Feathers bring from 25 to 40 cents per pound the year round. 



Duck feathers are more valuable, and they are very abundant. 

 Goose feathers bring the highest price, but the supply is limited. 



How to Handle the Manure. Poultry manure is one of the 

 most valuable fertilizers produced by farm animals, being espe- 

 cially rich in nitrogen, and in demand for truck raising. For this 

 purpose it finds a ready market at seventy-five to eighty cents 

 per barrel the year round. This product accumulates in consider- 

 able quantity on the average poultry farm, and if properly pre- 

 served and cared for, is a valuable ingredient to enrich the soil. 

 Poultry manure in the fresh state contains about fifty to sixty 

 per cent of water, from one to one and one-half per cent of nitrogen, 

 and from one-half to three-fourths of one per cent phosphoric 

 acid and potash. If the manure is to retain its fertility, it should 

 be collected regularly and properly taken care of. This necessi- 

 tates the use of a good absorbent on the dropping boards, or 

 under the perches if dropping boards are not used. 



A mixture of equal parts of land plaster and loam is very good for 

 this purpose. Sifted coal ashes are also useful, and dry, pulverized 

 peat moss is excellent. Ground phosphate rock is often used. The 

 material used should absorb the moisture and dry out the droppings 

 quickly, yet in itself be a good fertilizer. Sawdust and shavings are 

 undesirable, as, if used in large quantities, they are injurious to 

 the land. Lime is also objectionable, as it liberates the ammonia 

 containing the nitrogen. The droppings should be placed in a 

 covered receptacle where the rain cannot wash and leach them. 



If they can be kept dry so much the better. A large box or 

 storage bin of heavy planking or, better yet, of hollow tile, so con- 

 structed that the air will circulate through the mass of droppings, 

 is very effective. If the amount is limited, because of the small 

 number of birds kept, a good way is to use covered barrels in which 

 a few holes are bored to admit air. They are handy from the fact 

 that they can be easily carried to the field when needed for spread- 

 ing, and save extra labor. The practice of spreading such manure 

 frequently on the fields is better than using storage sheds. 



COOPERATIVE MARKETING. 



Of all questions confronting the poultryman, that of marketing 

 is by far the most intricate and difficult of solution. It involves 

 efficient methods in production and preparation and good busi- 

 29 



