CHAPTER XVI. 



Poultry. 



The poultry problem is in many respects similar to the dairy 

 problem. Hon. James Wilson, United States Secretary of Ag- 

 riculture in his annual report dated November 22, 1905, said : 



"The farmer's hen is becoming a worthy companion to his 

 cow." 



Still more recently, in 1911, Secretary Wilson said: "We 

 can hardly employ ordinary arithmetic in keeping track of the 

 growth of the poultry industry. It has developed more rapidly 

 within the last decade than any other of the big and wonderful 

 agricultural industries of this big and wonderful country of ours." 



PROBLEMS. 



In ten years the annual production of poultry and eggs in- 

 creased from a valuation of $280,686,429 in 1900, as per 

 United States census report to more than $850,000,000 for the 

 year which ended June 30, 1910. What was the per cent gain? 



A Billion Dollar Industry. 



The poultry business has become one of the leading agricul- 

 tural industries of the country. The following figures will show 

 how rapid has been the growth in recent years : 



Value of 

 Year. poultry products. 



1889 $282,000,000 



1904 500,000,000 



1907 600,000,000 



1909 700,000,000 



1914 1,000,000,000 



It is now undoubtedly one of our billion dollar industries. 



Thought, study, observation, investigation and experimenta- 

 tion will undoubtedly double this production within a remark- 

 ably short period. 



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