COSTS AND PROFITS 41 



is said to be New York. Prices quoted in the 

 newspapers are not to be relied on; the only 

 reliable source is to write to several retail mar- 

 kets and inquire prices they are willing to pay 

 for first-class squabs. The Western market is 

 steadily rising, but at no time has it gone to 

 the height of the New York market, although 

 squab raisers are meeting the demand for a 

 much larger squab than is produced for the 

 New York market. 



My squabs weighed twenty-seven pounds to 

 the dozen and a half, compared to eight to 

 ten pounds to the dozen of the homer, the 

 Eastern standard market squab, yet the highest 

 price I ever received from the market was 

 $4.50. The demand for my squabs was unlim- 

 ited, yet the price never reached to a great 

 height. Whereas in New York the price leaps 

 to six and seven dollars per dozen. 



Taking a mixed flock, as I did, it took me a 

 year to get it into shape, although after a 

 month or two it began to pay expenses. The 

 price of grain fluctuates so much that it is im- 

 possible to set a standard of expenses, but when 

 my birds began to pay dividends, despite the 

 fluctuating prices of grain and market prices of 

 squabs, they invariably evened up at the end of 

 the year. That is, when I paid fifty dollars a 



