238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



other are very few indeed. The fact that trolley lines run express 

 cars means good service in every part of the State. Again, in 

 a section of the country so densely populated as this many rail- 

 road trains must be run daily in order to handle the traffic. 

 Quick and efficient service is the result. 



One of the greatest assets of the farmer is good roads, and 

 we venture to say that no State has a better system of State 

 roads than Massachusetts. Only those who have been obliged 

 to use poor roads can fully appreciate the value of good ones. 

 It is not overestimating to state that with a system of roads 

 such as we have here fully half the time usually spent in mar- 

 keting and hauling is saved. With the present-day prices of 

 labor this is an item well worth considering. These exceptional 

 facilities in transportation, therefore, enable the poultrymen of 

 the State to get their products to market quickly, in good con- 

 dition and at a low cost, to say nothing about the labor and 

 expense saved in obtaining grain and other raw materials. 



Construction. 



It is true that the cost of lumber and labor are much higher 

 at present than a number of years ago, but our modern methods 

 of construction and management nearly offset the difference. 

 The building of wider houses and keeping hens in flocks of from 

 100 to 150 has decreased very materially the cost per hen for 

 housing. For instance, a house 8 feet deep and 100 feet long 

 will house about 160 to 175 hens, and one 18 feet deep and 100 

 feet long will house 400 hens. But the former has 216 running 

 feet of wall and the latter 236. The extra 20 running feet of 

 wall and additional roofing more than doubles the capacity of 

 the house. Again, certain manufactured commercial materials 

 are gradually taking the place of lumber, and sand and gravel 

 can be obtained practically for the handling for concrete con- 

 struction. 



Quick Returns. 



There is probably no line of farming that furnishes quicker 

 returns than those obtained from poultry. To those who have 

 but little capital this is an important consideration. If one 

 begins by buying mature pullets or hens the income is im- 



