No. 4.] POULTRY CULTURE. 243 



ized line of agriculture. Most of them are in the South Shore 

 District mentioned above. This district includes the towns of 

 Hanson, Rockland, Hanover, Pembroke, Marshfield, Duxbury 

 and Abington in Plymouth County. The systems or methods 

 of carrying on the work vary to the same extent as those found 

 among the market-egg producers. On some of these farms no 

 breeders or layers are kept except for family use. Eggs for 

 hatching are bought and incubated from July to November, the 

 chicks brooded in- long pipe brooder houses, grown to maturity 

 in colony houses, and placed on the market from March to 

 July. The killing and picking are done principally by one 

 man who runs a commercial establishment of that kind. There 

 is no expense to the producer in advertising and selling, as the 

 buyer comes to the farm every week and takes those that are 

 ripe (in good condition) till they are all gone. No doubt more 

 poultry history has been made in this section of the State than 

 in any other part of the country, at least so far as utility 

 poultry farming is concerned. It is here that caponizing was 

 put to practical use on a large scale, and the large pipe brooder 

 house reached its maximum use. 



Broilers. 



The production of broilers as a specialized line of agriculture 

 has never met with any great success. This is due to a num- 

 ber of causes, the first of which is the lack of knowledge in 

 systematizing and conducting such an enterprise; second, the 

 methods used were too intensive; and third, the cold-storage 

 plants brought down the price at a time of the year when the 

 business should yield its greatest profit. When these broiler 

 plants began to operate they found there was an over-produc- 

 tion from June till October, during which time the cold-storage 

 plants filled up, and kept the price down until the following 

 spring. One of the great difficulties encountered was the in- 

 ability to obtain good, fertile eggs every day in the year. In 

 order for a large, expensive plant to be successful, several 

 hundred eggs must be set daily, and the period when they are 

 needed most is that in which eggs are very scarce and hatch 

 poorly. For example, to pay a high price for eggs during the 

 months of November, December and January, hatch not more 



