52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



able showing, with a poultry product valued at $1,407,681 

 and au egg product at $2,571,341, making a total of $3,970,- 

 022. To this amount should be added the value of the fowls, 

 which are a permanent part of our live stock population. 



According to the figures compiled by the Secretary of 

 the Commonwealth, published in Public Document, No. 19, 

 entitled " Aggregates of Polls, Property, Taxes, etc., for 

 1907," there were assessed in Massachusetts, in 1907, 911,- 

 557 fowls, with an assessed valuation of $428,182. In 

 comparison with the returns for 1905, this gives an increase 

 of 192,249 birds, with an assessed value of $95,275. When 

 we add the assessed value of the poultry returned by the 

 assessors on May 1, 1907, to the income from jx)ultry and 

 eggs, it gives a grand total of $4,407,204. 



Large as these figures are, they still fail to do justice to 

 the poultry industry of the State. It is the custom, if I 

 am not mistaken, for assessors not to include in their re- 

 turns of taxal)lo property fowls the number of which does 

 not exceed 30. If this is the general practice, it is at once 

 apparent that we have in this State a considerable poultry 

 population of which no return is made to the Secretary of the 

 Commonwealth, and does not consequently appear in the tabu- 

 lated statement made uj) in his office from the returns of 

 the assessors. What the number so kejit amounts to it is 

 even difficult to estimate. It is certainly sufficient to swell 

 the total to a considerable extent, as we all know that many 

 small flocks of birds numbering less than 30 are kept by our 

 suburban residents. In fact, many of the best flocks of pure- 

 breds are kept on village lots rather than on ponltry farms. 



Even though we do not take into account these small 

 suburban flocks, but take the figures as they are, $4,407,204 

 representing the value of our jioultry industry annually, it 

 is conclusive that it constitutes a factor of importance of 

 our State agricultural system. It is apparent that we have 

 by no means reached the limit of possibilities in this busi- 

 ness. 



While definite figures are not at hand to show what the 

 increase in this industry as a national enterprise has been 

 in the last decade, it is certainly safe to conclude that it has 



