No. 4.] POLILTIIV KEKPING. 53 



been eousiderable. Evidence justifying this conclusion is 

 furnished by the increased tlcinaiul fur poultry j)roducts, 

 the increased sales of the products of manufacturers of poul- 

 try ai)])lianees, such as incubators and brooders, and the 

 niulti])lication of poultry publications. As further evidence 

 of this increase, I quote from the report of Secretary Wil- 

 son of UtOT), in which he says: "The farmer's hen is be- 

 coming a worthy companion to his cow. The annual pro- 

 duction of eggs is now a score of billions, and, after supply- 

 ing the needs of factories, tanneries, bakeries and other 

 trades, they are becoming a substitute for high-priced meats, 

 besich^s entering more generally into the every -day food of 

 the ])C(»ple. Poultry products have now climbed to a place 

 of more than half a billion dollars; and so the farmer's hen 

 competes with wheat for precedence." In the Year Book 

 for 1007 Secretary Wilson says: " The poultry products are 

 worth more than wheat, and p(>rha]is as much as the hay." 



Another thing, very suggestive of the increased interest 

 that is being taken in this branch of our agriculture through- 

 out the entire country, is the greater number of ])ublications 

 relative to it that are appearing, as compared with the nuui- 

 ber ion years ago. This ap])lies not only to the poultry 

 journals, but more especially to government and experiuient 

 station bulletins. 



From January 1 to October 1 of the present year there 

 have come to my address no less than 10 publications, com- 

 prising G04: pages of printed matter and illustratirms. These 

 have come from 11 different States, with ]\laine on the east 

 and Oregon on the west, and have discussed every phase of 

 the poultry problem, from setting hens to the construction 

 of " Jumbo " incubators. 



The conditions in ^fassachnsetts are not less favorable 

 for poultry culture than are found to exist throughout the 

 Union. As has already been mentioned, there has been an 

 increase in the number of fowls reported by the assessors 

 in the last three years of 105,249, with an assessed value 

 of $0,5,275. This is but one of many things that jioiuts to 

 additional interest in poultry keeping in this State. 



The suburban residents are engaging more and more in 



