No. 123.] DAIRYIXG AND AXDIAL HUSBANDRY. 29 



and the soft roaster business which had flourished for twenty 

 years or more in tlie vicinity of Rockland was entirely wiped 

 out. Another contributing factor was that rumors that we 

 might not be able to get feed at any price were afloat from 

 time to time. 



Had the poultry population of Massachusetts been made up 

 almost wholly of farm flocks, as it is in the Middle West, and 

 farms, too, where the owners are engaged in no other occupa- 

 tion, and where most of the feed is produced, the decrease 

 Avould not have been so noticeable. 



The census report also shows that the number of eggs per 

 hen decreased from 1909 to 1919. If this is true it indicates that 

 the quality of our stock is deteriorating. We do not believe 

 this to be the case. The decrease in eggs per hen in 1919, if 

 there was a decrease, must have been due to a lack of care. 

 The price of feed was high and the tendency of the poultrymen, 

 therefore, was to feed as little as possible or to use feed of 

 poorer quality. Litter was high, therefore less litter. Houses 

 deteriorated, and the owner would spend eight hours per day 

 in the factory and attend to the hens night and morning; 

 under these conditions a low average would naturally follow. 



During the past year considerable increase in poultry products 

 was noted in certain portions of the State. It was more notice- 

 able in the eastern part than in the central and western por- 

 tions. Eggs held up in price very well indeed. There was not 

 a decided reaction toward pre-war prices until the very last of 

 the year. Prices of poultry kept up very w^ell throughout the 

 year, and at the present writing are much higher than during 

 the fall and early winter. The satisfactory price of eggs, to- 

 gether with the drop in value of feeds to pre-war level, kept the 

 producers optimistic and contributed not a little to increased 

 production. Many poultrymen have reported splendid profits. 

 Securing a labor income, even from quite large flocks, of from 

 $3 to $5 per hen was quite common among our best producers. 



Never before in the history of the Commonwealth have there 

 been more favorable signs of getting our poultry industry on a 

 sound business basis. Many of our already large producers 

 are planning to increase their flocks from 50 to 100 per cent, 

 and there are a number of large enterprises in process of 



