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squabs of me, The reason hotels and 

 restaurants do not continually have them 

 on their bill of fare is because they cannot 

 be supplied at all times. Today they 

 can get perhaps a dozen, and tomorrow, 

 if they wish any, they cannot get them, 

 and even then they are obliged to take 

 common squabs and not Homers. As 

 to the demand, I want to say right 

 here, that I know one concern that will 

 contract to take 400 dozen a week at 

 good, fair prices. Two parties that I 

 know of right here in this city are con- 

 stantly in receipt of letters from hotels 

 and clubs in Denver wanting to buy 

 squabs. In the East, where there are 

 ten squab farms to one in the West, the 

 prices are higher than here. It is because 

 of the demand." 



ELEGANT PROFIT. The following is 

 from Vick's Magazine, an article on squab 

 raising by a practical breeder: 



"Of recent years the demand for the 

 toothsome squab has been so great that 

 the supply does not come up to the de- 

 mand. Where years ago they were used 

 only for invalids, now they are on the 

 bill of fare in almost all restaurants and 

 hotels. They command good prices at 

 all seasons and an elegant profit is de- 

 rived from them by the raisers. It used 

 to be that pigeons could not thrive when 

 housed up, but now the former obstacles 

 have been overcome and better success is 

 made where they are confined than wnere 

 they have their freedom. 



"The squab business if conducted prop- 

 erly will bring in a large percentage of 

 profit considering the first capital in- 

 vested. Only a few hundred dollars are 

 required to start where such a sum would 

 be nothing to commence in such a busi- 

 ness as stock keeping, etc., and yet with 

 a few hundred pairs of pigeons anyone 

 with a little judgment can make a living 

 for himself and family. Many farmers' 

 sons could make nice yearly incomes by 

 stocking a part of their barn (not used 

 for anything else) with pigeons. The 

 risks are not- so great as with chickens, 

 but the birds must be atended to and 

 not neglected. 



"With chickens one must not only feed 

 the old, but must also give the little ones 

 their meals, but not so with pigeon breed- 

 ing. You feed the old birds, and they 

 feed their young. One person can feed 

 a thousand pairs of birds in about a 

 quarter hour, the rest is left for the old 

 ones to do. The little birds are fed from 

 pre-digested food from the crops of their 

 parents, who by a sort of pumping force 

 the food into the squabs' mouths. It 

 takes no longer time for a person to feed 

 a lot of birds with young than it does 

 without young. 



"After the squabs are four to five 

 weeks old they are ready for market. It 

 costs but one and one-half cents per pair 

 for feeding birds a week and their young 

 also, so with the prices received for the 



squabs, which is forty cents per pair in 

 summer to eighty cents per pair in the 

 winter, one can imagine the percentage 

 of profit. 



"Squabs of the largest size demand the 

 highest market prices, so it pays to com- 

 mence right by buying only good large 

 stock. The amount of labor required is 

 almost nothing, in . fact unless very large 

 numbers are kept, one will have only a 

 few hours' work daily. The writer has 

 nearly 2,000, and it takes only fifteen min- 

 utes to feed and half an hour to give 

 fresh water. Of course it takes a day 

 or two a week for killing young ones, 

 and a day or two each month for clean- 

 ing buildings, then the work is about 

 done. One person can attend 1,000 pairs 

 nicely and have ample time to do other 

 work around a place. The writer finds 

 it a snap to other ocupations and one is 

 his own boss and can go or come when 

 he pleases. It is the business for a young 

 man; he can advance as he saves money. 

 There are some who commenced on a few 

 dollars and by careful saving now operate 

 plants of thousands of pairs of birds. 



"The larger the pigeon, the larger the 

 squab, the higher the price. The breed- 

 ing houses need not be heated artificially 

 in winter as the birds can withstand any 

 temperature and in cold weather sit upon 

 their young until they are feathered suf- 

 ficiently to stand the cold." 



ENLARGED HIS PLANT WITH 

 PROFITS. Experience of a Breeder Who 

 Made it Pay From the Beginning. 

 In Country Life, a monthly magazine, 

 one of the handsomest and highest-toned 

 publications, the experience of a gentle- 

 man in squab raising gives the following 

 facts: "Six years ago I did not have a 

 bird, but I invested fifty dollars in pur- 

 chasing twenty-five pairs of extra-choice 

 Homer pigeons, remodelling a poultry 

 house for their accommodation. I had 

 kept pigeons for pleasure for five years, 

 previously, and felt that I knew a little 

 about them. In these six years I have 

 not invested another dollar excepting the 

 dollars the birds have earned, and 

 my present establishment of five houses 

 and fifteen hundred pigeons, which has 

 cost me two thousand dollars, is all paid 

 for. In addition, for the last three years, 

 I have paid out from five to seven dol- 

 lars each week for the wages of a helper, 

 to dress the squabs and clean the houses, 

 for my regular business would not permit 

 me to attend to these duties myself. 



"The concensus of opinion of all ex- 

 perienced squab breeders stamps the 

 Homer as the best pigeon for this pur- 

 pose. This variety is strong and vigor- 

 ous; a hearty feeder and good worker; 

 bright-eyed, alert and active; stocky, sym- 

 metrical and full-breasted, which counts 

 so much in squabs. They are also pro- 

 lific, and their squabs are full-feathered 

 and fit for market in four weeks. 



"I was very fortunate in getting my 



