148 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



SOME FACTS. 



The tendency towards perfection through improvement 

 is one of the characteristics of the present age. No sooner 

 has an inventor secured a patent on any manufactured arti- 

 cle, and began to introduce it, than others have made im- 

 provements on that article. A forcible illustration of this 

 fact is apparent in the sewing machine, which resulting from 

 the ingenuity of one mind, has had added to it the improve- 

 ments of others, and to such an extent that at the present 

 time a purchaser is puzzled in making a selection from so 

 many of different named machines, each claiming in itself 

 a superiority over all the others. 



This same tendency not only manifests itself with me- 

 chanical but with scientific occupations, and farming being 

 now acknowledged a scientific pursuit, one of the strongest 

 evidences we have in support of our statesmen is the desire 

 among farmers to become educated in their calling, which 

 fact is attested by the patronage bestowed on agricultural 

 journals throughout the country, and furthermore, the benefit 

 derived by farmers by the agency of the press is evident 

 through larger quantity and better quality of crops, resulting 

 from a knowledge of the experiments of others, and in be- 

 coming educated as to the manner of a proper selection of 

 soil, the use of suitable fertilizers, and the mode of cultiva- 

 tion adapted to the nature of the product desired. 



The field for improvement in live stock is so vast, and the 

 desire so popular, that many are turning their attention to 

 cattle breeding as a business, and journals throughout the 

 country are awakening an interest in the matter, by setting 

 forth the merits of the Jersey or short-horn breeds, showing 

 the decided advantages in possessing one thoroughbred, 

 rather than keeping two of an indifferent breed of cattle, 

 and by less labor and expense reap more satisfactory results. 



The interests of poultry breeding has only within the past 

 few years received that consideration that the subject war- 

 rants, and it is only through the appeals of publications de- 

 voted to poultry raising, and by poultry exhibitions, that 

 the public are brought to a knowledge of the amount of im- 

 provement made, and still capable of being made, by im- 

 portation and judicious interbreeding of fowls. As an article 

 of flesh food, perhaps, there is nothing else that possesses as 

 many good qualities in being as palatable, as healthful, as 

 easily prepared for market, and which commands through- 

 out the entire year as high an aggregate price and ready 

 sale, as chickens. They are to be found in our markets in 

 all seasons of the year, a fact which proves a demand and a 

 belief with providers for families of their fitness for con- 

 sumption in midsummer as well as in midwinter. 



It can be safely said, however, that fowls have more popu- 

 larity with consumers (when upon the dinner-table) than 

 with those capable of becoming producers, through opinions 

 which perhaps originate from a prejudice to rearing, or more 

 probably from a lack of interest in, or fancy for them, the 

 contrary of which the editor of the Fanciers' Journal is 

 striving to establish, by causing a new interest, in admitting 

 a new light on the subject through his own practical 

 knowledge and the experience of others. 



To the well as to the sick, a fresh egg is a decided luxury, 

 and we can purchase nothing else for the money (even at 

 five cents apiece) that when properly prepared, will afford 

 as much nourishment, be as acceptable, contains in its com- 

 position as many of the requisites in the formation of flesh 

 and blood, and with all the more be as easily digested as an 

 egg. Through the winter months it is no uncommon thing 



for eggs to command fifty and sixty cents a dozen, and still 

 at double that price would be in demand, from the fact that 

 nothing has yet been discovered as a substitute ; so as an in- 

 gredient of pies, cakes, puddings, and many of- the more 

 substantial dishes our appetites crave, eggs are indispensable. 

 This being the case, eggs must continue in demand, and no 

 fears need be apprehended that they will outgrow their pop- 

 ularity, or that the field for poultry raising (like some of the 

 professions) become overcrowded. 



In setting forth the merits of fowls, with a view of in- 

 creasing their production and improvement, some of the 

 facts to be looked at are : 



1st. The small amount of capital needed to enable many 

 of limited means to delight in becoming possessors. 



2d. The small amount of room required (provided they 

 receive proper attention) to keep them in. 



3d. With proper management the large return realized as 

 interest on the amount invested. 



4th. The healthful recreation afforded to the owner in at- 

 tending to their wants. 



5th. The pleasure derived from the possession of fowls in 

 a healthful and profitable condition. 



6th. The trivial amount of actual expense incurred in 

 feeding them, in comparison to the great advantages afforded, 

 in fresh eggs, in the satisfaction of knowing, when we come 

 to partake of their flesh, that being fed by our own hands, 

 prepared for consumption under our own eyes, that they are 

 in every way edible, and that we can enjoy them without 

 thought or question as to how they have been cared for, how 

 long they have been killed, and, finally, when we come to 

 partake of them, find, to our disappointment, that through 

 their great age they have lost their flavor and desirable quali- 

 ties, and we our appetite for them. 



It is not unusual with those whose experience is insufficient 

 to detect bad qualities in fowls to be deceived in them, as a 

 purchase is made through a dependence upon the judgment 

 and recommendation of the seller, an article is often bought 

 that is misrepresented, and the deception only discovered 

 when it is too late to be remedied ; but these evils can be ob- 

 viated in our becoming rearers of fowls, and. in that event 

 we can enjoy (at a comparatively low price) a fresh, reliable, 

 and desirable article. 



In view of all that has been said and done relative to 

 poultry raising, one conclusion can be safely arrived at, and 

 that is, that success in the business depends on a proper man- 

 agement, resulting, 1st, from a fancy for fowls ; 2d, the keep- 

 ing of a desirable breed ; 3d, a knowledge of how to treat 

 poultr} 7 ; and 4th, a determination on the part of the owner 

 to improve his pets, and where these qualifications (if so 

 they may be termed) exist, results must be satisfactory. 



Innumerable instances might be given as regards the 

 profits derived from poultry raising, but at this time I will 

 merely cite two of such for the benefit of the incredulous. 

 A gentleman of one of the principal towns in New Jersey 

 commenced the season with 60 chickens, which produced 

 during that season 667 dozen eggs, and from the sixty fowls 

 realized a net gain of §83.32, besides (as he says) their drop- 

 pings, which I consider the most valuable of all domestic 

 manures. Again, a breeder in an adjacent Western State 

 realized in three consecutive years, on prizes alone awarded 

 at different exhibitions, the snug sum of $2500. 



To be convinced as to the improvements made in fowls 

 during the last decade, one need only attend a poultry exhi- 

 bition of the present day, as did an acquaintance of the 



