FOOD VALUE AND USES OF POULTHY. 27 



pound. It was lowest in the late autumn and early winter, and 

 highest in midsummer, extremes which seem to be in close relation to 

 the natural supply. The price of live chickens was slightly lower, 

 but not enough so to make it worth while for the ordinary house- 

 holder to buy birds alive merely on this account. 



Local conditions still have influence on retail prices, especially where 

 retailers or housekeepers buy directly from the breeders, and probably 

 home-grown poultry is somewhat cheaper in the' Southern States, 

 where less care is required, and in the Central States, where chickens 

 are kept in great numbers, than in other parts of the country. 



Even at the same place and time the retail prices of birds are very 

 variable. If a dealer keeps an attractive looking shop, well supplied 

 with perishable, fancy, and out-of-season goods, and is ready to 

 deliver them anywhere at a moment's notice, he must, other things 

 being equal, charge more than a neighboring one who keeps a less 

 expensive stock and sends his delivery wagon on its rounds only 

 once or twice a day. Each purchaser must decide for himself 

 whether or not he can afford to pay for the extra convenience and 

 range of choice of the more expensive market. He will, however, 

 always find it good economy to trade only in markets which have 

 ample f acilities for caring for their stock and which are kept scrupu- 

 lously clean. 



It is almost impossible to estimate what relation retail prices bear 

 to the current wholesale prices, but they may occasionally run as 

 high as twice the latter. Of course, in the country, especially from 

 farms where poultry raising is a secondary affair, good birds can 

 sometimes be bought for little more than the wholesale prices. 



The less common kinds of poultry, such as squab and pheasant, 

 which are still raised only in small numbers and often at considerable 

 cost and risk, are naturally expensive beyond all comparison with 

 the standard kinds. 



Although the market price is the most important factor in deter- 

 mining whether poultry is a cheap or a dear food, it is not the only one, 

 and the real cost of poultry as food depends not on its price per pound, 

 but on the price paid for its actual nutrients. Judged by this 

 standard, well-grown, moderately fat birds are more economical at 

 a given price per pound than either very young or very fat ones. 

 (See p. 28.) 



In general, it may be said that low-priced chicken, turkey, goose, 

 pigeon, and guinea fowl are as economical as medium-priced beef and 

 mutton. Chicken and turkey at out-of-season prices, capon, duck, 

 duckling, and green goose are more expensive, while pheasant, 

 quail, and squab are among the most expensive of all meats. 



