54 



very low price of $3 a dozen, a price they will bring in a 

 country town of any size, and we have $3 as the gross 

 returns from a pair of sub-breeding Homers. 



Deducting from this the highest estimated price for the 

 feed of a pair of pigeons, we have $1.75 left. This will 

 be the returns from which the pigeon-breeder must get his 

 profits. The manure will pay well for the labor of feeding 

 the birds, so this item is eliminated from the bill of cost, 



It will not cost more than 25 cents to pay for the other 

 labor of caring for a loft of pigeons where any number 

 above 100 pairs are kept. The owner of such a loft could 

 do all the work before working hours in the morning and 

 after hours in the evenin, so the birds would not interfere 

 with his regular work. 



The cost of ice, the cost of killing and picking the birds 

 and the cost of packages may be put at 25 cents a dozen, 

 which is a very liberal estimate. This leaves $1.25 clear 

 profit, after paying all expenses and paying the owner for 

 the time he puts in feeding his birds, this work having been 

 done when he would otherwise have been idle or not earning 

 money. 



Say it costs $1 for each pair of birds kept in a house and 

 the birds cost $2.50 a pair. The interest on this investment 

 at 6 per cent a year would be 21 cents, thus leaving $1.04 

 as absolutely net profit from a pair of pigeons in a year, 

 after paying all expenses at a liberal rate and paying good 

 interest on the investment. 



There is no other business open to those who have a small* 

 capital which will give such large returns. For every lOO 

 pairs of pigeons kept, it is perfectly safe to say that a clean 



