BRANCHES OF THE POULTRY BUSINESS 33 



sense co-operative, for though the market is con- 

 trolled by only a few dealers, the brand commands 

 the highest price paid for chicken flesh and every 

 fowl raised can easily be disposed of. Nowhere 

 else in this country is there so good an example 

 of co-operative poultry flesh production. The in- 

 dustry is not likely to prove profitable in a small 

 "way among farmers who have not a specially good 

 market close at hand and who cannot raise sufficient 

 numbers to make a strong impression upon that 

 market. Still, where a man has suitable environ- 

 ment, it might be worth while to take this branch' 

 experimentally and enlarge as experience indicated 

 was wise. 



CAPONS 



The practice of caponizing is steadily growing in 

 favor in the United States, especially in the Eastern 

 and middle Northwestern states. In the Eastern 

 markets, capons are quoted from December to May 

 at prices ranging from 20 to 30 cents a pound. The 

 larger the bird, the higher the price, as a rule. 



As to whether the practice is profitable or not, 

 the individual poultry raiser must decide. Doubt- 

 less it is most profitable where grain is cheap. On 

 this account, it is more popular among farmers than 

 among specialist poultry raisers, because the poul- 

 try raiser is obliged to buy most of his feed and 

 cannot profitably keep large numbers of fowls which 

 are not paying the running expenses of their keep 

 with a more or less constant income. Such men 

 find it more profitable to direct their energies to- 

 ward egg production. 



On the other hand, the farmer who cannot handle 



