ip— , .~. THE MARKET FOR POULTRY J 



age rising from 38 to 65 eggs a hen. The money 

 invested in the latter year was $85,000,000, or an 

 average of nearly $17 a farm. These figures are 

 now ten years old, but are the last available that 

 can be considered fairly authentic. If one may 

 judge by the increasing interest taken in poultry 

 shows, in the sale of incubators, brooders and other 

 supplies, and in the prosperity shown by the poul- 

 try press, the raising of poultry and the increased 

 productivity of the average American flock will be 

 found considerably greater when the next census 

 figures are published. 



Though the figures quoted seem large, they are 

 nothing compared to what can easily be realized. 

 This will be seen by comparing the average num- 

 ber of eggs each hen lays and the prices shown by 

 the census report with figures obtained from other 

 sources. The five states averaging highest in pro- 

 duction in the last census were Maine with loi 

 eggs a hen; Massachusetts and New Hampshire 

 with 96 each ; Vermont with 92 and Connecticut 

 with 88. In 33 states the average was below 72; 

 in ten, below 60. The five lowest were Mis- 

 sissippi 42, Indian Territory 41, Georgia and South 

 Carolina 40 each and Louisiana 39. The average 

 prices in only seven states reached 18 cents or 

 more a dozen, in 26 states they were below 12 

 cents, the lowest five states were Alabama, Okla- 

 homa, Arkansas and Indian Territory, between 9 

 and 10 cents a dozen and Texas 8 cents. 



While it is probable that in many of these low 

 averaged states the highest average prices may not 

 be reached, yet it is certain that in the neighborhood 

 of large towns, especially in the East, the average 

 can be considerably raised, because of the demand 



