14 Profitable Poultry Keeping.. 



been numerous enough ; but the tales which a few years ago 

 were current as to extensive poultry farms in France, so 

 plausible and theoretically sound as they appeared to be, 

 doubtless tempted many to venture on such a speculation. 

 These huge farms never existed, and were all a myth ; and 

 we have the testimony of Mr. H. M. Jenkins and of Mr. 

 Sutherland, who visited France on behalf of the Koyal 

 Agricultural Commission, that whilst almost every peasant 

 keeps a large number of fowls, and derives a considerable 

 portion of his income from them, they never saw what could 

 in any sense be termed a poultry farm. There are some 

 establishments where eggs are hatched in large numbers for 

 the peasants of the district, but the latter provide the eggs in 

 the first instance, and take the chickens when hatched ; so 

 that such places are simply hatching factories. Upon this 

 phase of the question we shall have more to say later on. 



Poultry and eggs are of such well-nigh universal production 

 that it is difficult to estimate the numbers produced with con- 

 fidence that we even approximate the truth. In regard to 

 those received in the markets of some of our cities a fairly 

 accurate record is kept, but this is accurate only as to those 

 transported by railroads and steamboats, and probably falls 

 short of the facts. Thus, in the city of New York the 

 amount of poultry reported as received for the year 1883, 

 ending November 30th, was 27,592,050 lbs., valued at $4,310,- 

 604 — a little more than 15 cents a pound. 



The number of eggs received within the same period seems 

 enormous, and yet does not equal the demand, as shown by 

 the number imported from Europe, and by the high prices 

 paid in our eastern cities — often 40 to 60 cents a dozen in 

 winter. The receipts of eggs in New York, for 1883, are 

 reported as exceeding 534,000,000, valued at $10,018,000, or 

 about 22£ cents a dozen. Of the total number, four million 

 nine hundred and sixty-eight thousand (4,968,000) were im- 

 ported from Europe at a cost of $82,800, which is 20 cents a 



