INTRODUCTION 



flocks kept on general farms where the range is unlimited, 

 good opportunities to keep poultry profitably exists for 

 families which have only a small amount of available 

 space. These families can keep fowls profitably for their 

 own use and in addition sell any surplus products in their 

 immediate vicinity at the highest retail price. Garbage 

 or table scraps or waste products from the garden will 

 materially aid in keeping down the cost of feeding hens 

 kept under these conditions. 



Most of the farms devoted entirely to poultry are lo- 

 cated in the northeastern section of this country within 

 easy shipping distance of the large cities and in central or 

 southern California. Enough eggs are produced in Cali- 

 fornia so that during the past few years a considerable 

 number of carloads of eggs have been shipped to New 

 York City during the winter. The constant and growing 

 demand for a high quality of fresh eggs has made it pos- 

 sible to operate these poultry farms at a good profit al- 

 though not over lo per cent of the poultry and eggs pro- 

 duced in this country come from such farms. The most 

 essential factor in the location of these commercial farms 

 is nearness to a good market where goods of high quality 

 are appreciated and paid for. The soil, climate and other 

 factors must be considered but are really secondary in im- 

 portance. 



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