BROILERS, CAPONS AND ROASTERS 219 



perfectly satisfied with them, and come to this con- 

 clusion after trying several other breeds. But the best 

 results in this as well as in any other line of work are 

 attainable only by persistent effort, and doing it all in 

 a thorough, businesslike way, having perfection as our 

 goal and watchword, and then strive to win it." 



Experience with ' Capons — An Ohio poultryman 

 who has made a success of capon rearing is J. G. 

 Hover. He writes: "My attention was drawn to 

 capons by seeing them quoted in the New York mar- 

 kets at eighteen to twenty-six cents per pound. I con- 

 cluded I would produce some and take my chances on 

 learning how to caponize, feed, fatten, butcher, pack 

 and ship. When young market fowls were selling at 

 five to six cents per pound, eighteen or twenty cents 

 seemed an enormous advance. My first experience 

 was with fifty-one Barred Plymouth Rock cockerels, 

 Avhich weighed at the time of the operation in October 

 three to six pounds each. It took me nearly two and 

 •one-half days to perform the operation. I could have 

 done it much more rapidly if the birds had not been so 

 hig and strong. Forty-five of the birds survived. 

 Under more favorable circttmstances and with more 

 ■experience, the loss of six of the fifty-one would have 

 been a large percentage. 



"I did not give them any special care through the 

 winter, but just let them run with the other farmyard 

 fowls until about three weeks before shipping, when 

 they were separated from all others and fed alone on 

 corn, corn meal and bran mixed with plenty of fresh 

 water. Oyster shells were provided freely. They had 

 not been crowded any through the winter and only 

 weighed when dressed five and one-half pounds each. 

 Forty were sent to market and sold for eighteen cents 

 per pound and brought $39.24, or nearly one dollar 

 ■each. The feathers were very nice, as they were 



