APPENDIX G 



351 



SQUABS, FRUIT, POULTRY, VEGETABLES RAISED HERE BY MR. VAIL. 



I SELL MY SQUABS BY TELEPHONE 

 FOR $6.60, by Harry M. VaU. My wife and 

 I came to New Jersey last May from New York 

 City with the intention of starting in the poultry 

 business. While we were waiting for our 

 incubators to hatch our first chicks, we became 

 interested in the pigeons that were already on 

 the place. Our admiration for them later 

 changed to genuine love. There were nearly 

 seven hundred pigeons in the lot. Since the 

 accompanying photograph was taken we have 

 increased them to 1280. The breeding house 

 is 172 feet long, divided into fourteen pens 

 with movable double nestboxes. The floor 

 is of concrete and the inside walls are of 

 asbestos plaster. The house throughout is 

 equipped with a self-regulating hot-water sys- 

 tem, the same as are my brooder houses. 



I am running a combination poultry, squab, 

 fruit and vegetable farm. We do no advertis- 

 ing, as our squabs and other products do it 

 for us. Squabs at this writing (February 13) 

 are bringing $6.60 a dozen retail and $5 whole- 

 sale. Naturally I do no shipping. 



One of my hotel customers supplies me with 

 two barrels of bread a week. It costs us noth- 

 ing and as I serve him anyway it costs nothing 

 for hauling. I feed the bread slightly mois- 

 tened, with a small quantity of commercial 

 beef scraps added. It makes a splendid filler 

 for squabs. 



I never try at first to see a prospective cus- 

 tomer personally, as you might as well try 

 to see the King of England as the people of 

 Montclair. I secure their telephone numbers 



and call them up. I invariably secure my first 

 introduction that way, state who I am, and 

 what I have to sell. I mention several cus- 

 tomers that I am already serving, and in a 

 town like Montclair they all know of one 

 another. I make an appointment and am 

 seldom disappointed by the customer. If you 

 are fortunate enough to secure them as cus- 

 tomers and if you have the goods, you seldom 

 have trouble holding them. 



I guess I owe you a report about the Extra 

 Homers that you sent me in July of last year. 

 They have excelled my expectations. I have 

 more than one thousand birds at present in 

 spite of having sold some squabs since and 

 having lost a good many during last winter 

 while I was in the East, in consequence of 

 carelessness by my former partner, and in 

 spite of having moved them twice. They are 

 admired much, especially my " old Guard," 

 as I call my original stock bought of you. — 

 Stefan Schwarz, California. 



A little over a year ago we purchased some 

 Homers from you and for breeding they beat 

 any that I ever saw. I do not think there are 

 any that can beat your birds for breeding 

 qualities. — William. E. Merritt, New York. 



There are very few of my squabs that come 

 less than ten pounds to the dozen. I have a 

 good Plymouth Rock stock of Homers to breed 

 from bought from Mr. Rice. — F. G. Fillmore, 

 Missouri. 



