78 POULTRY TEEDING AND FATTENING 



dition to take on flesh, but the farmer, unmindful of 

 this opportunity to convert feed into meat, rushes her 

 off to market. The middleman steps in here and with 

 but few dollars invested in capital, no risks incident 

 to the production and maturing of the bird, takes 

 advantage of the situation and the grower's indifference 

 or ignorance, and in three weeks makes more than 

 double the profit on a bird than the man did who 

 raised it. He skims the cream. 



The following market quotations clipped from the 

 Kansas City Star for December 6, 1901, perhaps tell 

 the story more forcibly than we can; for after all the 

 hard cash is the best argument: 



"Poultrjr — Exchange quotations, hens, alive 5 l-3c ; 

 roosters, young, 20c; old, 15c each; springs, 6 l-3c; 

 ducks, 6c; geese, 4e; turkeys, hens, 5c young; weighing 

 over 7 lbs., 6c; young gobblers, 5c; culls, 5c; pigeons, 

 50e dozen; squabs, per dozen, $1.25 and $2; dressed 

 poultry, choice scalded stock in good condition brings 

 le above live poultry prices." 



From an adjoining column on the same page we 

 clip the following : 



"Specially fattened chickens; a toothsome meat 

 particularly adapted to this season of the year. The 

 newest offerings in poultry to be found on the market 

 are especially fattened chickens which a local packing 

 house is offering its patrons. Besides being unusually 

 tender all the meat is as white as the breast. While 

 these chickens have been fattened primarily for the 

 English trade, their popularity is likely to become as 

 widespread at home as abroad. Like all choice morsels 

 they sell at high prices. A pound costs eighteen cents, 

 in the shops, and buyers are offered their preference 

 of either dry-picked or scalded stock." 



What reason or excuse can be advanced that will 

 justify the producer in selling his pullets (springs) at 



