SUPPLEMENT 
newspaper in your territory which will 
produce results. Or you might pick out two 
or three likely families and make them a 
present of a squab or two to get them started. 
The products of the plants of hundreds 
of our small customers are spoken for ahead 
of capacity all the time by a neighborhood 
trade, and this is what you should aim at. 
is is the way the finest butter and eggs 
and poultry are sold, and also squabs, and 
the plants of our customers who are selling 
squabs direct to the consumer are paying 
better than the plants of other customers 
ae product is marketed with poor judg- 
ment. 
Don’t be too fast to sell to a hotel. Some 
farmers and breeders get the idea that if only 
they can find a hotel to take all their goods, 
their fortune is made. In every city there 
are one or more first-class hotels which want 
the best of everything and pay accordingly. 
On the other hand, there are many hotels 
which do not care for the best. For example, 
few hotels care for the best ducks, because 
a single dinner order is half a duck, and half 
of the biz, first-class, expensive ducks is more 
than a diner wants, so the hotel keeper of 
-course prevents waste by buying a_ small 
duck. Same with squabs. The hotel buyers 
are sharp bargainers, and if they think that 
their trade will be satisfied with a seven or 
eight-pound squab, they will take such a 
bird rather than pay more for a ten or twelve- 
pound squab. The average squab breeder, 
like the average farmer and gardener, is 
content to sell to the middleman, and if you 
make the acquaintance of a good one, of 
course you avoid some bother, yet it has been 
our experience that it is just as easy to sell 
squabs to the consumer as to anybody else, 
in fact, after you have started with him 
he will come after you and pay you a great 
deal more than anybody else, still he is 
paying just what he always has paid, and he 
is better satisfied. Squabs are phenomenal 
sellers and it is well to take advantage of 
this condition, which is not always true of 
poultry. 
MR. McGREW CALLS. The following is 
from the pen of Mr. T. F. McGrew, associate 
editor of the Feather, poultry editor of the 
Country Gentleman, also a widely quoted 
writer for the government’s bureau of animal 
industry, and a lecturer for the New York 
State Board of Agriculture. He is one of the 
best known judges of poultry and pigeons in 
the United States. The visit to our farm of 
which he speaks was made in November, 
1903; since then our stock of Homers has 
‘been increased, Pee 
“It was our pleasure within the last two 
weeks to visit the home plant of the Plymouth 
Rock Squab Co., at Melrose, Mass. e were 
beautifully entertained by Mr. Elmer C. Rice 
and his family. The buildings at the home 
plant are by far the best that we have ever 
seen for squab growing. Each building is 
121 
constructed for the best possible light, air, 
and sanitary conditions. Those who may 
be interested in squab growing will find it to 
their profit to communicate with Mr. Rice 
at Boston for the printed matter which gives 
a full description of his plant and methods 
of doing business. 
“We saw at this plant 12,000 full-grown, 
well-matured Homing Pigeons ready for dis- 
tribution for growing squabs. In all our 
experience we have never seen a better lot 
than these. They are large, vigorous, full- 
breasted, broad-shouldered specimens such 
as one would select for producing squabs of 
the best_character. There are Blues, Blue 
‘Checks, Silvers, Reds, and mixed colors such 
as would naturally be produced through the 
cross mating of any of these varieties. While 
we were there Mr. Rice ghipped from the 
plant between five and six hundred birds, 
all of which are sent out in large roomy 
baskets, the baskets returnable at the shipper’s 
expense. So far as we can calculate, we are un- 
der the impression that Mr. Rice is doing a 
very large business. In addition to this we 
carefully perused a number of letters received 
by Mr. Rice from localities as far west as San 
Francisco, as far south as Florida, all of 
these communications speaking in the highest 
iene of the shipments made to them by Mr. 
ice. 
RUNTS NOT DESIRABLE. From the 
Farm Journal—‘‘Our remarks in the October 
issue respecting the relative merits.of large 
and small birds were put in a way to be 
easily misunderstood. 
“By large birds we meant Runts and that 
class, usually found only in the hands of 
fanciers and experts in pigeon breeding. 
They are not at all desirable for squab 
breeding. 
“Common pigeons are not hardy and 
prolific in proportion to their smallness. The 
largest of these should be selected for breeding 
always. 
“There is a great difference in the size and 
quality of what are called common birds. 
Where they are chosen as the basis of a squab 
brceder’s business a careful selection should 
be made. 
“Of all the pure-bred types, we know of 
nothing superior or equal to the Homers for 
breeding squabs. They are hardy and 
prolific and rear large, meaty squabs. There 
is also room for selection in Homers, some 
being much larger than others. 
‘When a breeder already has a flock of 
common pigeons he can greatly improve it 
by the infusion of Homer Flood.” 
USEFUL MESSENGERS. We have quite 
a call for our birds from physicians having a 
country practice. They leave two or three 
birds at a patient’s house to be let loose when 
the doctor’s services are needed. In cases 
of expected confinement at a distance of 
several miles from the doctor’s home, our 
