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“Of course cleanliness, care and sanitary 
conditions about the plant are imperative. 
The most successful squab growers do not 
scatter sand or dirt of any kind on the floor 
or in nest boxes. Neither do they use any- 
thing but straw for the birds to build their 
nests. The droppings are all thoroughly 
scraped up from the board floor, from the 
nest boxes and under the perches once or 
twice a week with a hoe, and stored away in 
bags and sold at 50 to 60 cents per bushel. 
They are used by tanners in making the very 
best grades of leather. These droppings are 
of no value when mixed with tobacco stems, 
shavings, sawdust or sand. Grain or feed 
of any kind if mixed in with them will not 
injure their value, nor will some little straw 
or feathers count much against their value. 
Buy a good sharp hoe; floors constructed in 
this way can be thoroughly cleaned by scrap- 
ing up once or twice a week, and in this way 
ae sanitary conditions will be of the very 
est. 
“Those who do not care to dispose of the 
droppin; in this way in some instances 
spread front six to eight inches of soil from 
their land over the floor of the squab house. 
This is allowed to remain from three to six 
months. Usually at the end of the moulting 
season all the nest boxes and the whole house 
is thoroughly cleaned out and the entire con- 
tents of same dumped on the floor, scraped and 
hauled away and scattered over the land. 
This makes an excellent fertilizer. We know 
of one instance where a large number of 
squabs are kept in this way, and the house is 
cleaned but twice a year. In the spring all 
the cleanings from the house are hauled out 
and spread over the land for the growing of 
summer crops. After the fall moult, the 
place is thoroughly cleaned up for winter, 
the cleanings of the house are stored away 
in a dry place and retained until spring. 
Many persons would call this a filthy, un- 
healthful way to keep a squab house, but 
some of the most successful breeders follow 
this plan. The presence of the five or six 
inches of dry soil on the floor keeps it in good 
condition throughout the season. The cloud 
of dust that is raised at times by the pigeons 
flapping their wings and flying about is 
almost a certain guarantee against insect 
attack. However, we do not advise this 
method. We simply give the facts as we 
have seen them. 
“The only limit to the extent of such a 
plant is the ability of those who possess it 
roperly to care for and manage all its 
Branches at aprofit. Where there is a family 
of boys and girls it might be well to engage 
the attention of all in growing these several 
kinds of products, and to lend encourage- 
ment to each by giving him a share of the 
profits. Scattered all over the country are 
thousands of families in country places con- 
tinually worrying and wondering why they 
cannot keep their children at home. The 
real reason so many of the young people 
NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 
leave the farm is that they are compelled to 
work continually and never receive any 
portion of the income for their labor, If the 
parents would allow their growing families 
to make an equal sum of money or in propor- 
tion to what they can make by leaving home, 
there would be far less complaint on this 
score, All children wish to have the privilege 
of earning a few dollars that they may call 
their own.” 
The following paragraph is from the same 
paper in its report of the New York pigeon 
show, January, 1904 
“There seems. to be a depression in the sale 
of high-class pigeons. Well-favored speci- 
mens of the highest character still sell at top 
prices, but the absence of any commercial 
value for a large number of pigeons that are 
grown detracts from the numerous sales that 
their producers might have. If producers of 
the hundreds of varieties of beautiful pigeons 
would turn into the market as squabs the 
greater part of all their product that was 
not valuable for the exhibition room, greater 
returns would come for those which were 
saved for exhibition ‘purposes. There is a 
grand stride forward in growing squabs. 
The combination of poultry-growing with 
squab-growing works well. and is being 
adopted by so many small farmers as to 
create an unusual demand for, all grades of 
pigeons that are good for this purpose. 
“It is well for those who go into the squab 
business to remember that the price is graded 
by size and quality. During winter squabs 
that would average eight or nine pounds to the 
dozen have sold at retail in the New York 
market at from 35 to 40 cents each, while 
those which averaged two or three pounds less 
to the dozen sold at from 12% to 20 cents. 
It takes quite as much time and as much 
care and food to produce the small specimens 
that bring the lower prices as it does to pro- 
duce the higher grades which bring the better 
prices. People are beginning to find this out, 
and taking advantage of the knowledge, are 
looking about for the best quality of pigeons 
to produce the best market squabs.” 
SQUAB PIN-MONEY. The following para- 
graph appeared in the January, 1904, issue 
of the Designer, a monthly magazine for 
women published by the Butterick Publishing 
Company of New York City: 
“A young woman of my acquaintance 
has kept herself supplied with hats, boots and 
gloves during the past year by selling the 
squabs of six pairs of Homer pigeons. They 
require very little care, and the young are 
ready for market when four weeks old. My 
friend is so well pleased with her success that 
she has added seven pairs to her stock, and 
confidently expects to dress herself-completely 
on the sum derived from the sale of her 
squabs.—M. P.” 
THEY FLEW HOME. A dispatch from 
Paris, printed by the Baltimore Sun, says: 
