PRAIRIE FARMER'S 

 POULTRY BOOK 



Chapter I 



The Farm Flock 



THERE is little danger of overestimating the importance 

 of poultry culture. Compared with other farm interests 

 it has earned a place of deserved recognition. This is proved 

 by the fact that of the 6,448,336 farms in the United States 

 5,800,000 are engaged in poultry production. And there are 

 good reasons for this recognition. 



The flock furnishes a good percentage of the family 

 dietary. It contributes something to every meal, food of high 

 nutritive value. Probably 35 per cent of all poultry products 

 is consumed on the farm. The remaining 65 per cent goes 

 into the channels of trade to feed the world. The larger pro- 

 portion is consumed locally, but an increasing annual amount 

 is exported, thus adding to the wealth of the nation. It is 

 evident therefore that the farm flock is of no insignificant 

 value, not only as a source of food for the family but as a 

 source of revenue. Sometimes this income furnishes the 

 allowance for the farmer's wife; sometimes it is sufficient to 

 pay all the table expenses of the household. 



The farm flock contributes to other farm interests. Fowls 

 destroy vast numbers of insect pests. It is estimated by the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture that the annual loss to the 

 farmer by reason of insect pests is $1,555,000,000. The annual 

 saving by birds is $444,000,000. Every agency that reduces 

 this loss aids the- farmer in his task of production. If hens are 

 allowed to forage in the orchard they will check the ravages 

 of curculios and moths; chickens and turkeys in the meadow 

 or cornfields destroy many larvae of harmful insects. 



The farm flock utilizes the waste, saving much that would 

 otherwise be lost. Fowls are great foragers and gather much 

 of their subsistence from vegetation, the seeds of noxious 



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