APPENDIX G 



361 



HUNGRY CALt FOR 

 SQUABS IN MOin'ANA, by 

 W. M. Safley, We started in 

 the squab business in May, 

 1908, with two hundred of Ply- 

 mouth Rock Extra Homers. 

 We have sold squabs most of 

 the time since, but have saved 

 four hundred, of which about 

 two hundred and fifty are at 

 work. We have sold about 

 forty-five dozen squabs since 

 June 1. 1909. There is no 

 trouble about the market here 

 in Montana. We have quarters 

 for one thousand birds and ex- 

 pect soon to fill the houses, I 

 am in the budness to stay. We 

 M« at present getting $3.50 per 

 dozen for squabs unsorted, 

 plucked, F. O. B. We ship to 

 Helena, only thirty-three miles, 

 so have never used ice to pack 

 in. We use peach crates mostly, 

 packing two dozen in a crate, 

 but will use the corrugated 

 boxes as soon as we can. The 

 yoimg shoots of grease wood 

 are our nest material. 



EFFECT OF MONTANA APRIL SNOW. 



Four pens after a snow on April 13, 1909. The snow was all 

 melted before noon. Photograph from W. M. Safley. 



HOW THE MARKET RUNS AFTER 

 SQUABS, by John E. Gilbert. About six 

 years ago I began to look into the squab busi- 

 ness from a straight business viewpoint. All 

 I knew about the business was what I read 

 and after reading I got to thinking. I first 

 wondered whether I could sell all the squabs 

 1 raised. I often had read about the large 

 hotels using thousands of squabs a week, so 

 I ventured to go to several hotels in Philadel- 

 phia, the BeUevue-Stratford, Bingham and 

 Walton, and each chef in charge told me he 

 could use all the squabs I could bring him, 

 but they had to be prime, large ones. There 

 was an old breeder who served the Bingham 

 Hotel regularly every week, but with hotels 

 you must have quantity as well as quality. 



As an ordinary person cannot comprehend 

 the demand for squabs I w<ll say that when 

 hotels and other large institutibns cannot be 

 supplied by the breeder himself, they turn to 

 the commission mei>, who '''2ve hundreds of 

 shipments daily from all parts ot the country 

 within a radius of five hundred miles. Com- 

 mission men t^t r.ny quaritity, small or large, 

 and can be better relied upon by the hotels 

 because of the large army of squab breeding 

 shippers potiring squabs into one fii-m. If a 

 breeder cared, he could increase his flock 

 large enough to supply the_ trade direct, and 

 make a good deal more on his squabs. 



Every person without doubt has wondered 

 whether he really could sell the squabs he 

 could raise, and whether there really is a big 

 demand for squabs. It is positively a tmthful 

 fact that the demand for squabs is equal in 

 some sections to the demand for eggs, although 

 this may not seem so to many, when you thiniC 

 how many people eat eggs. You never have 



heard of squabs being seized from dealers 

 by the United States food experts and destroyed 

 as you have very often heard about eggs. 

 The fact is, there is at times an over-production 

 of eggs. The demand for squabs everjnvhere 

 cannot at present be supplied, and will not 

 be supplied for some years to come. 



In many localities it is not necessary to 

 ship squabs now, as commission men have 

 buyers in all parts of the country to take the 

 squabs right at your place, and pay you cash. 

 There is more competition in buying squabs 

 than one would imagine, as each dealer has 

 his trade to supply and must have the squabs. 

 When commission men will send out their 

 men to visit the squab plants to get the goods 

 direct, and have your assurance that you will 

 let them have your squabs, this should be 

 confidence enough to cause any one to enter 

 the squab business. 



HOW TO KNIFE A SQUAB WITHOUT 

 PAIN, by F. J. Bunce. In killing squabs, by 

 inserting the knife well back in the throat, 

 the picker will come in contact with a little, 

 hard!^lump, which is the brain cell. The knife 

 should be drawn sharply through the brain 

 and up toward the jjoint of the bill. 



It is always possible to tell if the sticking 

 has been done properly. If it .has, a con- 

 vulsive shudder will pass over the bird, the 

 wings draw back and the eyes become set, 

 but if the bird continues to kick and gasp for 

 breath, the sticking has not been done cor- 

 rectly. If the sticlang is right, the bird should 

 be perfectly dead in two minutes. If the 

 bird does not die as fast as the picker thinks 

 it should, another quick incision should be 

 made. This as a ^^ult will be sufficient. 



