FOOD VALUE AND USES OF POULTRY. oN 
pound. It was lowest in the late autumn and early winter, and 
highest in midsummer, extremes which seem to be in close relation to — 
the natural supply. ‘The price of live chickens was slightly lower, 
but not enough so to make it worth while for the ordinary house- 
holder to buy birds alive merely on this account. 
Local conditions still have influence on retail prices, especially where 
retailers or housekeepers buy directly from the breeders, and probably 
‘home-grown poultry is somewhat cheaper in the Southern States, 
where less care is required, and in the Central States, where chickens 
are kept in great numbers, than in other parts of the country. 
Even at the same place and time the retail prices of birds are very 
variable. If a dealer keeps an attractive looking shop, well supplied 
with perishable, fancy, and out-of-season goods, and is ready to 
deliver them anywhere at a moment’s notice, he must, other things 
being equal, charge more than a neighboring one who keeps a less 
expensive stock and sends his delivery wagon on its rounds only 
once of twice a day. Each purchaser must decide for himself 
whether or not he can afford to pay for the extra convenience and 
range of choice of the more expensive market. He will, however, 
always find it good economy to trade only in markets which have 
ample facilities for caring for their stock and which are kept scrupu- 
lously clean. 
It is almost impossible to estimate what relation retail prices bear 
to the current wholesale prices, but they may occasionally run as 
high as twice the latter. Of course, in the country, especially from 
farms where poultry raising is a secondary aflair, good: birds can 
sometimes be bought for little more than the wholesale prices. 
The less common kinds of poultry, such as squab and pheasant, 
which are still raised only in small numbers and often at considerable 
cost and risk, are naturally expensive beyond all comparison with 
the standard se 
| Although the market price is the most important factor in deter- 
mining whether poultry is a cheap or a dear food, it is not the only one, 
and the real cost of poultry as food depends not on its price per pound, 
but on the price paid for its actual nutrients. Judged by this 
standard, well-grown, moderately fat birds are more economical at 
a given price per pound than either very young or very fat ones. 
(See p. 28.) 
In general, it may be said that low-priced chicken, turkey, goose, 
pigeon, and guinea fowl are as economical as medium-priced beef and 
mutton. Chicken and turkey at out-of-season prices, capon, duck, 
duckling, and green goose are more expensive, while pheasant, 
quail, and squab are among the most expensive of all meats. 
