809 
Finishing Poultry for the Market. 
A Statement of New York Conditions. 
Part II. 
MARKET PRICES.—Where caponizing is carried 
on the capons which have been milk-fed very often 
weigh as high as 10 to 12 pounds each, these birds 
bringing as much as 10 cents per pound over the or¬ 
dinary capon, weighing from five to six pounds each. 
Milk-fed poultry is now quoted in all the markets, and 
the farmer will find that his poultry milk-fed on the 
farm will have a finer flesh and bring more money than 
any poultry fed in large centralizing feeding stations. 
Poultry raised on New York farms and shipped in 
the Fall alive to the New York city markets, if proper¬ 
ly fed and shipped should, because of its nearness to 
the city, command the highest price in the market. It 
may be shipped in by express over night. In spite of 
this natural advantage New York State poultry is 
quoted as much as two cents to three cents per pound 
below the Western, heavy poultry arriving by freight. 
This Western poultry is cooped up in cars from 
four to six days and must necessarily arrive in more 
or a less fevered condition, and is clearly at a disad¬ 
vantage as compared with the State shipments which 
arrive by express over night. 
NEARBY PRODUCTS.—Farmers of the Eastern 
part of the country enjoy a great advantage over the 
Western growers because of their nearness to the mar¬ 
ket. and if they will make a practice of milk-feeding 
their poultry for about ten days before marketing, and 
sell the birds as a finished product they will find a 
ready demand in the large cities, and a very handsome 
advantage in price over what they can hope to obtain 
for the ordinary run of poultry. Where eggs are gath¬ 
ered and marketed through producers’ associations, this 
milk-fed dressed poultry business can be worked in as 
a part of the system. Like the strictly fresh graded 
eggs it appeals to a specially good trade, and the mar¬ 
ket always absorbs the supply at a good price. 
PACKING-HOUSE TRADE.—The shipments of 
dressed poultry arriving in the New York markets the 
past 10 years have largely changed from the old system 
of icing and barrel packing of poultry to the more 
modern system of dry-cooling and box packing. Large 
packing-houses in Chicago have put in many branch 
houses throughout the West where poultry is central¬ 
ized. specially fed and dressed. One of the packing 
houses with headquarters in Chicago has 102 branch 
houses in the State of Iowa, where poultry and eggs 
are collected, made ready for market, packed and 
shipped. At Keokuk, la., the packing-house used ex¬ 
clusively for the handling of butter, eggs and poultry, 
represents fully an investment of .$300,000. At all 
points where these large centralized stations are located 
the concerns operating them as a rule, operate a 
creamery in connection with the plant, manufacturing 
what is known as centralized creamery butter. This 
centralized creamery butter is made from cream sep¬ 
arated from the milk on farms, in many cases a long 
distance from where the creamery is located. The big 
handlers of poultry are interested in the creamery busi¬ 
ness, as they are able to utilize the by-product in the 
feeding of their poultry. 
ARRANGEMENT OF PLANT.—In the building of 
these large centralizing plants a large open airy build¬ 
ing is constructed, called a feed station, and in this 
station are located batteries especially made for the 
holding of poultry alive, while it is being fed and fat¬ 
tened for the market. At the larger station it is usu¬ 
ally customary to have a station that will hold from 
30.000 to 100,000 birds. The batteries are so con¬ 
structed that chickens of the smallest size, known as 
“peepers” can be fed. While the smaller birds are being 
placed in the compartment for feeding it is usually cus¬ 
tomary to place 10 birds in each compartment. As the 
season progresses and the poultry arriving from the 
farms and shippers in the surrounding territory are 
larger, say 2Vj to 3% pounds each, the compartment 
will not hold over five or six birds, and when later in 
the season, the roasting chickens are coming forward 
each weighing from four to five pounds when they are put 
on the feed, not more than three or four birds are placed 
in the compartment. In the most up-to-date feeding 
stations the batteries are all made of galvanized iron 
and wire. The compartments are about 18x14 inches 
length and width, and 14 inches high. The batteries 
are five compartments high. The metal batteries are 
easily cleaned, and kept in a highly sanitary condi¬ 
tion. The birds are fed in the stations from 10 days 
to 12 days as a rule, the best results in fattening being 
obtained by feeding not less than 10 days nor more 
than 12. 
FEEDING.—The mixture of feed used is as follows: 
60% buttermilk, 20% cornmeal, 10% oatmeal, 5% No. 
1 tallow, 5% beef hearts or some other cheap meat 
chopped up. A little lettuce, chopped cabbage or a 
little green Alfalfa is also beneficial to the birds. Two 
tablespoonfuls of cayenne pepper added to each barrel 
of feed is a good addition, also a little charcoal will be 
found beneficial fed every other day. The birds should 
be kept as quiet as possible, the bright sunlight shaded 
out of the building and the feeding should take place 
at sunrise and each three hours thereafter during 
the day. The younger and smaller the birds the larger 
the percentage of gain. Broilers should gain from 55 
to 00%. The export sizes, that is birds ranging from 
-V 2 to 3*4 pounds each, should gain about 40% while 
the roasting chickens, weighing from four pounds up, 
should gain 35 to 40%. The average gain is a little 
WHE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
better than a pound to a bird. In sections where but¬ 
termilk cannot be obtained locally, dried buttermilk has 
been shipped in barrels from Kansas and Nebraska, 
where the large creamery concerns make a business of 
putting up buttermilk for poultry feeding purposes. 
KILLING AND DRESSING.—When the birds have 
been fed from 10 to 12 days they are ready for slaugh¬ 
ter. The birds are hung up by the feet and a tin 
cup with a hook attached is fastened in the bill. The 
point of a small knife blade is run into the brain from 
the corner of the eye and the arteries in the roof of 
the mouth are cut, then the bird is quickly dry-picked 
After the bird is picked it is laid on cooling racks 
built especially for the purpose, and so constructed that 
it is wider at the top than at the bottom so that no 
blood will drip from the top rack down on the birds 
below. These cooling racks are run into the cooler 
where the temperature of 38 to 40 deg. Fahr. is 
maintained. The birds are allowed to remain in the 
cooler 24 hours, when they are packed into boxes spe¬ 
cially sized for each class of birds. Each 12 birds se¬ 
lected of uniform size and quality are carefully weighed 
and the net weight of these 12 birds stamped on the 
outside of the box. After the birds are boxed, if they 
are intended for immediate shipment and to go into 
immediate consumption, they are loaded into refrigera¬ 
tor cars, which have been charged with crushed ice and 
salt, and shipped to market, where they will arrive, if 
properly handled, in prime condition several days later. 
FREEZING.—If the birds are to be held for a later 
market after being boxed they are placed directly in 
the freezer. The best results are obtained by having 
the sharp freezer in which the birds are first placed 
for freezing at about 10 deg. below zero. After 48 
hours they should be placed in a freezer where the tem¬ 
perature is about zero or even 5 deg. above will be 
found to be ad right. These frozen birds can be car¬ 
ried successfully for several months, so that the con¬ 
sumer may be able to obtain Spring chickens, frying 
chickens and roasting chickens any time of the year. 
^ ithout this system it would be impossible to obtain 
such chickens more than three or four months during 
the year. 
Grasshoppers in New York. 
All through the Eastern States we are evidently in 
for a scourge of grasshoppers this year. Reports come 
to us from various Eastern sections that the young 
’hoppers have already begun to show themselves. The 
College of Agriculture at Cornell is out with a warn¬ 
ing that there will be serious outbreaks of these ’hop¬ 
pers wherever they were abundant last year. This in¬ 
sect will begin egg laying in July, and it is important 
to get after them at once, for every ’hopper poisoned 
now will mean several hundred less ’hoppers in August. 
’Phe Cornell people tell us that the ’hoppers are most 
likely to be found in sandy pastures, which are well 
drained and thinly covered with vegetation. They are 
also to be found in places which are open, but have 
not been cultivated for several years. A sandy knoll in 
a pasture is a favorite place for these insects. Lawns 
and roadsides are often infested. By walking through 
the fields and pastures on a sunny day the young ’hop¬ 
pers will be easily noticed if they are numerous enough 
to do damage. Wherever they are found now the pois¬ 
ons or other remedies should be promptly applied. 
Poisoning seems to be the best proposition. The best 
poison is called Kansas bait, and preparations for mak¬ 
ing and using it are given as follows: 
“The formula is as follows: 20 pounds bran, one 
pound Paris green, two quarts molasses, three oranges 
or lemons, and about 3Vi gallons water. Mix the bran 
and Paris green together dry. If very much of the 
material is to be mixed, it is advisable for the person 
doing the mixing to protect himself from breathing the 
poisonous dust by tying a moistened sponge or hand¬ 
kerchief over his mouth and nose. Then mix the mo¬ 
lasses and water together, squeeze the juice of the 
fruits into the water, and the skin and pulp chopped 
up fine, and moisten the bran with the liquid. Just 
enough of the liquid should be used to moisten the bran 
thoroughly but not to make it sloppy. Then it should 
be sown broadcast over the infesLc" field, preferably 
early in the morning, so that the grasshoppers can get 
a chance to eat it before the heat of the day dries the 
moisture in the bran. It should be sown evenly and 
thinly over the field, not in lumps. Although the pois¬ 
on may not kill the grasshoppers for a day or so, it 
seems to stop their feeding as soon as they eat some 
of it. The amount of mixture in the foregoing formula 
is enough for three or four acres. Live stock of all 
kinds should be kept from the treated fields for a few 
days to avoid any possible danger of poisoning them. 
If the grasshoppers are especially numerous it may 
be necessary to renew the poison bait after four or 
five days. 
“ The Farmer Pays.” 
The lawyers of Waldo Co., Maine, and the doctors 
of Belfast have agreed to adopt a price list for “pro¬ 
fessional service.” They agree that after February 1 
there shall be certain definite and specified fees for each 
particular service. This has led one of our readers to 
write the following: 
The action of the legal and medical professions of 
Belfast. Me., in combining and adopting an advanced 
scale of fees for their services, emphasizes the vital 
economic difference in the occupation of farming from 
that of any other business, trade or profession. Con¬ 
trary to what many may be led to believe by so-called 
agricultural experts, farming, except possibly under 
laboratory conditions, is not, nor never can be, an ex¬ 
act science. Provided he has the necessary capital—• 
which is a most important factor—the farmer can to 
a great extent control tillage, fertilization, seed selec¬ 
tion, plant diseases and insect pests. There are how¬ 
ever two agents necessary to a successful crop that are 
not his to command; these are moisture and tempera¬ 
ture. A farmer may put forth his best efforts, and 
lacking proper atmospheric conditions his labors may 
avail nothing. The production of a 200-egg hen is per¬ 
haps even more uncertain. Of no other business may 
it be so truly said that “Man proposes but God dis¬ 
poses.” 
The most important difference, however, lies in the 
fact that after running the gauntlet of germs, para¬ 
sites and adverse climatic conditions, the farmer has 
little or no voice in fixing the price on his products, 
which being of a perishable nature, are practically dis¬ 
posed of at forced sale and auction prices. Therefore 
the farmer knows not when he plants what recom¬ 
pense, if any, he will receive for his labors. Agricul¬ 
tural experts have likened farming to manufacturing, 
but what manufacturer would be so optimistic or fool¬ 
hardy as to operate his plant for 12 months and then 
sacrifice his goods on the market under these condi¬ 
tions? 
Before a wheel moves the tariff must be adjusted to 
his satisfaction. There are “gentleman’s agreements” 
and secret trade combinations; there are strike and 
war clauses in his contract, and he knows to a cent 
what he will receive for his finished product. The 
followers of other occupations and professions also 
have something to say as to what their compensation 
shall be. 
The mason and the plumber know just what their 
eight hours’ work will show. The farmer works 12 
hours a day, and takes what he can get for pay. He 
tends his crops from Spring to Fall, and sometimes gets 
no pay at all. If legal services you seek you will find 
that talk is not so cheap; you had better leave your 
clothes at home, for some take all but skin and bone. 
The doctors also have a way of saying what you are 
to pay. The surgeon lays you on the bed, gives you 
some dope and goes ahead, and whether it be kill or 
cure a healthy bill is always sure. The man who sells 
you flour and spice is quite decided on his price, but 
sell to him you will find it true he also makes the price 
for you. In buying clothing, boots and shoes, it is 
take or leave them as you choose, and if you travel on 
the train you will find the custom is the same. They 
fix the price that you must pay, and you can go or 
stay away. The humble servants of our State to fix 
their pay will legislate, with head and shoulders in 
the trough no power on earth can shut them off. none 
but the farmer have to live on what the public choose 
to give, and though his recompense be small, ’tis he 
who feeds and clothes them all. 
Maine. clifton m. moore. 
The Holstein Friesian Association. 
Six men, in 1871, owning a few purebred Holsteins, 
organized what is now the llolstein-Friesian Associa¬ 
tion of America. Now, in 1915, the registrations in 
this association number 60,000, or more, annually, and 
they cover the United States and Canada. The life 
membership of the association is now 7.724, an increase 
of 1,208 for last year. Annually $22,500 is distributed 
in prizes for milk _and butterfat records and for ex¬ 
hibits at fairs; $25,000 is expended per year in ex¬ 
ploiting the merits of the breed in various forms of ad¬ 
vertising. Registration has increased nearly 12 per 
cent, the past year. The Advanced Registry entries 
show an advance of 12,000 cows tested. The reserve 
fund of the association has reached the sum of $151.- 
368.30, and the annual budget is about $175,000. The 
total cash receipts, including amount on hand May 1, 
1914, were $346,034.22, and the total disbursements 
$176,198.63. The cash balance on hand is now $169,- 
835.59. The policy of publicity by advertising in agri¬ 
cultural papers and literary publications, has awakened 
a wide interest in the IIolstein-Friesians which has been 
reflected in increased membership, more registrations 
annually and larger income. These are some of the 
facts and figures gathered from the various reports 
submitted to the annual meeting of the llolstein- 
Friesian Association of America, held at Syracuse on 
J une 2. 
President D. D. Aitkens of Flint. Mich., in his an¬ 
nual address touched upon two or three points of gen¬ 
eral interest. Referring to the foot-and-mouth epi¬ 
demic, he said there was one phase of the question that 
should have consideration by the association, viz.: the 
value that should be placed upon animals that are 
sacrificed for the public good. The breeder of grade 
animals gets market price for animals killed while the 
purebred breeder gets grade prices, practically, for the 
animals he loses. The State has encouraged the breed¬ 
ing of purebred stock on the theory that it raises the 
general valuation of the animals by improving the 
breeds. They have encouraged importation by admit¬ 
ting, free of duty, purebred animals for breeding pur¬ 
poses, but now, in order to protect the public generally 
they treat these animals as if worth only grade prices, 
regardless of their cost. “I cannot see any excuse for 
it,” said President Aitkens. “Aside from the fact,” he 
continued, “that the Government and the State puts a 
premium on scrub breeding when it comes to health and 
penalizes the purebred-stock breeder, there is no legal 
excuse in paying one man what his stock is worth and 
the other man only a part of its worth. If the Gov¬ 
ernment takes a man's property for the public good 
it should pay for it what it is worth, whether purebred 
or grade.” He laid stress on the statement that the 
loss to owners of dairy herds at the National Dairy 
Show, on account of the foot-and-mouth disease, should 
be made good by its general government. 
President Aitkens spoke, also, with reference to for¬ 
eign competition in milk products as being on the in¬ 
crease. The surplus milk of Sweden. Norway, Den¬ 
mark and Holland, and other countries was. he said, 
being manufactured for export by low-cost labor aver¬ 
aging about $8 per month as compared with $30 per 
month in America. With finished milk products on the 
free list and with a large volume of imports of Euro¬ 
pean manufacture, the American manufacturer can 
retaliate only by lowering the price paid to the pro¬ 
ducer of raw milk, to his great loss. j. w. darrow. 
“Plant patience in the garden of thy soul”—or 
lather let it burrow like a mole. 
Some of our readers have been told that half an acre 
of poppy plants will pay them well. They have never 
grown the crop, and would hardly know it if they saw 
it growing. Our advice is to go very slow with' th se 
drug plants. 
