A 
7^ -lb.  Brahma  Pullet  14-lb.  Brahma  Capon  10-lb.  Crossbred  Capon 
SOUTH  SHORE  SOFT  ROASTERS 
All  three  birds  in  above  group  are  special-grown  Winter  chickens  or  soft  roasters  of  the  type  that  made  the  Massachusetts  South  Shore  famous  in  pre-war 
days.  .  The  pullet  on  the  left  is  a  Light  Brahma,  22  weeks  old,  weight  7 y2  lbs.  The  capon  in  the  center  is  a  Light  Brahma  in  prime  condition,  30  weeks  old  and 
weighing  14  lbs.  The  capon  on  the  left  is  the  product  of  a  Light  Brahma-White  Plymouth  Rock  cross,  24  weeks  old,  weight  10  lbs.  Photos  by  Dr.  P.  T.  Woods. 
Entered  as  Seco 
Vol,  LXXXII. 
Published  Weekly  by  The  Rural  Publishing  Co., 
333  W.  30th  St..  New  York.  Price  One  Dollar  a  Year. 
NEW  YORK,  JUNE  9,  1923 
Office  at  New  York,  . 
j.tter,  June  26,  1879,  at  the  Post 
onder  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
No.  4746 
The  Story  of  the  South  Shore  Soft 
What  They  Are  and  How  They  Grow 
Part  I. 
HIGH-GRADE  PRODUCT.  —  The 
“Winter  chicken,”  or  soft  roaster,  is 
t°  ordinary  chickens  what  Guernsey 
^ Ij^y  cream  is  to  average  city  milk,  or  what 
a  prime,  juicy  porterhouse  steak  out 
0  of  heavy  steer  beef  is  to  a  chuck 
steak  from  a  thin  old  cow.  A  big  chicken  that  is 
merely  hog-fat  is  not  a  prime  soft  roaster.  The 
roaster  does  not  run  to  leaf  and  other  bunches  of 
fat.  The  fat  is  better  distributed  and  blended  with 
the  meat,  so  that  when  a  well-cooked  roaster  is 
carved  the  tiny  droplets  of  fat  are  seen  glistening  all 
over  the  blade  of  the  knife;  there  is  no  oiliness,  no 
excess  of  localized  fat;  just  tender,  juicy  chicken 
meat  of  fine  flavor  that  fairly  melts  in  the  mouth. 
While  any  chicken,  dressing  4  lbs.  and  upwards  may 
be  a  roasting  chicken,  every  such  chicken  is  not  a 
roaster.  The  soft  roaster  is  a  specially  grown 
chicken,  fed  for  maximum  size  and  weight  of  soft 
tender  flesh  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  It  is  rap¬ 
idly  grown  and  marketed  before  the  flesh  hardens 
with  approaching  maturity.  Most  of  them  are  sold 
between  the  ages  of  22  and  30  weeks.  Growing  soft 
roasters  is  an  art.  They  are  called  “Winter  chick¬ 
ens”  because  some  of  the  best  of  them  are  hatched 
in  the  Fall  and  grown  during  the  Winter. 
A  LOCAL  INDUSTRY. — For  many  years  the  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  “South  Shore,”  particularly  Plymouth 
County,  part  of  Norfolk  and  Bristol  counties,  and 
Barnstable  County  in  the  vicinity  of  Centerville,  was 
famous  for  the  soft  roasters  produced  in  that  sec¬ 
tion.  No  longer  ago  than  1917  it  was  possible  to 
visit  a  number  of  successful  roaster  plants  in  an 
afternoon’s  drive.  Then  came  the  war  and  Hoover. 
Two  years  ago  soft  roasters  that  would  weigh  10  lbs. 
each  were  so  scarce  that  the  few  offered  brought  90 
cents  per  pound  at  retail  in  Boston  market.  Last 
year  there  were  practically  none  to  be  had,  and  no 
quotations  available.  War  conditions  smashed  the 
roaster  industry  so  badly  that  it  showed  no  tendency 
to  come  back. 
A  CHANCE  TO  COME  BACK.— There  is  a  great 
scarcity  of  really  good  market  poultry  of  the  prime 
pre-war  quality  in  our  Eastern  markets  today. 
There  should  be  a  good  opportunity  for  poultrymen 
who  can  grow  late  Summer  and  Fall  hatched  chick¬ 
ens  rapidly,  develop  the  maximum  quality  in  soft 
meat,  and  deliver  roasters  the  following  Spring  and 
early  Summer  to  weigh  from  8  to  10  lbs.  and  up¬ 
wards,  dressed.  At  the  present  time  there  is  an 
effort  to  revive  the  soft  roaster  industry  in  Plymouth 
County  along  co-operative  organization  lines.  How 
much  experience  the  promoters  can  bring  to  the 
work,  and  how  much  success  they  will  meet,  is  a 
matter  that  time  alone  can  tell.  The  best  of  the 
older  growers  are  apparently  out  of  it  to  stay.  They 
have  sought  other  lines  of  endeavor,  and  any  at¬ 
tempt  to  discuss  the  subject  with  them  only  reveals 
that  they  still  feel  their  wartime  experience  bit¬ 
terly  and  keenly. 
INDEPENDENT  PRODUCERS.— Your  successful 
producer  of  foodstuffs  is  apt  to  be  a  man  of  artistic 
temperament,  high  sense  of  independence  and  strong 
individuality.  To  incorporate  any  considerable  group 
of  such  men  into  a  successful  co-operative  poultry 
organization  will  call  for  executive  and  managerial 
ability  of  a  high  order.  The  manager  and  promoter 
will  have  to  possess  a  great  deal  of  patience,  tact 
and  diplomacy,  as  well  as  business  ability  and  good 
salesmanship.  The  necessary  submission  to  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  the  organization,  discipline  and  re¬ 
strictions,  are  almost  certain  to  prove  irksome  and 
galling  to  the  individual  producer  who  is  strong  for 
independence  and  freedom  fi-om  ‘•bossing.”  That  the 
poultrymen  need  such  an  organization  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  true.  Few  producers  possess  ability  to  sell 
their  product  to  best  advantage.  Few  produce  in 
sufficient  quantity  or  can  make  regular  shipments, 
and  few  are  favorably  located  for  independent  sales 
to  command  prices;  they  have  to  take  what  the 
buyer  offers  as  a  rule.  The  disadvantage  of  a  num¬ 
ber  of  small  producers  competing  one  against  the 
other  in  selling  their  produce  in  the  same  market  is 
obvious. 
A  VETERAN  IN  THE  WORK.— If  the  effort  to 
revive  the  soft  roaster  industry  along  co-operative 
lines  is  to  succeed  as  it  should,  I  think  that  those 
