American Agriculturist, November 8, 1924 
Getting Turkeys Ready for Thanksgiving 
The Turkey Outlook for the Early Holiday Trade 
O NCE the turkeys are able to take care 
of themselves, and that is usually at 
the age of six to eight weeks, they will 
begin to fly upon a roost somewhere 
nearby the buildings, providing we feed 
them regularly. Otherwise they may 
roam about and roost half a mile or so 
away from home, which is not at all desir¬ 
able. Turkey losses are minimized when 
they are reared to the point where they 
can roost according to their natural 
inclinations, which is always high off 
the ground. Their ration from this 
time on until fattening time, when ready 
for market, should consist of cracked 
corn and wheat. I do not know of any¬ 
thing better than this to feed them for 
frame and health in addition to what 
they find during the day and they are 
usually busy late and early when given 
plenty of range. By the way, turkeys 
must have plenty of range, especially 
he bronze type, in order to do best and 
hrive and grow as they should. Some 
other types are more lazily inclined and 
do not wander so much, but I have found 
they are not so profitable as those of the 
bronze variety. Shelter for grown tur¬ 
keys is never provided. We let them 
roost as they choose, but I always feed 
them daily, if only once. They will re¬ 
member this if regularly done and will 
not wander so far away. 
Turkeys should be fattened several 
weeks ahead of marketing time. It is 
good policy to start about first week in 
November for fattening those for Thanks¬ 
giving. They should be fed sparingly 
at first, and the feeding ration gradually 
increased until they are on a full ration. 
Never overfeed. That is more injurious 
than not feeding enough. The turkeys 
may be penned while being fattened but 
even then the quarters should be large 
for a flock of any size. Some years I have 
penned them, but I believe it is better to 
let them out on range until the last week 
of the fattening period. They are then 
healthy and hearty and ready for the 
market, of which there is always a good 
demand for many years past. 
It does not pay to sell all the flock. 
Some should be kept for next year. 
Whatever number is selected it pays to 
keep the best, those of good frame and 
weight, either yearling hens or early 
pullets of good weight.— Mrs. Edith 
Swope, Pennsylvania. 
The Turkey Outlook 
Thanksgiving will occur Thursday, Novem¬ 
ber 27, and as we near this national holiday in¬ 
terest increases as to the probable supply 
of turkeys and prices likely to prevail. Last 
spring and early summer the weather was cold 
and wet and season so backward in most sec¬ 
tions of the country that turkeys did poorly 
and the fatalities among the young birds was 
unusually large. This resulted in a lighter 
crop than last year. In the eastern and nearby 
southern States few turkeys were raised. In 
Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee 
the crop is perhaps 15 to 20 per cent, smaller 
than last year, but the turkeys have matured 
early and so many in fit condition to ship for 
Thanksgiving that the tonnage likely to be 
marketed will be fully equal to last year. In 
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and some other far 
western States the production is reported larger 
and in Minnesota, North Dakota and the 
northwest the crop is nearly up to last year’s 
big crop, but the season is late and turkeys 
backward with the proportion fit for Thanks¬ 
giving uncertain. 
There will undoubtedly be the usual big 
demand and there will probably be enough 
turkeys to supply this demand, but probable 
prices are uncertain. Many of the large 
operators seem to think fancy western will 
sell around 40c seaboard, others favor 45c as a 
more likely figure. 
Good Demands Prices Uncertain 
On October 1 there were 5,365,000 lbs. in 
storage against 6,352,000 on October 1 last 
year. These storage holdings are heavy, as 
there were only 2,645,000 lbs. in storage 
against 6,352,000 on October 1, 1921. 
The serious break in prices in the wholesale 
markets last Thanksgiving which caused pay¬ 
ing prices in the country to fall very low will 
have a tendency to cause a freer selling on the 
part of the growers and country buyers and 
shippers as well as other operators will be more 
conservative as regards prices paid at pro¬ 
ducing and shipping points. There will also 
be a tightening of credits among the country 
banks. 
Selling prices in New "York Thanksgiving 
week for fancy western turkeys for the past 
three years were as follows? 
1921 1922 1923 
Monday 54 to 57c 59 tc 60c 35 to 40c 
Tuesday 56 to 58c 59 to 60c 30 to 35c 
Wednesday 56 to 58c 58 to 60c 27 to 35c 
Texas Embargo —The embargo of the New 
York State Department of Farms and Markets 
against shipping turkeys and other stock from 
Texas into New York State except under re¬ 
strictions and with certificate attached will 
curtail shipments of turkeys from that State 
for Thanksgiving owing to the difficulty in 
complying with the necessary conditions. 
Effort is being made to have the embargo 
lifted.—(From The Price-Current.) 
The Child Labor Amendment 
(i Continued from page 325) 
simply gives power to Congress to legis¬ 
late with reference to the subject— a 
power which some legal authorities 
believe it already has but which it is 
thought necessary to establish firmly. It 
does not dictate in any way the trend of 
possible subsequent legislation. 
2. That it does not prohibit the em¬ 
ployment of children under 18 years of 
age". It sets this as the limit within which 
Congress may exercise its authority to 
regulate and if necessary prohibit the em* 
ployment of boys and. girls in certain 
occupations. This is a power which State 
legislatures already possess, although there 
is no age limit to their power. 
3. That it does not forecast any 
attempt to regulate children working on 
their home farms or helping with the 
housework. The Child Labor Amend¬ 
ment advocates unanimously subscribed 
to a statement denying all intention to 
rob the farm father or mother of the help 
of their children. 
State’s Rights Major Issue: 
Farm Children Next 
Taking up the two most _ strongly 
advanced arguments against child labor, 
it is found that radically different 
opinions were voiced both at the hearing 
and before Congress, and certainly no one 
could say that either side had not been 
fully represented. The argument against 
the proposed amendment on the basis of 
State’s rights was the most hotly con¬ 
tested. In the ranks of those who ap¬ 
peared to Urge that the Constitution was 
endangered by any process of amending 
were many who had opposed the previous 
child labor bills on the ground of actual 
opposition to any regulation of child 
labor. Among these champions of the 
Constitution were several representatives 
of organizations formed to combat the 
Prohibition Amendment and also at least 
one organization which had fought the 
Suffrage Amendment. The argument of 
State’s rights was very skillfully put by 
several lawyers who maintained that any 
such protective legislation should come 
from the States themselves and that a 
State which had perhaps higher standards 
should not attempt to foist them upon 
the neighboring State which did not agree. 
The question of the effect of the pro¬ 
posed bill on children in agriculture was 
pretty thoroughly discussed, although it 
did not take anything like the prominence 
given the State’s rights argument. Of 
course both sides were arguing as to what 
Congress might do. An opponent would 
say that Congress would be able to make 
it illegal for a girl to help her mother wipe 
the dishes, whereupon a supporter of the 
•measure would reply that Congress would 
have too much sense to do any such thing. 
In spite of the fact that the opponents 
were able to mention a good many far- 
from-sensible things done by Congress, 
the supporters of the bill had rather the 
best of it in that they could point to the 
two child labor laws Congress had already 
passed. Both of these laws dealt only 
with employment in mines and quarries, 
mills, factories, workshops and manufac¬ 
turing establishments. In both, the child 
in agriculture was specifically exempt and 
in all bills no\v being discussed in case the 
amendment goes through, the same ex¬ 
emption is made. The strongest and most 
idealistic supporters of the Anti-Child 
Labor movement make a distinction 
between child labor and child work. They 
state frankly that work is good for every 
child and that children are often more 
harmed by lack of work than by too much 
of it. These supporters say that inasmuch 
as the amendment is simply to make any 
legislation constitutional. Congress will 
naturally go back to the first laws it 
passed and when its right to do so is 
established, will simply put through 
practically the same thing in a form that 
is constitutional. 
New York Above the Average 
Neither side can say exactly what 
Congress will do. It would seem, how 
.ever, that the probabilities are certainly 
on the side of the enactment of legislation 
similar to that enforced before. This is 
especially true inasmuch as the forces 
working actively for the amendment have 
declared themselves definitely as opposing 
any attempt to regulate the farmer in 
using the help of his own child. 
As far as New York goes it has been 
pointed out that no change will be made 
in the present state of affairs if Congress 
passes legislation similar to that already 
passed. New York has extremely high 
standards and the whole intention of the 
federal law is to establish a minimum 
standard for the nation. New York is so 
far ahead of many of the States that any 
such law would be sure to demand less 
rather than more regulation than it has. 
Rather than endeavor to restrict the 
use of the child’s work on the farm, those 
opposing child labor concentrate in urging 
all communities to maintain a reasonable 
compulsory school law. Here again New 
York children are all protected, although 
in some communities there has un¬ 
doubtedly been a disposition to keep 
children out of school at times when their 
labor is especially needed on the farm. 
Political Line-up 
Both the Republican and the Demo¬ 
cratic parties are on record as favoring the 
proposed amendment. It is remembered 
that at the time the last federal law, since 
declared unconstitutional, was pending. 
President Wilson himself went in person 
to the Capitol to use his influence in 
having it put through. President Cool- 
idge, during the time when the Senate had 
delayed considering the bill after it had 
passed the House, issued a statement 
urging its passage. Both the Democratic 
and Republican organs have come out 
urging the enactment of this legislation. 
It would seem after carefully reading 
all the testimony and evidence on both 
sides, that opposition to the constitutional 
amendment is based upon unnecessary 
apprehension. If it is passed there will 
still be the necessity of drafting the new 
law and it is then that any opponents of 
regulation or those who wish certain 
trades or callings exempt will have ample 
opportunity to be heard. It is true that 
Congress may do certain things which do 
not seem likely, but judging from the long 
deliberation given simply to the enabling 
act, it is doubtful whether they will jam 
through any legislation which is opposed 
by public opinion or even by any one body 
of citizenry. 
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