Section 2 includes the great West, of which an adequate discussion
is out of the question. Of course, the great majority of this area
is too remote from markets for poultry production. The locations
around the big cities in this section are excellent for poultry
farming, as they are so far removed from the great farm region that
their bulk of imported eggs are of necessity somewhat stale.
California is good chicken country. The Puget Sound country is
rather too damp. In the interior western regions the chicken
business has not done well, chiefly because the atmosphere is too
dry for the methods of artificial incubation attempted.
Section 3 is the great granary of the world. It is also the home of
three-fourths of the country's poultry crop. It is a region of corn,
cattle and hogs. Such a country will produce poultry in a very
inexpensive manner. But it is not the region for special poultry
farms. In the northern portion of this tract, we find a heavy
housing expense and much winter labor necessary. It is a region of
high priced lands and labor, and low prices for poultry products.
Even the large cities in this region offer little in the way of
demand for high grade poultry products. This is because they are so
abundantly surrounded with farms that all produce is moderately
fresh and plentiful. There are no successful poultry farms in this
section west of the Mississippi. It is the natural location of
extensive rather than intensive branches of agriculture. The only
type of commercial poultry farming that could succeed in any portion
of this section would be a large community of producers who could
ship their products out regularly in carload lots. Such development
could only take place in the southern portion of this region, for
the housing expense is too great for the north. At best the distance
from market is a disadvantage, for the rate on eggs just about
equals the rate on the quantity of grain necessary to produce them.
The added time of shipment is something of a drawback, though in
refrigerator cars this is not serious. After the establishment of
poultry communities becomes more common, the Oklahoma and Texas
region will become available for this purpose, but they must be
established in full swing at the start, for a few isolated
poultrymen have no chance at all in this section, for they cannot
sell their product to advantage.
Section 4. This region, extending from the Ozarks to Eastern
Tennessee, is one of the very best poultry sections. The climate is
such that green food is available winter and summer, and the expense
of housing and winter labor is reasonable. This section is still in
the corn growing region. The question is almost always one of
railroad facilities to get the product out. All poultry farms in
this section must grow their own grain or buy it of their immediate
neighbors. It will not pay to ship grain into this region.
[Illustration: Plate III. Page 47. Map:
Intensity of egg production in the United States]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account