Again, the improvement of shipping and dressing facilities, the universal introduction of the refrigerator car and the introduction into the central west of the American breeds, has flooded the eastern market with a large amount of spring chickens—­by-products of the egg business on the farm—­which are almost equal in quality to the down-eastern product.

The most prominent reason of the lessened profit in broilers is the development of the cold storage industry.  Cold storage destroys the element of season, and allows only that margin of profit that the consumer is willing to pay for a fresh killed broiler from a Jersey broiler plant, as compared with last summer’s product from the Iowa farms.  From a summer copy of Farm Poultry, I quote the Boston market: 

Fresh killed Northern and Eastern: 
Fowls, choice 15c
Broilers, choice to fancy 23-25c
Western, ice packed: 
Fowls, choice 14c
Broilers, choice 20-22c

Western frozen: 
Fowls, choice.................   14c
Broilers, choice..............18-20c
Eggs: 
Nearly fancy..................   26c
Western choice........17-1/2-18-1/2c

To complete our comparison I turn to the previous winter and find that the best storage eggs are quoted at 19c, when the best fresh are selling at 35c.  This was a poor storage season and a quotation of 22c and 25c would perhaps be a fairer comparative figure.  We find the per cent, of premium on the local product to be: 

Fowls, local over fresh western........... 7 per cent. 
Fowls, local over frozen western.......... 7 per cent. 
Broilers, local over fresh western........14 per cent. 
Broilers, local over frozen western.......26 per cent. 
Eggs, local over fresh western............30 per cent. 
Eggs, local over storage western..........37 per cent.

I consider these general facts concerning the failure of broiler production, and the logical explanations given, as far more convincing than any figures I could give concerning the detailed cost of production.  Nor am I capable of giving as accurate figures as I can in the case of poultry keeping for egg production, for I have had neither the desire nor the opportunity to look them up.  The following suggestive analysis I submit for the purpose of pointing out why the cost of production is too great to allow a profit.  We may consider the chick marketing as May, the weight as 1-1/4, and the price as 35 cents a pound, or, putting it roundly a price of 50 cents a bird.

Now, May broilers mean February eggs.  If the reader will refer to the tables of hatchability and mortality he will see that for our northern states this is one of the worst seasons for hatching.  A hatchability of 40 per cent, times a liveability of 50 per cent, gives a net liveability of 20 per cent.  Now, anyone with the ability to produce high grade eggs at that time a year, could get about 40c a dozen for them, which raises the egg cost per broiler to about 17 cents.  The feed cost per broiler is small, usually estimated at 12 cents, and this makes a cost of 29 cents.  Now, let us allow a cent for expense of selling charges and forget all about investment, fuel and incidentals, we have left a margin of 20 cents.