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y Record .
Edited by E. T. BROWN.
Pub l is hed Fi rst of Eve ry M on th .
8 0 P ages 8 0
Profusely i llustrated Throughout. Pri nted on Art Pap
I _H_EPaper for Uti li ty Poultry=Keepers.
FECIAL Correspon den ts i n the UNITED K INGDOM ,
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, EUROPE, an d AMERICA.
l uv-O N SALE AT AL L BO OKSTAL LS on NEWSAGENTs .
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THE ED ITOR,“ I l lustrated Pou ltry Record ,
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F O R A F R EE S P EC IM EN C O P Y.
armers
For moving fowls from place to place thi s Fowl H ou se, No. no, i s most useful .
i s strongly bu ilt of best red deal frames morti sed an d tenon ed together, wal ls
roof covered with strong weather boardin g. Wood floor, lock-up door and
flap , with flap on e side for lightand air. I ron wheels and hardwood axles. St
outside wi th brown stoprot, limewhi tened i n side. Size 6 ft. by 4 i t ,£4for accommodating about 40 fowls . Cash Price (Carriage Paid) o 0
L arger size, 8 i t. by 6 ft., for 60 fowls, carriage paid £5 15 : o.
I llustrated Catalogu e, No. 164, free on app li cation .
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W I L L L AST A GENERAT I ON .
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TESTI MONIAL FROM THE UNI VERSI TY COLLEGE,
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DEAR Sm ,-As a resul t of my previous exp erien ce, and the experi
ments an d observation s in Arti ficial I n cubation made during the lastthree years at the College Pou ltry Farm, Theale, I cannot speak tooh igh ly of H earson
's Champion I n cubator. I t has given in each year
the h ighest average percen tage of hatching, whi lst from its simpl ici tyinoperation , i ts absolute reliabi li ty of tempera ture, and the excellenceof i ts con struction , it i s undoubtedly thebest I n cubator on themarket .Yours fai thfully ,
(Signed) EDWARD BROWN.
SON’
SCHAMPION HYDROTHERMICING LANTERN. FO STER
I n the Champion L an M OTH ERtern a lobe of we er
i , 1,9 ,“t ForRearingInWinter Summer.the flame an d the egg ;
thi s effects the doublepurpose of con cen trat
in g the light and stop
ping the heat rays of
low refran gibili ty . The
result i s that the con .
ten ts are seen to great
advan tage, and can be
examined leisurely .
w RO O M S : 2 3 5 , REGEN T S TREET W.
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eGreatUn iversal InternationalExhibition atBrusseAPRlL—19 10—NOVEM BER.
CHEAP TICKETS wi l l be i ssued dai ly from London to Brussels, via Dover and Galvia Dover and Ostend. For Parti cu lars of Fares an d Servi ces, to al l parts of the Con tin
y to theCon tin en tal Dept. , S. E. 0 . Rai lway , Lon don Bri dge Station , S.E. , to theCompaxdon Term inal Station s, or to the various Tourist Agen ts.
VI NCENT W. H I LL, General Man ager
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E G G S I N S E A S O N .
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OULTRYMANAGER.
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llj ational [bonfire®rgan i3ation Eociete.
RE P O RT ON
T he Eou try n dustry
in Be g'
um .
EDWARD BROWN,F.L .S.
H onorary Secretary of the National Poultry Organ ization Society
Poultry Expert to the Agri cultnral Organ i zation Society .
Author of Report on the Poultry I ndustry in America ,Report on the Pou ltry I ndustry in Denmark and Sweden ,
“Poul try Keeping as an I ndustry for Farmers an d Cottagers,Races of Domestic Poultry,” Poultry - Fattening, &c .
”
Reuben
NATIONAL POULTRYORGANI ZATION SOCIETY, LIMITED,
REGENT H OUSE, REGENT STREET , w.
19 10 .
Vs»
II iZ ill“ncieL I M I TED .
REGENT HOUSE, REGENT STREET . LONDON. W
EDYCElOCll t—THE MARCH I ONESS OF SALI SBURY .
Executi/ve Cormm'
ttee
H .R .H . PRINCESS CHRI STI AN OF SCH LESWI G-H OLSTEI N.
Sm C. THOS. DYKE ACLAND , BART. B . W. H ORNE, Esq,
ROBT. ARM I'I‘AGE, Esq . , M .P . THE L ORD LUCAS.
Tm: Loan BLY’I ‘H . L ADYH ELEN MUNRO-FERGUSON0 . E. BROOKE, Esq . (PastMaster Poul ters (represen ti ng
Compan y of Lon don ) . ROUSE ORLEBAR, Esq. ,J .P .
Sm FRANCI S A. CHANNI NG, Bu m, M .P. M I SS SM I TH -DORRI EN.
CARY COLES, Esq. Tu n DUCHESS OF SOMERSET.
G. MERED I TH DOBSON, Esq, CHRI STOPHER TURNOR , Esq .
E. T. S. DUGDALE, Esq. F. W. VERNEY , Esq . , M P .
W. Fl TZ HERBERT-BROCKH OLES , Esq , J .P. , D .L. Con . V I CTOR VAN DE WEYER.
M iss GEORGI ANA BUL LER. Tux: H on . M as . WI LMO'I ‘ .
Hon . Treasur er—Con R. WI L L I AMS, M .P . H on . Secretary—Ma . EDWARD BROWN,Rac ism
REGENT STREET , W
Organ izi ng Secretary~MR . VERNEY CARTER . Assi stant Secretary—MR. F. A . HAZ LEWOC
The objects for the prom otion of which the Society i s establi shed are : (a ) Theization an d developmen t of the Pou ltry I n du stry as a most importan t bran ch of
OBJ ECTSAgri culture ; (b) the improvemen t of the qual i ty an d the in crease
quan ti ty of eggs, poul try, &c . , produced in the Un i ted Ki n gdom ;
mai n ten an ce of regu lari ty an d un i formi ty of supp ly (d) the prov i sion of facil i ties to
tran si t ; an d (e) the brin gi n g of the producers an d retail ers in to c loser tou ch , in ord
the best avai lable market m ay be obtain ed at a m i n imum cost.
The Nation al Pou ltry Organ i zation Soci ety , Lim ited, en deavours to m ake m ore
kn own the opportun iti es presen tin g them selves to farm ers ; affords practical in form s
SCHEME CFto the class of pou ltry -keep in g most su i ted to each di strict, havin g re
OPERATI ONSthe soil an d the markets avai lable ; in di cates the breeds wh ich gbest results ; ren ders assi stan ce in obtain in g on the best term s app
of a right kin d ; di ssem in ates leaflets providin g rel iable in formation bearin g upon the
aspects of poultry cul ture ; regi sters an d suppli es n am es of traders wil l i n g to t
produ ce ; keeps a regi ster of poul try men an d women desirin g situation s ; an d, ge
assi sts the Bran ches and D epots , an d through them in dividual breeders , in every
possible .
Bran ches of the Society are formed wherever the requi site local co-operation
obtain ed. Many such bran ches have already been establ ished, an d are doin g sati s
BRANCHES ANDwork in their respective distri cts, of whi ch a li st wi l l be for
COLLECTING DEPOTSon app li cation to the Secretary . Where Col lectin g D epformed, eggs are col lected frequen tly , carefu lly tested, an d
are strictly fresh , branded with the Society’s Trade Mark , packed an d forwarded to s
traders as rap idly as possible. By these m ean s the qual i ty i s guaran teed, an d
produce placed in the fron t ran k, yielding adequate return s to poul try-keepers . I n 5
di stri cts i t i s in tended to en courage the improvemen t of Table Pou ltry , the qual i ty oi
in man y parts of the coun try i s very deficien t. By so doin g it i s hoped that en
return s wil l be secured by breeders an d rai sers of poul try .
Al l subscribers to the Nation al Pou ltry Organ i zation Society, L im i ted, either dthrough an y of its Bran ches, are Members of the Soci ety , an d en ti tled to its priv il egeMEMBERSH I P
scribers of On e Guin ea an d upwards are regi stered as M embers of
in accordan ce wi th the Rules , wh ich can be obtain ed on app]
Subscription s of On e Sh i ll in g and upwards may be m ade to the Society or i ts B r
Subscribers of n ot less than Five Shi llin gs per an num an d upwards receive the J ourn
Cop i es of L eaflets for di stri bu ti on , Forms of App bi cati on for M embershi p, an d i nforesp ecti ng the work of the Soci ety can be had from
The Secretary , Nation al Pou ltry O rgan ization Soc iety , L imi t
Regent H ouse, Regen t Street, Lon do
TABLE OF CONTENTS .
I NTRODUCTI ON
I I .
Objects of En qu iryRange of
Resu ltsAckn owledgmen ts
POULTRY BREED I NG I N BELGI UM
Gen era l Condi tion sM odern D eve lopmen tsStock B reedingFan cy Pou ltryH istoricalPou ltryFarm Pou ltry
-keep ingArea an d Popu lationStatistica lImproved Ferti l i ty of LandA Changed D istrict
Prosperity follows Pou ltryImports and Exports
H OUSI NG AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Simple M ethods
H ousingForms of Poul try H ouses
The Colon y H ouse System
H atch ingRearingFeedingSuppl ied FoodsM i lk Sheep an d Pou l tryEGG PRODUCT I ON
A General I n dustryFarm Work
The BrackelSottegem
B1aekels on Water M eadows
Ren aix
Typical Examples
Table of Con ten ts
EGG PRODUCT I ON— con ti n ued .
V i .
P am .
A Breedi ng Farm
Pou ltry Al lotmen ts
Axiom s on Poultry-keepingThe Camp in e
The H erve Coun tryEgg Farm ingI tal ian Fowls as LayersS ize an d Colour of EggAverage Production
Price of Eggs
W in ter Suppl iesM ARKET POU LTRYAn O ld Pursu it
Poulets de Lai tPou lets des Grain sPou lets de Bruxel lesThe Table-
pou ltry AreaLonderzeelM ethods Adopted
H atch i ng an d RearingA Note of Warn in gFatten ing Establ ishmen ts
No Cramm ingFeeding an d K i l lingPou ltry Farm at LippelooH atching at Lippeloo. .
Brooder H ouses
Run s for Growing B irds
Resu lts at L ippelooTH E DUCK I NDUSTRYD uck BreedingH uttegem an d D istrict
D uckl in gs and Ch icken sH atch ing and RearingA Spartan System
Water Len ti ls an d Worm s
Feeding the Duckl ingsLapla ign eM ethods at Laplaign eFeed ing and Fatten ingLebbeke an d M erch tem
GEESE AND TURKEYSD ecl in e of theFew T urkeysRonqu ieres
Turkey Breeding
Table of Con ten ts vi i .
Grass. AND TURKEYS
Vl l l .
M ethods of M an agemen t
D isposal of Ron qu ieres TurkeysA TurkeyTurkeys and M atrimon y
MARKET I NG TH E PRODUCE
Nearness of M arketsNo Co-operation
Egg MarketsPacking the Eggs
Preservation of
Notes on
Pou ltry M arket at AudenardeM a l in es M arketBrusse ls M arketPoultry Auction sBELGI AN RACES OF POULTRYEffects of Varied Con di tion s
I n troduction of New B reeds
D istribution of Breeds
Qualities of Races
Brackel and Campin e FowlsM al in es FowlBraban t FowlArden n e FowlH erve FowlRump less FowlsU ti l i ty Ban tams
Cock-crowing Con testsBreeds of D ucksRon qu ieres TurkeyBreeding Theories
I NSTRUCTI ON I N POULTRY-KEEP I NGLecturesAgricultural Col legesSpec ial Pou l try SchoolsExperimen tal WorkGENERAL NOTES
l n tercommun ication s
Ra i lwayNation al Federation of Pou ltry SocietiesL ’U n ion Av icole de LiegeO ther Soc ieties
V l l l .
I .
I I .
I llustra tions
I LLUSTRAT I ONS .
I M PROVED CAM PI NE FARM H OUSES
BROODER H OUSE AT TH I M I STER
M I LK SH EEP I N POULTRY RUNS
DERZ EEL
FATTEN I NG CAGES
FI RST BROODER H OUSE AT
D RUM BRooDER AT L I PPELOOSECOND BROODER H OUSE AT L I PPELOOGRO WI NG PENS AT L I PPELOOSTRAW COOP FOR D UCKL I NGSFLOCK OF H UTTEGEM D UCKL INGS WI TH
ENCLOSURE FOR YOUNG DUCKS AT
LAPLAIGNERONQU IERES TURKEYSM ARKET SCENE AT AUDENARDE
R E P O R T
ON T HE
Poultry Industry in Bel 111111.
To TH E CENTRAL EXECUT I VE COM M I TTEE OF TH E
NATI ONAL PO UL TRY O RGANI Z AT I ON SOCI ETY .
LAD I ES AND GENTLEMEN,
I n continuance of the series of enquiries commenced in19 06 , when I visited America, and in 19 07 , when presentcond ition s i n D enmark and Sweden were investigated , inrespect to the poultry industry of the countries named ,
I have made s imilar Observations i n Belgium during the
mon ths of O ctober, November, and D ecember last. H ere
with I beg respectfully to submit my report,which
,i t may be
hoped , will prove of equal interest and value to those prev iously issued , an d which have commanded a large measureof attention in all parts of the civi l ized world .
O BJ ECTS O F ENQU I RY.— Probably there is n o section of
Europe,an d therefore of the world , where intensification of
method i s carried out to the same degree as in Belgium,
which,with its dense population , its high standard O f pro
ductiven ess , an d the general prosperity O f its rura l d istricts,
affords a wide field for investigation . I t is equal ly true thatpoultry-keeping enters more largely in to Belgian farmingoperations than i n any other part O f Europe
,save a few
section s of France, where S imilar conditions prevai l . I haveendeavoured to carry out your instructions, which were to
enquire into (I ) the Belgian methods O f production both of
eggs and table poultry (2 ) the development of special breedsof pou ltry whether as layers or for meat properties ; (3) thesystem of producing the famous pou lets de B ruxelles and
2 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
pai l /81.9 do [al l (milk chickens) both as regards breeding and
fatten in g ; (4) the duck industry of the Pays d ’
A lost ; (5) the
effect which poultry-keeping has had on the fertil ity of the
soi l and general cultivation ; (6) the methods of marketingadopted
, and (7) the steps taken by cen tra l an d localauthorities for en couragement O f the in dustry , improvementO f races O f poultry, and by education al and experimentalwork .
RANGE OF TO URS.
—W ith Belgium I have been fairlyfamiliar for many years, but as con s iderable chan ges and
developments have taken place in the last two decades, i twas necessary that the groun d should be covered complete ly .
I have therefore taken two special journeys,in the course of
which the greater part of the coun try was visited , i n clud in gthe Provin ces of Flanders , east and west, Braban t, H a in aut,Namur, Antwerp, an d Liege . Visits were paid to the greategg
-produc ing areas i n Flan ders,Antwerp
,and Liege ; to the
table-poultry districts between the c ity O fM a l ines an d Ghen ton the on e s ide
, away to the D utch border on the other ; toAuden arde and Laplaigne , where duck -raising is carried out
so extensively , and to the Ronquieres tablelan d , whereturkeys bearing that name are bred . Various markets wereattended and many visits paid to farms, fatten in g and breedingestabl ishmen ts , &c.
RESULTS .
—That the con ditions met with in Belgium are,
in many d irections, peculiar to itself wil l be apparen t by thereport n ow subm itted . Great though the industrial and
commercia l developments in Belgium have been withinrecent years, creatin g an en ormously increased deman d forproduce, that is by no means singular, for we find i t the caseto an even greater exten t in Britain
,America , an d Germany .
But i t is essential ly , outside a few areas,an agricultura l
country , with a peasantry deeply attached to the soi l,possess
i ng a knowledge of cultivation and breeding probably un
equal led by that O f any other people . Nearly every yard of
ground which can be uti lized productively is cultivated , andthe relation of an imal to plant l ife is real ized to a degreewhich is highly commendable . I t is a strik ing fact that inspite of the growth of cities, towns, and manufacturing
The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um 3
districts, this l ittle country n ot only feeds itsel f, but has a
considerable surplus for export to neighbouring countries ,which is true as to eggs and poultry equal ly with otherartic les of food . The adaptabil ity Of the different racesof poultry found within the borders of Belgium is remarkable, and i ts people have , in their own way , solvedmany problems which have n ot yet been reached in otherlands. O n the productive S ide there is much to learn fromthem , though , as I attempt to Show in the report, there are
methods which might not be so successful elsewhere,and
which , in some cases,have been improved upon . I n the
summary given at the end of the report an attempt is madeto indicate those systems worthy of emulation ,
more especially upon smal l hold in gs and al lotments. O n e fact wasimpressed upon me on several occas ions— namely, that at thebas is O f al l efforts put forth is the ideal that the prosperityof a country depends upon the position of i ts working people
,
not the rich a lone ; and, therefore, advancemen t of the
former means en han ced deman d for produce .
”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . Adequate recognition of the
great kindnesses and many courtesies exten ded to me i s
impossible,though in the report itsel f mention of some O f
these i s made . Considerable interest was shown in my
enquiry by O fficials , members Of various societies, and privateind ividuals
,and my way was made easier thereby. H is
Ex cel lency Mons . F . Schollaert, Belgian M in ister of Agriculture, and the members o f h is staff supplied me withthe statistics given and other in formation , to whom myheartiest thanks are due . My friend M ons. Louis VanderSn ickt, Editor of Chas e et P ecite, not only placed his
encyclopaedic knowledge at my disposal , making clear whatmight otherwise have been uncertain , and obtain ing i n
formation which the somewhat secretive Flemish peasantwould have refused to give to a stranger—for they are by no
means communicative on such questions—an d securing me
most val uable introductions, but he generously accompaniedme to the various centres, at a great expenditure of h is timeand en ergy . H e is so we l l known that his presence openedevery door. M adame Van Schel le has helped me greatlyin respect to the Province of Antwerp . To M . M aurice
4 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
Laloux , of Liege, I was indebted for taking me in his motorover part of the Ardennes country , enabling me to visitplaces otherwise unatta inable except at considerableexpenditure of time. For permission to reproduce the
photographs which form P lates X I I I .,X1V . , an d XV . , I am
i ndebted to M ons . Vander Sn ickt.
I have the honour to remain ,Ladies and gentlemen ,
Your obedient servant,EDWARD BROWN.
H ouse, Regen t S treet, W. ,
yan uary ,19 10 .
6 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
I n Speaking of Belgium , therefore, we must remember that,though the area i s smal l , i t embraces highly d iversifiedconditions, natural , phys ical , an d economic .
2 . M ODERN DEVELOPMENTS.
‘
or centuries the Netherlands has occupied an importan t position in WesternEurope
,and its people early atta i n ed that prosperity which
follows great in dustry . Study O f the h istory of the countryshows that vast wealth was accumulated hundreds of yearsago, and that the Trade Guilds exerted an importantin fluence before the time of the Span ish domin ion . The
remarkable in dustrial developments of recent years, as seenin the manufacturing centres and the growth O f the portof Antwerp
,have created a demand for produce which, but
for the industry of the rural population an d thei r real izationof the Opportunity presented to them ,
could n ot have beenmet by home suppl ies . I n many directions
,n ot on ly does
Belgium provide for her own n eeds, but also has a margin forexport . As shown below, that i s the case in con nectionwith poultry and eggs, the production of which has increasedenormously within recent years , and is n ow an importantfactor in the agriculture Of the coun try . O ne fact hasimpressed me very much— n am ely , that whilst in some
directions the methods adopted appear an tiquated and shown o sign s of progress ion
,in others great advan ces have been
made , some of which are especial ly suggestive where smal lerfarms and occupation s are met with . Un der those con
di tion s intensification must take place to y ield an adequatereturn ,
and I know of n o country which Offers a finerexample of great production in accordance With the amountof land avai lable . Whilst it i s unquestion able that the
standard of l ife is lower in many parts of Belgium thanwe are accustomed to see in Britain
,i t is higher than in some
section sLO f Scotland and I relan d . That standard,however
,
is determined by habit rather than want of means, for theevidence is that the Belgian peasantry own more money thantheir manner of l ife would indicate .
3. STOCK -BREED I NG.
— Some time ago I wrote that1There is no part O f Europe Where the peasantry have
“Races of Domestic Poultry,” 19 0 6, p . 1 12 .
Poultry-breedi ng i n Belg i um 7
shown greater skil l in the production of val uable races of
an imals and birds, or have given more intel l igen t attentionto the improvement upon practical l ines, than in the L ow
Countries, more especial ly— as a result of favourable con
ditions— in what is n ow known as Belgium . The in habitantsof that land are essential ly practical . Their in dustry and
thri ft are proverbial .” Present observations have abundantlyconfirmed that statemen t . For many centuries the Belgian shave given themselves to the work of breeding. Restrictedby l imitations of space
,their attention has n ot been devoted
SO much to larger races of stock , as in Britain and elsewhere ,as to the smal ler animals and birds. The result is seen i nthe number of breeds of poultry met with , each spec ial lysuited to the soi l and conditions found within a given area
,
in which the characteristics have been ind ividual ized an d
the qual ities highly developed . I nformation as to these is
given in a later chapter. So far as my knowledge goesthere is n o country , save perhaps the adjoin ing K in gdomof H ol land
,where an equal n umber of native breeds are to
be found on the same extent of territory . The breedinginstincts of the Belgian people fin d expression in otherdirection s . T here the H oming pigeon has been developedfor its powers of fl ight. These birds are to be seen everywhere, an d the Sport is national . I was told that in connection with pigeon races more money i s won on a sin gle daythan is awarded as prizes for horses in a whole year.
Further, the breeding of canaries and cage birds is also verypopular. Un doubtedly , the settlement of
,Netherlanders
around Norwich during the time of Span ish re l igious persecution explains why that city is the greatest centre for
canary breeding in England . Another instan ce is the
breeding of rabbits, which an imals are kept to an enormousextent, the Skins from which form an important part of the
industry and trade of A lost. O n e dealer at Lebbeke ln
formed me that he had sold nearly such skins withina short period . What is the case with an imals and birds i sequally true in respect to plant l ife .
4 . FANCY PO ULTRY.-Whi lst it is true that the . B elgian s
are practical in the extreme , there is a large amount of whatmay be termed fancy breeding in that country . Nor is this
8 The Pou ltry I n dustry tu Belgium
a modern development. I t wou ld appear that for cen turiesthroughout the Netherlands breeding for external characteristics
, or abnorma l types, or for sport, has been gen eral .TO that we owe several varieties of poultry, pigeons and cagebirds , some of which , notably the Cropper p igeon and the
Belgian canary, are altogether abn orma l . The same ten
deney is strongly in evidence at the presen t time,for
,as
shown later, there are breeders devoting themse lves en tire lyto production of extreme types . I n n o other coun try on the
Con tinent of Europe has the English exhibition system beenso widely copied as in Belgium ,
where great shows are he ldat Brussels, A ntwerp , Ghent , Li ege , and elsewhere. The
results are that practical and fancy poultry breeders are
sharply d ivided . The former are the food producers, thelatter chiefly those who breed for pleasure or bus iness . The
fan ciers have in troduced many n ew breeds , but with on e or
two exception s they have had comparatively l i ttle influen ceupon the farmers and peasants
,the latter of whom espec ia l ly
will never Show a bird or buy exhibition stock . Fanc iersare chiefly wel l-to-do people
,or the workin g-class com
mun i ties in the industria l d istricts. O n e section of poultrykeepers , those who compete in the cock-crowing contests, arechiefly artizan s, but that is a sport, as is cock-fighting.
Large numbers of game fowls are bred for the last-namedpurpose. A lthough prohibited in Belgium, I fear a good dea lof cocking goes on , and
,as i t is permitted in Northern
France, devotees have on ly to trave l a few miles to indulgei n their pastime without fear of gendarmes and the law. We
see , therefore, that the Belgians are a race of poultry-breedersfor one purpose or another.
5. H I STORI CAL — I t is evident that the breeding of
poultry has been carried out for many centuries . The claimhas been that for more than a thousand years have poultrybeen bred and produced on what may be termed industria ll ines ; that is, systematical ly and for food production .
When i t is remembered that the people of B russels in 10 54were cal led “K ickefri tters (chicken-eaters), there is fairevidence in support of this statement. But we can go furtherback , to the time of Charlemagne (eighth century) , for at
that period all millers on the banks of streams were com
Pou ltry-breedi ng i n Belgi um 9
pol led to keep ducks, and farmers to keep poultry , as theyhad to pay tribute in fowls, ducks, and carp to the land , or
overlord . Through dynastic and other influences the L owCountries were for many centuries brought into direct commun ication with Burgundy , Germany , Austria , I taly, and
Spain , and her great prosperity for a considerable period of
time would encourage a pursu it such as poultry-keeping .
I t would appear that here, as in many other coun tries, the
rise of abbeys and monasteries led to the dissemination of
n ew and better breeds,first introduced to meet the needs of
the mon ks themselves, and afterwards were distributed over
the surrounding district. What were the classes of poultrythen kept we have no means of knowing . So far as evidenceis avai lable i t can be accepted that, in Spite of the prolongedconfl ict which led to throwing off the Spanish yoke, therewas a great in crease of pou ltry-breeding in Belgium withinthe sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
,of which the present
is but a natural deve lopment and evolution . I t w i l l be seen,
therefore, that the conditions are entirely d ifferent from thoserecorded in my Reports on America in 19 0 6 and D enmarkin 19 07 , in both of which coun tries , as to a lesser extentin our own ,
poultry-keepin g as an industry has had to be builtup from the basis, for in Belgium it has existed for a longperiod O f time as a defin ite branch of farmin g . That factShould be kept in view as the fol lowing pages are read ,
for i t will explain much that would otherwise be m is
understood .
6 . PO ULTRY FARMS .— Poultry-farming ,
that is , the
keeping of large numbers of fowls on a l im ited area e itherfor egg or meat production , is practical ly un known inBelgium ,
though various attempts have been and are beingmade in that d irection . Near the D utch border i s a TrappistM onastery where laying hens are kept, and at an otherof these communities in the Province of Antwerp is a sma l lerplant, at which the stock consists entirely ofWhite Leghorns.
The statement is made that at the latter a profit of
francs per annum has been real ized . These are bothstated to produce only for market and do not depend uponthe sale of stock birds or eggs for hatching . The enterpriseof the Vicomte de Beughem at Lippeloo is a very interesting
I O The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgium
development. I t is entirely for the production of chicken sfor the fatteners
,but, as i t is upon specia l l in es and the
breedin g stock are in the hands of farmers and others, itdiffers greatly from an ord inary poultry farm . Furtherparticulars of this plant are given in another chapter. Sometime ago at H aeltert, in Flanders , the rearin g of chickens ona large scale was attempted by mean s of shelf brooders , asdescribed by M adame Van Schel le in a paper read beforethe Second National Poultry Conferen ce i n 19 0 7 , but i t was
n ot a fin an c ial success,and has sin ce been abandoned .
I heard of a few other places where something is being triedin this way , but as a rule they may be termed breedingestablishments rather than poultry farms
,and, i n accordance
wi th our own experience in the United K ingdom,America,
an d elsewhere, to meet the in creased expen diture of such
places they m ust secure a greater return than i s possible forpurely market produce . That they are va luable i n re lationto the industry as a whole
,as breedin g cen tres, cannot be
question ed . I f pou ltry-farm ing pur et . simple can be madeto pay anywhere
,it should be in Belgium
,where labour is
cheap,food n ot higher than i n our own country
,an d the
deman d for and prices of eggs and poultry regular an d high .
I t i s very suggestive,therefore , that up to the present n o
important developments on these l i nes have taken place.
I t may be thought that some of the in stan ces recorded inthis report, more especial ly where the operation s are sma ll
,
such as the Renaix d istrict, can fa irly be inc luded in the
term poultry- farm in g , but these are supplemen tal to otherwork and n ot a means of l ivelihood . M any S im ilar cases canbe recorded in our own country .
7 . FARM POULTRY-KEEPI NG.
— Speaking gen era l ly, withthe exception of the hil ly d istricts of the Provinces of Liege ,Namur, and Luxembourg, in the last two of which the
population is scanty , Belgium is a huge pou ltry farm . I n
what is known as the A rdennes the country is thin ly populated , and largely devoted to sport. There fowls are keptchiefly for household purposes
, but are increasing in number.
Fowls and ducks are to be met with everywhere in the otherprovinces ; n ot
,i t is true, massed in great numbers upon
on e place, but scattered over the land, each farm maintain ing
Pou ltry-breedi ng i n Belgium I I
a good stock . I n n o country with which I am acquainted ,save certain parts of England and the Little Compton districtof Rhode I slan d in America , are so many fowls to be seenfrom the road or rai lway as in Belgium . Not on ly is that so
in Flanders and Antwerp , but on the larger farms to the east
and south of Brussels,in Brabant, I was very much impressed
by the great increase in poultry-keeping as compared witha few years ago. A n interesting feature i n conn ection withthese farms is referred to later. I was informed at Sottegem ,
which is the centre of a great egg-producing d istrict, that
severa l farmers are largely increasing their stock of poultry,finding them more profitable than anything else, in somecases keeping as many as 30 0 to 40 0 layers. Some of the
smal ler occupiers are giving up their fields to poultry and the
growing of crops for them ,which may succeed up to a given ,
though,unfortunately, by no means a certain , poin t, but has
elements of risk i n it . The old Flemish saying that “threehens wil l help to keep you , but you must keep six hens, bywhich was meant that where three could find their own l ivingsix would need feedin g, has been disproved or forgotten .
That , however, was in the days when prices were probablya fourth of what are n ow obta inable. I suppose the Belgian swil l have to learn the same lesson as others—namely ,
that thebalan ce between animal and plant l i fe must be maintained ,and that increase of the former at expen se of the latter mustbrin g about disease and loss . W ith the exception , however,of a few examples in the Londerzeel d istrict, where , i t seemedto me
,concen tration is being carried to the dan ger point, i t
can be con ceded that up to the present they have successfullyaccomplished the intensification of method and of numbers,an d have abundantly proved that poultry-keeping on smal leroccupations can take an important share in the total result .
I t i s estimated that at the present time n ot less than 10 per
cen t. O f the land in the Pays d’
Alost is occupied by poultry,the rest being given up to cultivation . A S a ru le, the farmsin that section are from 10 to 15 acres in exten t. Thereis , however, a very large number of smal ler occupiers .
8 . AREA AND POPULATI ON—The total area of Belgiumis square miles, which is about equa l to the countiesof H ertford , Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire, and the
1 2 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
population on D ecember 31 , 1 9 0 5, was I t is one
of the most densely populated countries in the world , with636 inhabitants to the square mile . The fol lowi ng figures,for which I am indebted to the courtesy of the Be lgianM in ister ofAgriculture, give the statistics as to the respectiveprovinces
Number of inhabiProvmoe Area i n hec tares
sq
ta
uzrt
:Ef
fie75 850
69 !
300 1400 949
847
787
283I 35
381, I 18 257
Tota ls 503 636
The population per square mile in the Un ited K ingdomwas 367, so that Belgium has a den sity of 72} per cent. greater.
The above table includes the cities , and to that extent doesnot represent the rural d istricts . For instance, A ntwerpProvin ce comprises the great port of that name, Brabantembraces Brussels with its inhabitants , and Liegen ot on ly the city but the col l ieries and iron d istricts adjacent.
But Flanders contains no great cities, and the average therelargely represents a rural population . As already ind icated ,Belgium is a land of sma l l occupat ions. The census to be
taken at the end of the current year will bring the information up to date, but the fol lowing figures, showing the
d istribution of the land , is taken from the agriculturalstatistics for 189 5
Area1 No. of H oldingsH alf hectares and under
From i to I hectares
I 2
2 3
3 4 n
4 n 5
5 n 10
I o 20
20 30
3° 1 9 4°
40 so
so 100
Above 100 9 23
Totals 100°
oo
A hectare is equal to acres.
14 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
the total production of the country, i t would appear that theannual value of the poultry crop is from 1 55 . to 20 5 . per acre
of cultivated land in Belgium , which is a good , though not
unduly high average , and could be equal led in Britainwithout any serious difli culty .
I O . I M PROVED FERTI LI TY OF LAND — Belgian farmersand cultivators of al l grades real ize the importance of supplying their land with those e lements required for increas in g i tsproductiven ess . Not a drop or particle of manure appearsto be wasted . That poultry con tribute greatly in this direct ion is recognized in all parts of the country ,
an d i t is acknowledged that the ferti l ity of the soi l has been ra ised considerably wherever fowls or ducks are kept . The facts givenbelow are commended to the atten tion of our farmers, andespecial ly to smal l and a l lotment holders . The mostnoticeable instance is m et with in what is known as the
Campine district, which extends from the city of M al ineseast an d north to the D utch fron tier. A t on e period thiswas an arid sandy pla in
,covered with fir trees and incapable
of cultivation . Some of i t remains in the same cond ition , buti con siderable portions have been brought into use as marketgardens. The story is deeply interesting and highly sugges
tive. About thirty years ago poultry-keepin g was taken upby the peasan ts in this district on a somewhat extensivescale, primari ly with the object of rais ing chickens for saleto the fatteners on the other S ide of M al ines. The land wasof l ittle use for other purposes, and although there was not
much n atural food for the fowls in the soi l, i t was dry , the
fir trees provided abundant shelter during the hot days ofsummer, an d a moderate amount of insect l ife was obta inable .
Eggs , also,were and are produced in large quantities
throughout this district, though on such soi l they are smal lerin S ize and inferior in qual ity to those coming from hens kepton the richer lands . I n the summer of 1 89 7 I paid a vis it tothe district . A lready a very marked change had taken place .
The lan d near to M al ines had been so enriched by man urefrom the poultry that it was capable of cultivation . For a
distance of about five miles the trees were cleared and marketgardens for production of asparagus and vegetables formedupon the old woodlands . At that time i t was freely acknow
Pou ltry-breedi ng i n Belgi um 15
ledged this result was largely due to the fowls , which werebeing bred in greater numbers all over the Campine country.
1 1 . A CH ANGED D I STR I CT .- I was not, however, pre
pared for the developments which have taken place . At the
t ime named (1897) we drove to Rymen am , K eerbergen ,Putte, an d Grasheide, through the fir woods, in which werecottages of a very humble type , attached to each of whichwere about 1 2 hectares (nearly 30 acres) of land , with verysma l l clearances around the dwel l ings, l ittle more thangardens . The people depended chiefly upon poultry-rearingfor their i ncomes . At on e place visited
,a smal l inn
,I was
told that the owner had already (J un e) sold 350 birds, andhad 40 0 more for disposal . I n the previous year his sales ofpoultry amount to fran cs At Grasheide we
found a schoolhouse in the midst of fir woods , which cameright up to the build ings on all s ides. The teacher,M . Vanden Borchacht, reared about chickens everyyear. Now the whole aspect is a ltered . As we drove inO ctober last to the places named , i t was to find the fir trees
gone an d the land under cultivation . Around the schoolhousereferred to has grown up a considerable vi l lage, in whicha fin e church is in course of erection . M . Vanden Borchachti s owner an d principal of a large, wel l-built boarding-schoolopposite h is old dwel l ing
,and attributes his advance i n l ife
to the money made from poultry-breeding . What is true inhis case is equal ly so i n others , of which many examplescould be given . M arket gardens, grain and roots have takenthe place of fir woods
,owing to the improved ferti l ity of the
soil as a result of poultry kept thereon during a singlegeneration . A fter the trees are removed i t takes about twoyears to brin g the ground in to good condition , and, of course,i t is capable of further improvement. Pou ltry are foundeverywhere . O n most farms 30 0 , 40 0 , 50 0 ,
or more chickensare bred every year. A t one I was informed that 30 0 hadbeen sold in a sin gle day at 15 francs per couple .
1 2 . PRO SPER I TY FOLLOWS POULTRY.—S igns of pro
sperity are evident on al l sides, both in the appearance of thepeople and their dwe l l ings. P late I . shows a farmhousewhich I visited in 19 07 . T hen i t was a smal l thatched
16 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
cottage of a very modest size,which the nearer third with
on e chimney represents. A few years ago the owner wasable to double the build ings, and recently a third portion ,shown in the photograph with a higher roof, has been added ,so that the dwel l ing and farm bu i ld ings are three times thesize they were twelve and a hal f years ago . The capitalexpend iture is considerable, not provided by the landowner,but out of the earnings and savings of the farmer himself.This i s but representative of what is met with over the en tiredistrict. The vi l lages have grown considerably , the popu lation has increased , and we have here an example which can
be multipl ied a thousandfold,n ot merely in Belgium ,
but
elsewhere. A further sign of prosperity is seen i n that whilsta dozen years ago dogs were almost exclusively employed fordraught in the Campine country ,
horses are n ow used , andthe roads are greatly improved . A more strikin g instance of
the place occupied by poultry in respect to increasing the
ferti l ity of the soi l and advancing the prosperity of the rura l( population I have n ot met with . I ndustry and thrift are
necessary factors, and the people work hard . But for theirlabour is an abundan t reward .
I 3. I MPORTS AND EXPORTS.—Whilst it is true that
Belgium practical ly suppl ies her own requirements in respectto eggs and pou ltry , an d has a smal l surplus for exportation ,there is a fair amount of imports, as wil l be seen i n the fol
lowing figures, supplied to me by the courtesy of the M inisterof Agriculture
BELGI AN I M PORTS AND EXPORTS FOR 19 08.
I mports Exports
1 1 247
8 13 688 0L “I t 34 v3.35we po ry
Dead oultry9
From which i t would appear that the balance of trade wasin favour of imports. I t is recognized , however,
that the figures as to imports are incomplete , as there are
vast quantities of both eggs and poultry sent into France byroad which are not included , and the estimate given to me i sthat were these recorded the balance would be on the other
PLATE L—I MPROVED CAM P I NE FARM H OUSES.(Showing en larged size as result of increased prosperi ty.)
Pou ltry—breedi ng i n Belgi um 17
side. I n this connection it must be remembered that theabove table does n ot in clude the eggs and poultry on transitthrough the country for shipment to British ports . According to the Trade an d Navigation Returns for the yearend ing D ecember 31 , 190 8, the imports of eggs and poultrywere as fol lows
Quan tities ValuesNo.
Total value 16
O f these a very sma l l percentage is Belgian , the bulkcoming from Southern Europe . W ith respect to eggs imported , these are largely of cheaper grades to meet thedemand for cookin g purposes durin g the win ter season
, wh en
Belgian eggs command as high prices as in En gland .
Whether any foreign suppl ies are te-exported I was unableto learn , but i n the period of great scarcity that is poss ibleand probable. The l ive poultry imported includes the
chicken s brought from I taly , of which some particulars are
given in the fo l lowin g chapter. I t wi l l be seen, therefore ,
that Belgium provides eggs and poultry more than sufficientto meet her own large demand for these two arti cles of food .
That the coun try i s capable of producing an in creasedquantity is evident, though in some d istricts the extens ionof market gardens
,and of glass houses for fruit culture
,may
lead to reduction in the number of poultry kept. Should theindustria l an d commercial centres advan ce i n exten t and
population as they have durin g the last two decades , withmuch greater needs and purchasing power, then there is l ittledoubt that Belg ium wil l be compe l led to depen d more and
more upon extraneous supplies, and that the imports wi lladvance cons iderably .
1 8 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
I I .—METH OD S O F H OUS ING AND GENERAL
MANAGEMENT .
14 . S I M PLE M ETH ODS.
~—The word which best describesthe poultry industry of Belgium is simpl icity . I n spite of
the fact that there has been a large in crease in the n umberof fowls and ducks kept, w ith the exception of what may be
regarded as fancy plan ts, whether owned by coun try and
suburban residen ts or by artizan s , the methods fol lowed don ot err on the s ide of e laboration . I n many cases they are
decidedly primitive as compared with those met with i n theUnited K ingdom ,
America, Germany
,an d even D enmark .
There is a total absen ce of whatever wi l l add to labour without adequate recompen se . I t i s for that reason i ncubatorsfor a lon g period of t ime did n ot find acceptan ce ; i n fact ,many peasan ts in the egg
-producin g districts do not be l ievei n them , preferring the natural system of hatch ing. The
great mass of Belgian farmers in many sections of the
coun try would n ot accept an incubator as a gift i f compel ledto work i t. They prefer to use hens both as s itters an d
mothers , even though they may n ot be able to hatch so
early . But the best laying breeds are n ot brought ou t
before M ay ,when broody hens are usua l ly avai lable. This
i s n ot m ere in disposition to change, but that they do n ot
d iscard long-proved systems for the newest idea . As we
shal l see , however, in connection with table poultry, the use
of in cubators is becom in g very genera l i n the d istricts whereflesh production is the main Object, as there early hatchingi s all- importan t . As a rule
, except in the last-named and
the duck cen tres, the fowls are given freedom to wander, an d
i f other classes of poultry are kept, no attempt to divide themi s made , all mingl ing together. I n fact
,the opin ion is held
that ducks shou ld a lways be kept with poultry, for they are
said to purify the ground and prevent roup . What is the
warrant for this view I am un able to state, and i t is entirelyantagonistic to that held elsewhere. I t should n ot
,however
,
be thought that the simplicity referred to is due to n eglect,for that is n ot the case. Rather is the explanation to be
2 0 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
build in gs,which may be either built of brick or stone, or a
wooden structure. Except upon specia l plants few of theseare satisfactory in respect to ven tilation or l ight, contraveningevery hygienic prin c iple
,except that they are fairly clean .
And i n many cases they are evidently overcrowded , which isprobably due to enhan c ing the number of fowls kept withoutin creasin g the accommodation . P laces were visited wherethe fowl -houses were dark ,
with on ly a sl it or open in g in thewal l for admiss ion of fresh a ir
,without any win dow,
and at
n ight when the inmates are on the roosts these m ust beveritable “black holes
,
” with an atmosphere den se in the
extreme . I t speaks we l l for the vigour of the fowls that theyare able to thrive un der such condition s . But when i t is
remembered that great n umbers of the dwel l in g houses , more
especial ly on sma l ler farms,are bu i lt to con serve warm th by
exclusion of air, it wil l be seen why poultry have to l iveun der the con d ition s n amed
,for we can not expect that they
wi l l atta in a standard above that of their own ers . M oreover,as the birds get out very early in the morn ing
,practica l ly at
break of day ,they suffer less than would be the case i f kept
i n for two or three hours longer. The on ly gai n from th isform of house is that , as a rule
,they are cool i n summ er and
warm i n win ter, though ou r experien ce is that an abun dan ceof pure a ir and l ight are of supreme importan ce . There are
signs , however, that the fol ly of such methods,an d of over
crowd i ng,is be in g real ized
,as some of the n ewer types of
houses are improved in every way . P late I I . shows a houseat Grasheide
,i n the Campin e
,made en tire ly of straw
,almost
l ike thatch , laid on to a wooden frame,an d w ith an open
fron t, which, i t was stated ,had proved most successful .
M an y of the quarters for poultry adjoin the stables,for the
peasants bel ieve that a con n ecting door in to these is benefic ial
,but that poultry should never be kept n ear cows ,
probably more for the sake of the animals than of the birds.
Perches are usua l ly level , and n ests are wooden boxes i ntiers. I n the Braekel coun try
,with a view to the prevent ion
of disease , slates are used in which a hole is pierced,large
en ough to permit the perch to pass through . These s latesare placed suffic ien tly apart to a l low space for on e bird to
roost, and they are fixed in position by a n a i l on either s ide .
I n this mann er the birds are much cooler in summer than i f
M ethods of H ousing a n d Gen era l M a nagemen t 2 1
sleeping close together, an d parasites can not pass from on e
to the other, as the slates are smooth and n ot l imewashed .
NO special provision appears to be made for growing chicken ssave apportion ing them a separate build in g. I n some cases
where a large number of b irds are kept it is customary tomake two such houses, us in g each on alternate months , andleavin g vacan t the other months, so that i n turn each may be
thoroughly ven ti lated and d is infected .
17 . TH E CO LONY H O USE SYSTEM .
— SO far as I was
able to learn , n o attempt has yet been made in the directionof what is known as the Colony H ouse System , except , perhaps
,to a S l ight extent i n the table-poultry sections of
Eastern Flanders . Tak in g into consideration the spec ia lcond itions of the coun try an d the in ten sification of production
,this method shou ld prove of the greatest benefit
,and
enable more poultry to be kept without the dan ger of disease,wh ich arises as a result of increased numbers . I n thosesect ions of the coun try where land i s cheap an d populationless in i ts density ,
such a system is n ot required, but on the
richer lands i t wou ld have the dual benefit of en abling morebirds to be kept an d in creasing the general crops .
1 8 . H ATCH I NG.— As in dicated above, artificial methods
of hatchin g have n ot been adopted genera l ly . The ofli cial
returns for 189 5 show that at the time n amed there were only50 5 incubators in the entire country
,of which 2 0 per cent .
were in H ainaut, probably in the han ds of amateurs and
fan c iers . S ince that time,as everywhere else, the n umber
has increased manifold . Amon g the ordinary farms whereegg production is the main object they are scarcely known
,
for the reason given in a previous paragraph— namely, that
early hatching is n ot des ired . Upon the duck farms of
Laplaigne incubators are largely used , but in the A udenarded istrict hens are a lmost entirely employed . H ere is a breedknown as the H uttegem ,
a large fowl conta in ing a considerable proportion of Bruges Game blood
,which has been
special ly bred for developmen t of the brood ing instin ct.They lay early, an d when seven or eight eggs are producedcommence to si t. They wil l cover n ine or eleven duck eggs
,
and , what is more, wil l continue sitting for three months if
2 2 The Pou ltrv I n dustry i n Belgi um
further eggs are given as soon as the previous lot is hatched .
I t i s customary to s it several hen s together, and when hatching takes place to give twen ty-five to thirty ducklings to on e
hen an d set the others aga in . She is not expected to cover,but on ly to keep them together and lead them where theycan forage for themselves , though sometimes she is tied bythe leg an d n ot al lowed to wan der . I n the table pou ltrydistricts, as prev iously mentioned
,where early an d prolon ged
hatching is n ecessary,in cubators have been largely adopted .
Throughout the Campine coun try , an d around Londerzee l ,Burgen hout , and M erchtem
,even the sma l ler farmers possess
these appl ian ces . A s a rule, they are e ither home or loca l lymade, the metal parts, such as tank
,regulator, and lamp,
bein g sold by makers separately . I found that i n the egg
districts , such as Sottegem ,A uden arde, and Renaix i n
Flan ders,to the H erve tableland
,natura l hatching i s the
rule .
19 . REAR I NG.
~—I t i s unnecessary to enter in to deta i l asto the m ethods adopted as to e ither hatching or rearing
,as
these are of the usual type , with few variations . The hen sare set i n on e of the houses in open boxes or on she lves
, an d
are l ifted off for feeding. When the chicks appear they are
cooped with the mothers in the open , the coops be ing of thesimplest kin d ,
in some cases straw on rods in apex form,the
advan tage of which is thought to be that as the straw i s
burn t when vacated by the brood , the risk of paras itici n fection is greatly minimized . I n other instances
,wooden
coops are employed . I t is usual for the first few days to
keep the broods close to the dwel ling-house,so that they can
be fed as often as requ ired an d looked after., Then they are
put out in the open and allowed to wander at will . I n the
table-pou ltry districts artificial brooders are employed, an d
are to some extent ind ispen sable , though even there , i f a
broody hen can be obtain ed , i t is thought that better resultsfol low the use of the n atural method of rearing
, especial lyas a hen can be trusted to lead the birds in search of food
,
and protect them against enemies,which the brooder cann ot
do . I t will be seen , however, that at Lippeloo all the
ch ickens are reared artificial ly, and that special provision ismade for them . I n the description of that interesting
M ethods of H ousi ng and Genera l Man agemen t 23
establ ishment are given particu lars as to the system , withil lustrations of brooder-houses and brooder. P late I I I .
shows a brooder-house at Thimister, near H erve,in the
province of Liege , which presents n o spec ial features . I n
it both sectional and ind ividual brooders are in use.
2 0 . FEED ING.— A Flemish proverb says : “D u cen hen
houdfvoorhair ei is n oy lotter a ls’
n e kei”
(H e who keeps ahen for her eggs is l ike a round stone) , which is simplya variation of the common old British saying that Poultrydon’t pay .
”I t is recognized that profit is dependen t upon
the l im itation of cost in feeding, and that i f all food is to
be suppl ied where egg production is the main object, theexpense will be greater than the return . The fact can
scarce ly be denied that i n Brita in an d America there has
existed an d yet exists the idea that success can best beachieved by givin g an abundance of food , with the resultthat there is no incentive on the part of the fowls to seekfor n atural suppl ies , that exercise i n scratchin g i s reduced
,
and laying checked by the fatty con dition of body thusin duced , an d that the cost of production is greatly enhanced .
Where fowls are feeding off,we desire to l im it exercise and
to increase the fatty depos its on the muscles, to which end
food must be abun dan t,but that is on ly for a short period
,at
the end of which the birds are kil led . I t is an altogetherdifferent propos ition with laying and breedin g stock
,for the
fulfi lment of whose fun ctions the body m ust be lean . So far
as I was able to learn ,Be lgian peasants do n ot err on the
side of overfeedin g , as n o signs were apparent i n thatdirection . I n fact, where egg production is the prin cipa laim ,
natural feeding is universal , and the birds find most oftheir own l ivin g on the fields, s imply receivin g once or twiceper d iem ,
according to the season of the year, a l im itedamount of grain . Th is explains, first
,why the old ideas
represented by the proverb quoted above have been abandoued to a large extent
,and, secondly , why the industry is
found so profitable on the basis of present-day prices foreggs . That the fowls thrive and lay wel l under such a
system is acknowledged on all sides. I cou ld not obtainan y direct evidence as to the annua l food cost of fowls on
Belgian farms,because records are n ot kept, but the opin ion
24 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgium
expressed was that this does not exceed 2 5 . to 2 5 . 6d. per
hen per an n um ,which leaves a wide margin of profit between
the expenditure and return .
2 1 . SUPPL I ED FOODS .
—Apart from the natural foodobtained by the birds
,which varies in accordance with the
districts and the qual ity of the soi l , simpl ic ity is found i n thisdirection also, an d cheapn ess is ever kept in view . For the
rearing of chicken s dari is largely employed , but for layingand breedin g stock maize is the staple diet, by reason of
i ts comparative cheapn ess, although i t has risen greatly inprice. Ten years ago this grain could be purchased at
8 to 9 francs per 10 0 kilos (2 cwt.) now i t is 18 to 2 0 francsfor the same weight, but every other food has also advanced .
There can be n o question that the low cost of this gra ina few years ago en couraged poultry-keepin g i n Belgi um , the
result of wh ich has cont inued . Fortunately, w i th the ln
creased cost of food,there has been an equal advan ce i n the
prices real ized for eggs, as a result of advancin g demand .
Belgian peasan ts have a strong bel ief in the value of buckwheat for pou ltry , but i t is used by them to a very l imitedextent, as i t is thought to be too dear . When soft food isgiven
,chiefly durin g the win ter season ,
rye m eal is largelyemployed
,mixed with I ndian meal . I t is on e of the cheapest
foods con sidering its digestibil ity and high n utritive val ue .
Fowls do n ot care for the who le rye, and therefore i t is
a lways given after grinding . NO i l l-effects fol low the use of
maize,such as we have found in this country , owin g to the
fact that the birds are at l iberty and keep i n lean con ditionas a result of abundant exercise
,and that the quantity
supplied is smal l and supplemen tal to the natura l foodobtain ed . Somethin g of this resu lt is also attributable to theegg
-producing breeds of Belgium being very active in habitand l ight in body, as Shown in a succeedin g chapter
,and that
they are less disposed to lay on in terna l fat than are heavierbreeds. The winters on the Continent are more severe thanin the United K ingdom
,an d , as a consequence, combustion
of fat at that season is much more rapid . O ne interestin gcustom met with may be recorded . Where l iquid is suppliedin the shape of water, which is not often required
, a l ittlecoffee is mixed with it, as that keeps i t sweet for a consider
26 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
I I l .— EGG PRODUCT I ON .
23. A GENERAL I NDUSTRY .
— Throughout the who le of
Belgium the production of eggs is the ma in object of poultrykeepers . I n a few districts , as shown in the succeedin gchapter, special i zation in on e class or other of table poultryis met with
,an d the sa le of surplus birds is at al l times kept
i n view,notably in the borderlands of East Flanders an d
Antwerp,where the famous pou lets de B ruxel/es are raised
extensively,in the Courtrai section of West Flan ders , where
the five- toed fowl of that name is foun d , in the duck-breed ingd istricts of Auden arde and Laplaign e, and i n Western
Braban t , where the Ronquieres turkey i s bred . These , however
,cover smal l areas . What are the comparative va lues of
eggs an d table poultry is un known ,but
,from all the evidence
obtainable, the former are severa l times greater than the
latter. British imports of eggs are seven times larger i nvalue than of table poultry, an d production in the Un itedK ingdom is probably three to one i n favour of the egg .
I am in clined to the view that i n Belgi um the disproportionis greater than wi th us. Whether on the sandy Campine, thericher lan ds of Flan ders , the medium e levation of Braban t
,
the H erve tableland ,or the h i l ly A rden nes , wi th the ex cep
tion s n oted a lready,egg production is the ma in reason for
poultry-keepin g . I n the chapter deal in g with Belgian breedswil l be found particulars as to the different races of poultryand their distribution . A t one period pou ltry-keepin g waslargely confined to the lower- lyin g districts
,where smal ler
farms are foun d . That i s n o lon ger the case . As men
tioned above, on the uplands between Louva in an d Liege,where occupations are greater in area
,an d in the H erve and
other districts, poultry enter into the rural economy to an
extent never known before. Changes, however, are takingplace . O ne has already been men tion ed . Another instanceis seen in the rich d istrict between Brussels and Namur
,
where around O ttign ies fruit-growin g under glass has developed enormously. Some of these may affect the poultryindustry within smal l areas , but what is lost in on e direction
Egg Production 27
w i l l be gain ed in another. A t on e time there was a verycommon
,but none the less erroneous , notion among English
and Scotch farmers that poultry would inj ure growing cornor root crops. That, happily, is fast dying ou t
,for i t has
been abundantly proved by practi cal experience that fowlsclear the land of paras ites an d do n ot harm the plants ,as wel l as add valuable manure to the soi l . O n the farmsof Belgium they are accorded ful l l iberty, an d may be seenat work amon g crops of al l kinds .
24 . FARM WORK — I t has a lready been seen (para . 6)that poultry farms
,with on e or two exception s
,do n ot exist .
Egg production is the bus in ess first an d last of those to whomi t i s on e of severa l bran ches . We do n ot find breeding cen tressuch as have had great influen ce in the deve lopmen t of the
D an ish Poultry I ndustry ,n or the great breedin g plants ,
primari ly for sale of stock birds and eggs for hatchin g,found
i n Britain an d Am erica,save where these are on fancy lin es
or for exhibition puposes . W ithout the form er the greati n crease in D enmark could scarcely have taken place
,for the
poultry industry had to be bu ilt from the base . I n the
Un ited K in gdom an d America breeding plan ts as abovereferred to have cl ien tele at home or abroad n ot foun d elsewhere. A nation of poultry breeders, the Belgians havehad for cen turies at the ir disposal races of fowls
,ducks
, &C. ,
eminently suited to the con ditions of the coun try,with fixed
characteristics an d qua l ities highly developed . Traditionan d experien ce and opportun ity have equal ly favoured them .
I t is therefore essential ly a part of the farm work an d can
only be extended as labour is avai lable . Be lgian s have largefamilies as a rule . Children are regarded as a source of
riches . I t is claimed that where there are many children thepeople are more industrious an d thri fty
,and that on e or two
children mean thriftlessn ess . The women or chi ldren looka fter the pou ltry, but the mon ey all goes in to on e purse.
Whether the man or woman sel ls the produce makes n o
difl'
eren ce. I n the table- poultry sections it i s the youngerpeople with children who rear ch ickens
,and the old people who
keep hens for laying, as the labour with these i s much less .
2 5. TH E BRAEKEL COUNTRY .
— What is known as the
Pays d’Alost is the home of the most famous Belgian breed for
2 8 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
egg production . The district extends from Alost across the
whole len gth of Flanders to the Fren ch border an d beyond , infact is a lmost co exten sive with the Flem ish people—a ri ch ,
h ighly cultivated provin ce, rich, that is in its soi l , ma intain inga large population , n umbering in 189 5, 582 people, rathermore than 31 per cen t. of the en tire tota l . The figures givenbefore (para . 8) wil l afford further information . O f this area
East Flan ders is the best productively , as the Escaut R iverand its tributaries flow through i t towards the Scheldt. I n
West Flanders n ear the sea i s rec laimed land n ot of m uchvalue. O f th i s great d istrict Braekel an d Nederbraekel formthe centre . There and at Grammon t
, Sottegem ,A uden arde
and Ren iax are the great egg markets . I f appearan cesind icate the truth , the people are very prosperous . W ithoutother sources of income they prove that agriculture is able tomaintain i n com fort a large
,contented , and successful people,
who with their s imple tastes and habits are n ot only able tol ive
,but can gather reserves for themselves and their ch i ldren .
O n e reason why egg production is the main object is that thisis n ot a m i lk country, an d therefore the best qual ities of tablepoultry can n ot be produced .
2 6 . SOTTEGEM .
— To avoid needless repetition threeplaces are selected
,for
,whilst these presen t different features ,
they are each representative of others . Prior to the era of
steam machin ery the people aroun d Sottegem were largelyhandloom weavers of l inen
,which was of except ion a l qual ity.
The factory system proved their ruin ,as i t has that of so
many smal l rura l in dustries. But this disaster has proved tobe a bless in g i n d isguise . I t is said that form erly eachpeasant had so large a stock of l inen that they had only on e
or two washing-days i n the year,ca l led the great wash.
”
As a result of the ruin of their industry they were compel ledto depen d upon the lan d
, of which all had some share .
I mprovemen t rapidly took place . Production for sale wen tfar beyond what was the case when m erely for householdrequirements, due to the fact that n ow i t is the source of
, n ot
supplemental to, l ivel ihood . The farm s are we l l cultivated,
the towns and vi llages are prosperous in aspect, though byn o mean s picturesque . Every farm has a flock of fowls
,i n
some cases a fa irly large on e. The birds are we l l looked
Egg Production 29
after. Production is on an enormous scale, as wi ll be seenbelow . The eggs are large i n size and of very fin e qual ity ,due to the abundant and rich natural food obtained by thehens . There is a constant and good market in Sottegem foreggs, principal ly to meet the requirements of B russels , whichcity is on ly 45 kilometres (about 2 8 miles) away, an d with itsmore than hal f a mill ion inhabitants provides a large an d
growing demand . A more striking piece of evidence of whatcan be accomplished upon smal l hold ings under favourableconditions by ski l l
,dil igence , thri ft, and enterpri se, when
combined with good markets for produce,has not com e un der
my notice in any coun try . The last-named we have inBritain . Whether the former are possessed by our n ew ocen
pan ts of the soi l remains to be seen . I find that in 189 5, of
the land in Eastern Flan ders 59 9 9 per cent. was in ho ld ingsof I hectare (2 ; acres) an d un der.
2 7. BRAEKEL S ON WATER M EADOWS.—O n on e s ide of
Audenarde the condition s are s im i lar to what may be foundelsewhere in the Braekel coun try , an d eggs are produced verylarge ly . But i n the val ley of the Escaut, wherein the c i tystan ds, has been carried on for a very long period of t ime the
rearing of duckl ings, of which particulars are given i n Chapter V. M y present purpose , however, is to cal l atten tion to
a change which is taking p lace , on e that is very suggestive,and ,
if successful , may lead to a reconsideration of our ideas,both as to the places where chickens can be raised , an d thefood given to them . Reference should be made to the laterchapter for detai ls as to the water meadows which stretchfrom Audenarde itsel f up the broad va l ley for about 5 m i les.
D urin g the last three or four years the number of ducklingshas decreased , and that of chickens has increased . M an y of
the breeders who formerly kept on ly ducks, except a few
hens for hatching purposes,n ow rear an equa l n umber of
each, perm itting them all to run together on the meadows ,wh ich are entirely under water in the early part of the year,and are damp at other season s . This change may be partlydue to the fact that whilst the demand for duckl in gs isl im ited an d does not grow rapid ly
,that for chicken s an d for
eggs in creases steadily and qu ickly. I t is a strange sight tosee the chickens running and seeking their food in the water
30 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n . Belgi um
or ice,and the majority of poultry-keepers wou ld expect that
great loss would arise by d isease and death . M ons. VanderSn ickt, writin g in the I llustrated Poul try Record
,
1says that
Chickens are said to thrive better on the wet m eadowsthan on dry fields where they m ust depen d upon grain . O n
the meadows they find so large a quan tity of anima l fooda long the ditches an d i n the moss that they do n ot touch an y
gra in . I t seems to me that the worms and in sect food giveto the chicken feathers the same resistan ce to water as i n
those of ducks . O n each farm about on e hun dred Braekelsare kept for layin g and half a dozen H uttegems as brooders .
”
The question here ra ised demands i n vestigation . I f chicken scan be ra ised successful ly un der such con ditions , of course at
l iberty— for in confinemen t the effect could n ot fa i l to be
d isastrous— there are many section s of the country hithertobe l ieved to be un suitable for fowls that could be uti l ized in a
profitable mann er for poultry, and n ot of m uch va lue i n otherdirection s . Probably we should fin d that some of our breedswould be less suitable than others for such con dition s
,though
it is ackn owledged that the Braekel is n ot the most vigorousrace of fowls . A lso that ch icken s would do better thanlaying or breedin g stock on that c lass of ground
,which i s
confessedly cold i n w in ter. Further,a l ight-bodied
,active
fowl would be less l ikely to suffer than on e that is heavy and
lethargic . I t is, however, so novel an d an tagon istic to our
prev ious ideas that careful and comparative tests should bem ade ere the system is adopted .
2 8 . RENA I x .—O u both sides of the south-western fron
t ier of Belgi um an d Fran ce the last gen eration has seen a
great development of industrial ism ,and a large accession to
the population en gaged i n the man ufacture of cotton and
l in en goods . Lille and Roubaix in Fran ce,Tournai and
Courtra i in Belgium , are the cen tres of these respective districts . I n the smal l town of Ren aix (cal led Rouse in
Flem ish) are severa l flourishing factories, though i t is in them idst of a great agricultura l coun try. I ncreased demandhas led to an en ormous development of poultry-keepin g
,
m ain ly for the production of eggs, and the Bracke l fowl is
O ctober,19 09, p. 40 .
Egg Production 31
everywhere,chiefly S i lvers , though a few Golds an d some
B lacks are to be seen, the qual i ty of which is very good
indeed . The farms in this d istrict vary in s ize,but the
majority of them are about 10 hectares acres) . The
number of poultry kept varies , depend ing to som e exten tupon the s ize of the occupation , though n ot whol ly so.
Flocks of 20 0 to 30 0 laying hens are to be found , bu t 80 to
10 0 are m ore genera l . A s a rule,sma l l farmers keep more
i n proportion to the acreage than those who have greaterhold in gs. The result of the chan ges here n oted are seen in
a vast in crease of production and general rise of prosperity .
There is n o question here as to whether poultry-keepingpays . The s ign s of prosperity are evident, and i t is recogn ized on all s ides that egg production has added greatly tothe profits secured by agriculturists. The country aroundRena ix is very varied , with a good amoun t of hil ly land and
woods , on which fowls are seen everywhere .
2 9 . TYP I CAL EXAM PL ES .—Two cases may be cited as
representative of what i s to be m et with a ll over the district .
These are a few m iles ou t of Ren a ix . O n on e, a I O -hectarefarm ,
about forty hen s are kept,accommodated in the ma in
bui ld ings,but the roostin g-place
,which adjoin s the stable
,
i s dark and i l l-venti lated,though kept very c lean . I t is
evident that i n this and many other places in Belgium I
visited , the virtues of l ight an d fresh a ir have n ot yet beenrea l ized , whether for human bein gs or l ive stock . The hen sshowed some s igns of i l l-effects from this cause
, but weresa id to pay we l l . They have ful l l iberty
,and can find shelter
in the ordin ary farm- sheds i f so d isposed . The other farmwas rather larger
,very we l l kept
,w ith good bu ild ings and
an excel len tly cultivated orchard . H ere I found 1 10 layers,
of which thirty were yearl ing pullets , very good indeed , allS i lver Braekels , smal l in s ize of body, but we l l bu i lt for eggproduction . They were accommodated i n a roomy build ing
,
d istin c tly above the average in respect to sanitation an d
venti lation . The custom i s to keep n o bird for more thanthree years , renewing part of the stock each season , at whichage the . old hens are sold off. No other breed than the
S i lver B raekel is kept, as it is found that enough of the
hens become broody to bring out the number of chickens
32 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
required , which is only about sixty or seventy per annum .
From these the pul lets are selected to fi l l the places of suchold hens as are weeded out.
30 . A BREED ING FARM .—M . O scar Thomaes
, who
is a manufacturer at Rena ix ,has a breeding farm
,ca l led
Villa des Poulets, a few miles out of the town , s ituated on
high ground near extens ive woods , by means of which he
has been able to exert cons iderable influence upon poultrybreedin g i n the district . I t is an excel lently arranged place
,
part of wh ich is divided in to large runs for the breedin gstock, the layers being kept in the farm build ings . A lthoughi t was a most unfavourable day when this place was vis ited ,the character of the farm was evident. A s a model establ ishmen t demonstrating improved methods of breedin g
,
housin g and genera l management , it cannot fai l to exertgreat in fluen ce. The breeds kept are Gold and S i lverBraekels, Buff O rpingtons and B lack M inorcas . M . Thomaes
keeps Buff O rpingtons for win ter laying, and by reason of
the fact that brown-shel led eggs are preferred by somepeople, these sel l ing for 1 cen time more than those withwhite shel ls. A further point i s that O rpington chicken sare found to grow faster than M al in es
,and have n ot so much
bone . As there is no fattening of poultry in the Rena ixdistrict, and the O rpington is fleshier than the M a l ines
,
although the latter are much the better at a later age and
make greater weight when fatted , that is another recom
men dation . About 500 to 60 0 chickens are bred every year,
all hatched and reared by hen s. M . Thomaes distributesbirds of improved qual ity to farmers in the district , buyingchicken s back from them in the autumn at 5 francs each
,
which he disposes of as breedin g stock . This is profitableto the breeders, ensures improvement in the qual ities of therace , and has been the means of greatly increasing product ion . A lthough M . Thomaes, who is President of the loca lBrackel Club , is an exhibitor
,and has won a considerable
number of prizes, his main interest is in development ofpractical poultry-keeping .
31 . POULTRY ALLOTMENTS .
— I n another d irection thanlarge loca l demand there are many resemblances between
34 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
pullets should begin to lay by O ctober. That would n ot
apply to other races.
Braekels rapidly succumb i f attacked by disease , owing tothe strain on the system by heavy egg production . An egg
con tains con cen trated n utrimen t an d dra in s the system un lessproperly fed . A ll pro l ific races have less power of resistan cethan such as are n ot subject to the sam e strain .
I n the Pays d'A lost the soi l is very rich an d sticky , consequently the hen s'feet get muddy an d are l iable to stainthe nests an d shel ls of eggs. To prevent that result, nestsare placed at the back of the poultry-house , and the flooris l ittered with chaff or straw
,which c leans the feet.
33. TH E CAMP I NE.— I n the succeeding chapter one
section of the Camp in e eoun try is referred to—namely , wherefowls are bred for table purposes . I n Chapter I . (para . 1 0
to 1 2 ) the remarkable change in the district aroun d Putte as
a result of poultry-keepin g has a lready been described . The
greater part of the Prov in ce of A ntwerp , together with a
portion of Limburg,cons ists of a san dy pla in
,in which the
soi l is comparative ly poor, having very little i n the way of
n atural food supplies . I n some districts there are fir woods,
in others it i s cleared and open . H ere the cond ition s are
en tirely d ifferen t from those met w ith in Flanders an d otherparts of Belgium . I t is a great country for rabbits , whichan imals the peasan ts regard as we do rats
,ki l l ing them off
as far as poss ible , though these creatures breed so rapid lythey appear to multiply qu i te as fast as they can be
destroyed . As in other section s of the coun try,poultry
keeping has increased very greatly, chiefly ,w ith the excep
tion noted, for the production of eggs . This district is
similar i n many respects to the State of New J ersey inAmerica in the n ature of its soi l . As I found in the State
named,during 190 6 , pou ltry-keeping for the sake of eggs
has grown very rapid ly indeed . At one time the race of
fowls kept was chiefly the Campine, of which particulars are
given in Chapter V I I I . ,but other breeds have been intro
duced and the Leghorn is n ow found very largely. O n the
plant owned by the T rappists referred to in the first chapter(para . 6) al l are of that breed . Production is, however, verygeneral . Every farm has i ts flock of fowls. Concentration
Egg Production 35
of supplies accounts for the enormous quantities sent to theCity of Antwerp and elsewhere . But, as m ight be expectedby the nature of the district, the eggs produced are smallerin S ize an d lack the qual ity of those obtained from the richerlands . M ethods fol lowed are of the usual character
,cal l ing
for n o special description . O n e of the great hindran ces to
deve lopment of poultry-keeping,n ot on ly here but in other
other parts of Belgium,is the losses from theft of the birds .
I t is n ot a question of foxes or other n atural en emies, buthuman marauders . I n spite of this
,however
,the industry
has grown and is rap id ly advancing.
34 . TH E H ERVE CO UNTRY.
— Between the cities of
Liege and A ix - la-Chapel le is the high tablelan d forming thefron tier d istri ct towards Germany an d the M aastricht cornerof H o l land , known as the H erve country . A lthough partsof i t atta in the e levation of 9 50 ft. above sea- level , and itis very co ld in deed in winter
,i t is on e of the most ferti le
sect ion s of Belgium . There the fin est butter an d Cheese are
produced . The land is en tirely pasture . A t H erve, Batticeand A ube l
,all of which I visited , and when ce magnificen t
views of the surround in g country were obtained , every fieldi s cultivated , bu t n ot a foot of arable lan d could be seen .
I t main ta ins a large population . The sign s of prosperity are
eviden t on a l l han ds . Thriving towns and vi l lages,wel l
bu i lt and kept homesteads, an d abundance of stock denotethat the people find adequate reward for their labour. I t is
a lso a fruit district, where apple orchards abound . Unl ikemany parts of the Continen t of Europe, hedges l ine the roadsand div ide the fields
, afford ing shelter to the cattle,which
,
as in D enmark,are c lad in rugs during the winter season
owing to the low temperature which prevai ls . The soil isheavy but ferti le .
"
35. EGG-FARM I NG.—Whilst i t is true that the farms i n
this part of Belgium are as a rule smal l,they are perhaps a
l ittle above the average in s ize, though this is arrived ‘
at moreby
'
observation during my two visits to the H erve country thanactual statistics . Un ti l a few years ago poultry were keptma in ly for domestic purposes , but there has been a largeincrease, an d upon in dustrial l ines, within the last five years.
36 The Pou ltry I n du stry i n Belgi um
Now they are to be seen upon a lmost every farm , frequentlyin con s iderable numbers . The genera l rule i s that sixty to1 0 0 layin g hens are main tain ed , either around the homestead or in the orchards . These figures may be taken to
represent the m in imum ,for 30 0 to 50 0 are by n o means
un common,and in on e case a larger farmer has head .
I saw more separate poultry-houses i n the H erve districtthan in the whole of the rest of Belgium ,
and it can fa irlybe an tic ipated that this system will extend rapid ly
,in order
that the birds may be scattered ove r the land , which isdesirable i f ta inted soi l i s to be avo ided . W ith respect to theoutbreaks of diphtheritis
,referred to below , and from which
this district has suffered to a con s iderable extent,I fee l
con fiden t that the cause is to be found i n the over-man uringof the soi l and i n sufli c ien t d istribution of the fowls over thelan d . So far as I could learn the poultry does n ot affect thecows in any way ,
and that da irying an d egg production can
be conducted together. I t m ay be hoped that,as separate
houses are erected the open - fron t system may be tried evenupon this exposed table lan d . The methods of m an agementadopted are
, on the whole , very good , as the people here are
progressive an d in tel l igen t. The majority of the fowls keptare Leghorn s , which thrive exce l len tly and give good results .
Where care i s taken these b irds lay fairly we l l in winter, andit is stated that, by se lection
,in four years the average weight
of eggs produced i n the d istrict has been in creased by 8 grm .
(rather more than 41 The average we ight is from
50 to 60 grm . (13 oz . to 23 which is below thoseproduced in Flanders. There is a breed peculiar to thisdistrict
,kn own as the H erve , men tioned in Chapter V I I I . ,
and efforts are bein g made to improve and popularize i t.
The Brackel and Campin e fowls are too de l icate, an d the
M al in es fowl suffers from rheumatism on this heavy soi l .
36 . I TAL I AN FOWLS AS LAYERS.
— Ab0 ut fi fteen years agoa trade was introduced which has had a vast influence on the
developmen t of poultry-keeping in Belgium,more especia l ly
in those districts where production at the time n amed was ona smal l scale. This was the importation of chickens from I talywhen about I O weeks old
,weighing about 2 lb. each . These
were sold to the farmers,who kept them as layers for on e
Egg Production 7
season , sel l ing in the fol lowin g summer, when a fresh lot waspurchased . These birds were brought over from NorthernI ta ly, in crates holding thirty , of which two were cockerelsand twenty-eight pullets
,an d were all of Leghorn type
,but
very varied in colour. The cost of carriage amoun ted to
3d . per bird , and they were sold in Belgium at about 2 francseach . The trade grew enormously . I n on e year about
were imported . The pullets proved to be splen didlayers , an d were hardier than the native races. M . VanderSn ickt suggests that the transference of a fowl from South toNorth tends to stimulation of egg production , whilst changefrom North to South in du-ces fattening ,
the former of whichis confirmed in Belgian experien ce . These I tal ian fowlsgave a vast impetus to poultry-keeping in Belgium . Farmers
in al l parts of the country bought supplies an d made moneyout of the bus iness. The gain thus secured has n ever beenlost
, and i t i s estimated that three tim es as many eggs are
produced than was the case fi fteen years ago. I t was n ot,
however,al l gain . I n I ta ly ,
owin g to the bad methodsfol lowed by breeders , there has been a great amoun t of
d isease amon g poultry,as I saw during my V is it to that
coun try nearly six years ago. The system of transit developed latent sickness, and d iphtheritis was in troduced
,
causing immense loss to Belgian poultry-keepers . I n manycases the imported birds survived an d recovered , whereas thenative birds d ied off i f attacked . The trade has greatlydec l ined
,and comparatively few are n ow imported . L eg
horns seen in Belgium are chiefly descended from thosebrought over in previous years . The M inorca
,introduced
from England about ten years ago by exhibitors , has large lyd isplaced the Leghorn over a large area in the Provinces of
L iége an d Nam ur.
37 . S I Z E AND COLO UR OF EGGS .
—The d ifference in sizeof eggs produced in Flanders and on the Campin e respectivelyhas already been mentioned . The former are the largest inthe country, those from hens often reaching an average of 230 2 . each , whi lst 2 % 0 2 . eggs are by n o mean s un common . I
was i n formed by a large Brussels merchant that eggs from the
Braekel country average 60 grammes , which is nearly 17 lb .
per 1 20 . From the Campine they are smal ler, as we l l as
38 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
such as are produced around Li ege . Wavre i s a greatmarket for eggs, as many as ha lf a m i l l ion having been soldon a single day , but here again they are sma l ler than in
Flan ders . Yet the standard of size for the who le country isvery good
,distinctly higher than that of Britain . Whether
this is due to the con ditions or to selection cannot be stateddefinitely . Probably both in fluences have shared in the
result . B rackel eggs have a lways been large in size, butwhen I first knew the Campine n early 2 5 years ago the eggsfrom that breed were distinctly smal ler than is the case n ow.
The in crease has been partly due to crossing with the
B raekel,but main ly to selection of larger-s ized eggs for
hatching . I n a previous paragraph (35) is recorded what hasbeen accompl ished i n the H erve district . So far as colour ofShel l is con cerned
,the majority of Belgian breeds produce
white-she l led eggs , but there are a few minor exceptionswhich are bred to a very l im ited exten t. T he O rpington israpidly advan c ing in several d istricts
,and co loured-she l led
eggs are regarded with favour. At Brusse ls,Liege
,and
Ren aix I learn t that they command, wholesa le , on e centime
more than those with white shel ls . This is n ot m uch,but i t
represents I O fran cs per thousan d . I t is we l l known thatcoloured shel ls are stron ger than whi te they carry and keepbetter. Some pastry -cooks state that they can get the sameresult from two brown- she l led eggs as with three white ones,and restaurateurs thin k the flavour is fin er. Upon theselatter poin ts defin ite evidence i s wan ting . The claim is
made , however, that eighteen Braekel eggs give equal resultsi n cake-making to twen ty-two from any other breed .
38. AVERAGE PRODUCTI ON - The Braekel and the Cam
pine fowls have a lways been famous as layers,which is
equal ly true of their first cous in s,the H amburghs
, though theeggs of the latter are much smal ler i n s ize . Claims havebeen made that they produce 30 0 eggs per ann um , but this isan exaggeration , probably caused by the performance of on e
hen out of a mill ion . From such eviden ce as I was able to
obta in a very common flock average is 150 , some of the hensreaching a total of 20 0 i n the first year, and others correspondingly fewer. That breeders keep this al l- importantquestion in V iew is certain . There is, however, nothing like
Egg Produ ction 39
the systems of recording which I found at D anish breedingcentres in 19 0 7 , with selection of the best layers for stockpurposes . The absence of actual records makes statementssomewhat doubtful . Sti l l it may be accepted that fecun dityof Belgian hens is high ,
as the peasants have short shrift forthe bad layer.
39 . PR I CE OF EGGS .
— D emand in the Lil le district of
Fran ce determines the price of eggs,at any rate in theWestern
provinces of Belgium . Competition between that city and
Brussels for supplies is very keen . The country i s so smal land con suming centres so n ear that tradin g rings can n ot
prosper. The result is that prices are high and wel l ma inta in ed . At the end of O ctober I foun d, at Sottegem , pro
ducers were receivin g i n the open market 1 8 . 4d . to 1 5 . 6d . per
dozen for their eggs,and at Renaix I S . 6d . to 1 5 . 7d . per
dozen . The lowest price i n the Sprin g does not fa l l below8 cen times (95d ) per dozen ,
and in winter i t goes up to 2 0
centimes (2 5 . per dozen ) , so that prices are quite as good as inEn gland . There may be section s of the country where rates
are lower, bu t I did n ot hear of them . Even i n Liege,where
the eggs are n ot so large, return s were n early as high as
those quoted .
40 . W I NTER SUPPLI ES .
—As previously men tioned (para .
a considerable quan tity of cheaper grade eggs are
imported for cooking purposes during the winter season,
principal ly from southern Europe. The Belgians have,how
ever, done much to increase production at that period of the
year when prices are at their highest. I was in terested to see
the quantities sold i n the various markets visited smal l as compared with what are brought in during the sprin g and summer
,
but showing a very satisfactory proportion . For instance,at
Sottegem ,on the day that market was visited (O ctober 2 0 th),
150 hampers , hold ing eggs, were dispatched by rai l . I n
Apri l the maximum of 450 such hampers is reached . A I - to
3 proportion is very good indeed . S imi lar evidence was
obta ined elsewhere, varying somewhat in accordance withthe distri ct. T his satisfactory result has been attained bycarefu l management and by breeding the pul lets so that they
40 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
commence to lay in September and O ctober. A t Renaix ,
although the adult hen s were not through the moult , pul letswere producing freely. The Belgian s say that they can brin gthe birds in to profit during the autumn by makin g them findal l the ir own food for a fortn ight
, the exerc ise of scratchin gconsuming the reserves of fat , and then feedin g uponsteeped oats
,which method I first heard of in Russ ia a few
years ago. I t is evident, therefore, that the advance in
supplies of eggs durin g the winter season is n ot due to any
cl imatic advan tages,for such are n ot presen t, over those
foun d i n Bri tain,bu t to regulation of the time of hatching
pullets in accordan ce with the period of growth of eachrespective breed
,so that they may begin layin g i n September
an d O ctober. I t m ust be remembered that the great Be lgianegg
-produc ing races are smal l in size of body and atta in
maturi ty wi th great rapid ity , whereas our breeders have gon ei n for larger fow ls
,and have even increased the weight of
some of our best lay ing races merely for the Show pen . I
have often po in ted out that th is is fatal to in creased prol ificacy an d win ter egg production . To English breeders theBrackel an d Camp in e look weedy an d sma l l
,bu t the Belgian
kn ows that it is fol ly to expect that a heavy milker or layerwil l be as large or as fleshy as a beef or flesh producer.
IV .—MARKET POULTRY.
4 1 . AN O LD PURSU I T . For how many centuriesBelgium has been celebrated for the qual ity of i ts tablepoultry i t is imposs ible to state. The records have n ot beend iscovered , i f ever made . We may assume without risk thatfor hundreds of years Flemish people have been skil led at
this work , as they are to-day . The fourteen th and fi fteenthcenturies were periods of great prosperity in the Netherlan ds,and at that time fattening was genera l for production of highqua l ity poultry con sumed by the n obility and wealthy citizens .
Now the demand is vastly greater than ever before . Not
on ly does Belgium provide for her own needs in this respect ,which are very large
, as it is stated that more than a mill ionfowls are sold i n Brussels every year
,an d does n ot import,
but she sends large quantities to France an d Germany, ofwhich more is sa id below. Some time ago when vis itin g theCity of Lille I saw large n umbers of good qual ity fowlsnamed “B resse
,
"
Shaped in the man n er met with in the
Bresse section of Fran ce,and on inquiry learnt that these
were almost exclusively Belgian . I n fact,a con siderable
proportion of the birds consumed in the Lille d istrict, as of
the eggs,are brought from Flanders.
4 2 . POULETS DE LAI T .
— The trade in table fowlsresolves itself into three branches. First
,is that i n pou lets de
la i t,or m i lk chickens
, the sa le of which i s very large indeedduring the early months of the year. These l ittle birds are
a great del icacy . They are produced exclusive ly in the egg
distri cts, as those races which are used for larger tablepoultry are useless for this purpose . I t wi l l be rememberedthat in my American Report 1 the fact was recorded thatthe squab boi lers , as they are ca l led
,are largely produced
from the layin g breeds of poultry, such as the Leghorn .
American birds are larger than the Belgian , which latter arekilled when e ight weeks old , weighing 8 to 1 0 oz. , at which
1 Report on the Pou ltry I n dustry in America, 190 6, pp .,80 -81 .
4 2 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
age they are n atural ly in fleshy condition without any
specia l preparation , except that for about two weeks the
birds selected for kil lin g are fed upon soft food mixed withm i lk
,which softens an d whi tens the flesh . They are
,i n
fact,the cockerels of l ight-bod ied , egg-produc in g breeds ,
which wi l l n ever again,i f permitted to grow
,have much
val ue for table purposes . At the age named they real ize2 francs each
,whereas at twelve weeks O ld they wil l n ot be
worth more than 70 centimes. The fin est pou lets de la i t areBraekels
, Campines standin g next, with Leghorn s a bad thirdin rank . I t i s, therefore
,i n Flanders chiefly where the
peasants reap con s iderable advantage by ‘
the sale of the
cockerels i n this man n er. O n e reason why the breeds n amedare preferred is their rapid development, and that the sex
can be distinguished by the comb much earl ier than is the
case with heavier races . The poin t to be emphasized i n th isconnection is that the production of pou lets de ta i l is n ot a
spec ial in dustry,bu t is combin ed with the breedin g of pu llets
for egg production , an d that profits are greatly en han ced bythe sa le of birds which otherwise would be costly to feed an d
real ize low prices . The fact is understood throughout n earlyal l the egg districts vis ited ,
where poultry-keepers of all
grades turn the cockerels in to money as rapidly as possible .
A large En glish egg-producer once said that i f he could
d istinguish the sex when the chicken s were hatched,he
would wring the neck of every cockerel . But i t is better to
turn them into mon ey . As already men tioned (para . an
attempt was made some time ago to raise these baby chickenson a wholesale scale, but i t was n ot fin an c ial ly successful
,an d
the right breed was not selected .
43. POULETS DES GRAI NS .-These form the second class
,
and are s im i lar i n al l respects to our sprin g or asparaguschickens . Production , however, is n ot so gen eral as that of
the smal ler birds, as the Braekel and other races of that typeareof l ittle use for this purpose . O n e reason for the growingpopularity of the Buff and White O rpingtons is that thesemature more rapid ly than the M al ines fowl
,and can be
kil led at 31, months old , without need of fattening
, whenthey are i n plump , meaty cond ition . M al ines
,however
, and
other fowls of that type are frequently used . I n this case ,
Markel Pou ltry 43
a lso,the birds are not subjected to fattening
, but are fed off
for a couple of weeks on food into which a large amoun t of
milk enters,buttermilk chiefly . As a ru le
,this class of
poultry are killed when we ighin g 2 to 3 lb . ,for which prices
are good , ranging from 4 to 6 francs .
44 . POULETS DE BRUXELLES .
~—D uring the summer,
autum n,and win ter an enormous trade is don e i n large fowls,
which form the stable production in several d istricts as
described below,an d in which there is a large and growing
trade with France and German y . W ith in a sma l l portion of
East Flanders,between the c i ties of M al in es an d T ermon de ,
i s to be found the great table-pou ltry district of Belgium ,
resembl ing to some exten t Sussex and West K ent thoughthe area is smal ler
,bu t the work i s carried out on more
intensive lin es,so far as the rearin g is con cern ed . The fowl
used for this purpose is the M al in es a lmost exc lusively, pro
duc ing birds large i n s ize,soft i n bone , an d carryin g a great
amoun t of beautifully wh ite flesh . I n five to s ix mon thsthese birds wil l weigh 8 to I O lb . , and about Christmas a
l ittle more . These sell at from 1% to 2 fran cs per l b . wholesa le , for the best spec imens . The appearance when seen in
the markets or poulterers ’ shops is n ot attractive , in that thebreast is crushed a lmost flat
,and as they are kil led by
cuttin g the throat,a great gash is evident . B leedin g
whitens the flesh,but the Fren ch method of pa lettin g is
preferable , as i t does n ot spoi l the look,though probably less
humane . Some years ago M . Vander Sn ickt en deavoured toen courage a trade with London for pou lets de B ruxelles
,but
the Engl ish refused to have birds flattened , an d as Belgianfatten ers would n ot then a lter their method (though theyhave sin ce been compel led to do so for the German trade) ,saying i t was the ir trade mark
,the project fe l l to the ground .
Sure ly producers shou ld meet the requiremen ts of theircustomers in question s of this kind . Wh i lst Belgian tablepoultry is excel lent in qual ity
,i t does n ot excel , even i f it
equa ls,the finest grades of En glish
, except for the verylargest win ter fowls, which are
,in my j udgmen t
,superior to
ours , due partly to the breed and partly to the system of
rearing an d fatten in g.
44 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgium
4 5. TH E TABLE-POULTRY AREA .—For a lon g period
of time the production of poultry for market has been an
important industry in the d istrict of which M al ines, Puers,Termonde
,and Alost form the border l ine. This includes
the smal l town s or vi l lages of Londerzeel , Burgen hout,Lebbeke
, O pwyck, an d M erchtem— a country bordering on
one s ide the Campin e where the soi l is san dy, but as a ruleis good though not so rich as further West. I t is , however,wel l cultivated and very prosperous, largely owing to the
breedin g of poultry . Cows are kept exten sively for butter,which fact explain s why the production of table poultry hasgrown to so great an extent. I n fact
, on e in fluen ces the
other. Success in fattenin g depends chiefly Upon the use
of buttermilk , wh ich is employed as is soured skim milk inEnglan d . I was told again and aga in that more fowlswould be fattened if a larger supply of butterm i lk wereavai lable. The n umber put up is determined by the quantityof that product avai lable . D eman d has en han ced the price .
A t on e time it could be bought for 2 centim es the l i tre, n owi t is 6 centimes . S in ce my previous vis it to this d istrict thein dustry has grown enormously, and is now of large dimen
sions an d influence .
46 . LONDERZ EEL .
— The l ittle town of Londerzeel for along period has been a great market at wh ich rearers an d
fatten ers have met,the on e to sel l, the other to purchase,
birds . I remember years ago seeing the con stant stream of
dog-drawn carts laden with crates of fowls en route to that
place, brought from v i l lages 10 to 2 0 m i les away,and the
same was true at M erchtem . Then comparatively l ittle wasdone in rearing near at hand
,and the supplies were drawn
from a wide area . Londerzee l was primari ly a centre forfattening . But a great change has taken place
,and as i t is
representative of the en tire d istrict named,what is stated
respectin g i t may be applied to Burgenhout, M erchtem , and
Lebbeke . M . J oseph Plaskie, to whose courtesy I am greatlyindebted
,states that ten years ago n ot more than 50 0 birds
were annual ly reared in the commune of Londerzeel,which
embraces hectares, and has a population of
Now it is n ot un usual to find chickens at on e t ime .
Every on e breeds poultry ,farmers an d those with even a
Market Pou ltry 45
smal l plot of land , but the number in each individua l caseis genera l ly smal l . H e estimates that 20 0 breeders of firstqual ity birds in this neighbourhood produce chickensannual ly, and that 30 0 smal ler occupiers rear A l ittlefurther afield the farmers ind ividual ly rear larger n umbers .
I n some cases people with not more than 6 arcs of lan d(about i) of an acre) rear chickens every year. Thereare 25 to 30 fatteners at Lon derzeel , who ki ll , three times
per week ,10 0 to 150 birds each in the busy season
,averag
i ng al l the year round 60 to 80 per day . From this centreabout a m i l l ion fran cs worth (5 are sent to Brusselsby road
,wh i lst for several months of the year 500 to 60 0
are despatched da i ly to Germany . Great prosperity has
fol lowed the extension of poultry breedin g an d fattenin gal l over the d i stri ct
,in wh ich every section of the com
mun ity has shared,and some people have made modest
competenc ies out of it . The satisfactory feature is the dissemination of ben efits . Rearers
,whether farmers or smal l
occupiers, have reaped the advantage . A large proportionof the supp lies are obta in ed from the Campin e coun try ,
on the other s ide of M al ines,and are usual ly purchased in
the market of that c i ty . These come from the districtreferred to i n paragraphs 10 to 1 2 , where the improved ferti l ity of the land as a result of poultry-keepin g has been so
remarkable . The Campine- reared ch icken s,however, are n ot
so fin e i n qual ity as those produced in the Lon derzee l distriet, as m ight be expected by the nature of the respectivesoi ls . But a great improvement has taken place i n the
Campine birds, due to the change in the nature of the land .
47 . M ETH ODS ADOPTED .—Practically speakin g
,all the
fowls bred are M a l ines ; i n the Londerzeel d istrict s in glecombed
,in the Campin e T urkey-headed . The majority of
farmers and sma l l occupiers keep their own stock birds,
and rear the chickens unti l they are ready for the fatten ers .
Un der these c ircumstances from 20 to 50 hen s are maintain ed at each place with the n ecessary ma les . There are,
however, other systems in vogue . Breedin g farms are
increasin g in number, which supply eggs for hatchin g at
fixed prices . Some of the fatten ers send out newly-hatchedch ickens for rearing at farms, supply all food
, and pay 2 5
46 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
centimes per bird when taken away, which seems very littleindeed , but the peasants regard the value of man ure obta inedi n this way at 1 fran c the couple , and are quite contentedwith the arrangemen t. M . P laskie has four incubators at
work , from which he suppl ies chickens and all food , payin g1 franc each for the labour of rearin g . I n some cases he
provides half the food and takes hal f the chickens. O ld hen sfrom th is district at the en d of the breedin g season are sen t
to An twerp and Brusse ls for sale to the J ews an d rea l ise3 to 4 francs each .
48. H ATCH I NG AND REAR I NG.—Belgian peasants have
been very slow i n adopting artific ial methods of hatching and
rearing,and
,as we have a lready recorded
,in cubators are
very se ldom foun d in the egg-producing districts. That is
n ot , however, the case in the Londerzeel area , where the
necessity for early and prolonged hatching has made imperative the use of these appl ian ces
,which are n ow very large ly
employed . I t is found more profitable to keep the hens inlay than to use them for brooding . M any farmers possesson e or more incubators, and where the chicken s are suppliedeither by fatten ers or others they are general ly hatched artificially . I n this respect a very great chan ge has taken placewith in recen t years, an d a cons iderable proportion of the
chicken s are brought out by in cubators . I n fact,I do n ot see
how i t could be otherwise . The present deve lopmen t wouldhave been imposs ible by n atural methods alone . The in cu
bators used are,as a rule
,made local ly by carpenters, who
purchase the meta l an d regulating parts, to which they add
the wood-work required . Both tank and hot-a ir machinesare used ,
the former predom in ating . I was un able to obtainauthoritative records as to results
,but these are regarded as
satisfactory . So far as rearing is con cerned,both hen s and
brooders are employed . O n ly on e po int need be men tioned,
namely ,that the use of glasshouses for rearing in the early
stages is growing. These are practica l ly greenhouses, 6ft. to7ft. high ,
roomy and wel l ven ti lated , in which the broodersare placed , wherein the inmates are protected against cold and
wet, and obtain a ll the sun shine avai lable— a most importantcon sideration in the colder mon ths of the year for rearingchickens, especia l ly those intended for kill ing. The system
48 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
for birds that fatteners are compel led to pay high pricesto secure supplies . Competition i s all i n favour of breeders .
The birds are usual ly purchased by fatteners in Lon derzeel,M al ines and other markets, and are n ot
,as a rule
,col lected
from the in dividual farms . A s might be expected , there ismuch differen ce in the way in which the work is carried out.
A t some of the places visited the m ethods were excel len t,at others capable of considerable improvement , more especi
al ly as to c lean l in ess . Gen era l ly speaking,the sheds and
cages are thoroughly clean ed every time a fresh lot of birdsis put in . The manure is n ot removed during the process ,but covered up , as disturbance is thought undes irable byreason of the ammon ia given off. M an ure i s gold ; everyparticle is conserved and uti l ized on the lan d . P late V .
shows the exterior of the sheds own ed by M . Louis K izmotin ,
at Londerzeel , entered from a yard behin d his house. TheseSheds are in the perman ent bu i ld in gs an d occupy severa lrooms , of which i t was imposs ible to secure satisfactoryphotographs . A t this place
,which is very wel l managed ,
about birds were i n the cages,an d those dead showed
very high qua l ity . O n e of the best establishmen ts vis itedwas that of M . Koorman , of Bu rgen hou t, havin g two floorswith cemen t between
,excel lently arran ged and we l l managed ,
and where more atten tion is paid to ven ti lation than in the
majority of cases . A t many places Spec ia l brick build ingshave been erected . As a rule these are divided so that n ot
more than 2 0 0 birds are in on e room . O n e thing I was
sorry to see,namely , that some of the fatteners are also
i n n -keepers, as that ten ds to the en couragement of drin king.
P late V I . Shows the method of cagin g . Cages are usua l lyin two rows , on e behind and higher than the other
,but n ot
above ,so that the man ure fal ls d irectly to the ground . As
a rule the rooms are n ot wel l l ighted , but the va l ue of fresha ir is theoretical ly recogn ized , though n ot practised to the
same exten t. Warmth is be l ieved to be an essential factor,
an d in win ter the roof is l ined with straw, but that is removedduring the warmer months , as i t would be a harbourage forparas ites .
51 . NO CRAMM ING.
—The period of feeding is fromthree to five weeks, depen ding upon the size of the birds
Ma rket Pou ltry 49
and the time of year. I n that period the birds will increasei n weight by y ki lo (1 141 lb.) or more. I t is found that thelarger fowls when put up to fatten do not proportional lyincrease i n weight to the same extent as do smal ler specimens ,the chief benefit being in softening the flesh by adding fatto the muscles . The great differences between English and
Be lgian systems of fattening are that i n Belgium the fowlsare placed in the sheds from the first an d kept there all the
t ime, n ot for half the period as with us,and that they are
trough-fed all that time, an d n ot crammed during the latterhal f of the process. Cramming is n ot adopted as in Englandand France . I found a strong disbe l ief in the advantages of
cramming throughout Be lgium , perhaps because those whohave tested the system were not skil led at the work and didn ot obta in the best results . I t may be, a lso,
that for thepou lets a
’e B run ettes , which are usua l ly 5 to 8 months old
when killed , equal results are n ot obtained as with youngerbirds
,though that is n ot so in Fran ce. The fact, however, is
as stated , namely— that cramming is n ot used in the productionof Belgian table poultry
,which are entirely trough-fed . M y
opinion is that Belgian fowls, with the exception ofpou lets de
laz'
t, lack the fuln ess of skin an d fin ish of the best qual ities ofthe English and French , by reason of the fact that they are
n ot crammed . I shou ld be glad i f we could discover a methodby which the same results could be arrived at by troughfeeding, and thus d ispen se with crammin g, but that has n ot
b een reached as yet.
52 . FEED ING AND K I L L I NG.—The staple food given
durin g this period consists of buckwheat meal and buttermilk.
Sometimes the former is varied by the addition of a l ittlema ize mea l , but that does n ot give the same results in colourand flavour of the flesh .
’
No fat is added to the mixture,as
there is sufficient in the buttermilk , which is the most important part of the food
,and is richer than the soured skim
milk used in Sussex . I n fact, as already seen , the extensionof fattening is determined by the supply of this product,which has risen greatly in value . The mixture named isg iven thin at first and thicker later
, and is fed twice or thricea day from the troughs suspended in front. As soon as the
birds are satisfied all rema i n ing is removed . When ready for
50 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
kil ling, the fowls are starved for twenty- four hours to emptythe crop and intestines, but i f any food i s found therein i t is
removed by a spoon . K i l l ing is by cutting the throat, andplucking takes place as soon as the blood ceases to flow,
whilst the body is warm . M en are usual ly em ployed on the
larger plants for this work, and earn n ot more than 3 to
4 francs per day . At others the members of the family al l
take part in i t. When den uded of feathers the birds havethe sternum crushed in by blows from a ma l let for the hometrade, and are laid on boards, breast downwards, to cool .I n summer they are usua l ly finger drawn . So far as I was
able to learn, at no place is ice used for chill ing
,but that is
equal ly true in Sussex , though the ben efit would be verygreat . When sent away the fowls are usua l ly graded and
packed i n hampers hold in g fi fteen each . The cost of fattening is stated to be 60 centimes to 70 cen times (6d . to 7d .)each .
53. POUL TRY FARM AT L I PPELOO .
— About a mile fromM alderen Station in the same district is the Chateau de M el is ,at Lippe loo, the property and res iden ce of the VicomteEdmond de Beughem,
where is what has been described as
the only poultry farm i n Be lgium ,an d which has specia l
features of great in terest . I t is an old Flemish chateau of the
S ixteen th century,surrounded by water, with great courtyard
and the usual build ings. Practical ly in the Campin e coun try,though m uch of the land has been cleared , fir woods are
found on two sides . The system adopted is original . Everyautumn about 60 0 M al ines pul lets are selected as breedin gstock ,
which,with the necessary male birds
,are loaned to
farmers and others i n the district , each flock numberingthirty to fi fty in accordance with the accommodation ava i lable . These remain the property of the Vicomte , who
takes them away the fol lowin g autumn and replaces by a
n ew flock . The lessees, to use a legal term,provide the food
and look after the birds, sending in to the chateau twice a
week all the eggs obtain ed ,for which they are paid from
10 centimes (1d . ) to 18 centimes each , according to the
season of the year. I t is estimated that i n this way theycan make a profit of 7 francs (65 . 6d .) per annum from eachhen ,
which from their point of view must be satisfactory,
Ma rkel Pou ltry 5I
considering that they have n ot the expense of purchasing or
of rearing the breeding stock . P late V I I . represents a flockof forty fowls
,
held under this system by a carpenter at
Lippe loo,and whoin formed me that last year he had made
a profit of nearly 30 0 francs A t the time of myvisit
,early in November, he was brin g ing in about 1 00 eggs
perweek .
54 . H ATCH I NG AT LI PPELOO .
—As the eggs are receivedthey are stamped with the sender’s n ame, to check ferti l ity, byM . Feyaerts, the energetic and skilful man ager, who, as a
resident for seven years in England,is wel l acquain ted with
our methods . As something like eggs are hand ledevery season the importance of some such check is apparent.
A l l are hatched by incubators. I n on e of the perman en tbuild ings two rooms are devoted to this purpose
,in each of
which are eight machines,hold ing 2 50 eggs
,so that the total
hatchin g capacity is eggs . The rooms are airy and
spacious, l ighted on the east s ide, and having thick brickwal ls are very equable in temperature . A rrangements for
ven ti lation might be improved, though n ot bad . The in cu
bators are made at Lippeloo,and have a double action
,n ot
on ly raising the second chimney cap , but open ing venti latorsabove the pipes which are used in stead of a tank
,causing
them to cool rapidly . Regulation is obta ined by ether an dm ercury i n a c ircular glass tube fixed to a disk of wood
,which
moves on a central p ivot as the heat rises or fa l ls, and thusoperates the regulator. Water trays are placed be low the
egg drawers . I was informed that these machin es giveex cel lent results, and the con ditions are certa in ly favourable
,
55. BROODER H OUSES .— For the earl ier stages of rear
ing,two lon g range houses
,built of brick
,are employed .
The first of these is 1 50 ft. long by 1 2 ft . deep, and 8 ft .
high in front,which is glass-fronted . I t has an excel lent
system of ventilat ion behin d an d i n front,and is warmed
by means of steam pipes running along the back wa l l .P late V I I I . shows the outside of this build in g
, the weaknessof which is that the
l
run s outs ide are inadequate as comparedwith the n umber of chickens kept
,and ,
unfortunately,cannot
be extended . This is a very common mistake,and I have
52 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
met with many instances of the same nature both at homeand abroad , in America as wel l as in Europe. Al l that canposs ibly be devised has been done to keep the ground sweetby planting fruit trees an d vegetables, and up to the presentthere has been n o disease . I n fact
,the morta l ity has not
exceeded 7 per cent . per annum ,which i s very good indeed ,
but the enterprise is on ly five years old,and the ful l effects
of this system have n ot yet been reached . A i acre of landfor a house hold ing n early chi cken s, even though thati s on ly for the first mon th
,is total ly inadequate . H ad there
been eight times as m uch i t would n ot have been too great .
This is the danger of permanen t brooder houses , whichshou ld a lways have plenty of groun d Space outside . I n to
this house the chickens are brought from the incubatorsand accommodated in large, roun d, wooden brooders(P late I X) , wh i ch are 6 ft. in d iameter and 2 ft . high .
I nside each brooder is a c ircular metal water tan k about6 in . wide, restin g on iron stan ds, and with a large spacein the cen tre . O n top is a large wooden cover with a
centra l window which is movable for ven ti lation and i n spec
t ion , i n add ition to which are air-holes a l l roun d the s ides,and pipes i n the l id . Fifteen of these brooders are used
,
each accommodatin g 2 50 chickens . A lthough i t is statedthat the result is satisfactory, I cannot but thin k that more
sub-division of numbers would be better. A t first the heati s main ta ined at 85
°
F. ,and gradual ly reduced to 68
°F by
the time the chicks are a month old , when they are able to
d ispense altogether wi th artific ial heat, and are tran sferredto the secon d house . This is 180 ft. long by 18 ft. deep9 ft. high at one side, fa l l in g to 6 ft. at the other. A t the
end nearest the main build in g are a food store and room for
heating apparatus , as shown in P late X . The house is we l ll ighted on both sides and can be heated when required byhot-water pipes , which is only needed during very coldweather. The system of ventilation is excel lent. The p ipesare against the west wal l, behin d which are in lets for a ir
,
and in front is a broad wooden screen about 2 ft. high , thuscarrying fresh air during the entire length above the headsof the chickens, which sleep on low movable laths or
perches. As the a ir must pass over the pipes,when these
are heated it is warmed . The floor i n both houses is made
M arket Pou ltry 53
of fin e ashes and chalk mixed and moistened , so thati t can be bedded down hard , presenting a smooth , evensurface, easi ly cleaned . I t is dry but warm . Both backand front of this house are runs for winter and summer
respectively .
56 . RUNS FQR GROW I NG Bu ms — When the chicken sare six to eight weeks old, in accordan ce with the season of
the year, a second transference takes place, this time to openruns in the fir woods
,where the trees have been partly
c leared , as shown in Plate X I . These enclosures are abouta quarter of an acre, an d as each flock consists of aboutI 50 chickens , this gives about 30 sq. ft. for every inmate .
A roomy house prov ides for their n ight accomodation . H ere
they are kept un ti l ready for sale to the fatteners . Everycare is taken to secure the health of the birds. C lean l i n essin the houses is regarded as a si n e qua 72072
,and on e run is
always vacan t, so that each i n turn has a month’s rest . The
groun d is san dy and wel l dra in ed , but at the time of my visi twas rather moist, as must a lways be the case un der trees
,
tho‘ugh probably less with the fir than any other. For
summer rearin g i t would appear to be everything that couldbe des ired , givin g that shelter from sun shin e necessary forrapid growth . I am n ot convinced that i t is n early so goodfor rearing at other seasons of the year
, though the bi rdsappeared to be thrivin g and very healthy . Precaution s are
taken to avoid infection . The attendants are compel led to
chan ge their shoes before entering the rearing ground . No
stranger (save i n such a case as my own ) or stran ge fowl isal lowed among the birds. And i f on e looks sickly i t is
immediately tran sferred to the hospital . The run s are carefully swept daily , and the manure removed much more thanpays for the labour i n volved . All food n ot consumed is
taken away after every meal . When removed from the
incubator an d ready for the first feed , a mixture is suppliedcons isting of on e-third milk an d two-thirds water
,fol lowed
an hour later by stale Wheaten bread crumbs . A lthough a
l ittle millet is given during the earl ier stages, and wholewheat later, the chief food consists of thirds flour two parts
,
and buckwheat meal one part, made into a paste with freshskim milk , but in winter oatmeal is used instead of buck
54 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
wheat meal . No meat is given at any period,which is
surprisin g considering how l ittle natural food i s obta inable .
A l l the time the vegetable food is suppl ied abundan tly, the
finer kinds of garden stuff during the earl ier stages,and
cabbages, sprouts , &c . later on . I t will be seen , therefore ,
that the food tends to rapid growth and to keepin g the fleshsoft. As already indicated ,
n othing but M al i nes are reared .
57 . RESULTS AT L I PPELOO .— I n teresting though this
en terpri se of the Vicomte de Beughem is, the main questionwill be whether i t is fin anc ial ly successfu l . We have had
many sim i lar attempts which were successful in everythin gexcept leaving a profit. Upon this poin t I am able to recordthe facts. Before doing so, however, i t is fair to state thatthe most careful accoun ts are kept, showing in deta i l everyitem of expenditure and in come
,even to average production
of chickens from eggs sent i n by i n dividua l farmers . The
accoun ts record that the entire cost,in c lud ing labour and
man agemen t, of the chicken s at 8 weeks old is 1 fran c23 centimes, or a l ittle less than I S. each , and at the time of
sel l in g when they are 16 to 1 8 weeks old about 2 francs .
They real ize 5 to 1 2 fran cs the couple,A pri l be in g the month
of top prices . At the time of my vis it i n November theywere se l l ing at 7 francs the couple . The capital invested is
fran cs apart from land and permanen t build in gs,
the latter of which were already in bein g,and the n et profit
last year was £ 20 0 , which is a very satisfactory return . I t
may , therefore, be regarded as a finan c ia l success, especial lywhen we remember that a man ager is employed
, and thatlan d and build in gs n ot of much use for other purposes are
ava ilable . I f these be va lued at an equal amount to
the equipmen t , the interest is 20 per cent. per annum . The
number of birds reared in 19 0 9 was upwards of
V .—TH E DUCK I NDUSTRY.
58. DUCK BREEDI NG.—Natura l cond itions in severa l
provin ces of Belgium are responsible for the wide distributionof this species of waterfowl , though there are sections n ot
so favourable as are others. Wel l-watered plain s and val leysoffer excel len t faci l ities for duck-breeding, an d the greatrivers with their con tributory streams afford favourableopportun ities in this direction . I n two districts dea lt withbelow, the in dustry is large and highly specia l ized . B ut
throughout the country ducks are kept by a great numberof farmers . few in n umber, i t is true , but large in the aggre
gate . There is a very general idea that ducks help to keepthe land sweet . Upon what that opinion is based I do n ot
know,but i t is undoubtedly true that duck man ure is very
val uable an d fosters the growth of the fin er grasses. Ev i
dence of such result has been foun d i n our own land .
A round Ghent large numbers of ducks are to be seen , thoughthat i s n ot on e of the places referred to . I n the M a l i nesmarket
,at the time of my visit
,a goodly n umber were on
sale,an d i n the Campine country this branch of poultry
keeping is extending, though i t has n ot the best land for thatpurpose . A round L iége , i n the val ley of the M euse, manyare kept in an ordinary mann er. Throughout Flanders andH ainaut ducks are to be found everywhere, and the same can
be said as to other districts general ly. The demand forthese birds is very large, as also for their eggs , which are
thought to have the flavour of’
those of wild birds, and
are special ly va luable for cooking purposes . The systemadopted , with on e exception , has been fol lowed for centuries,varying considerably from those met with in England .
Belgium has i ts own breeds, which are referred to inChapter VI I I .
59 . H UTTEGEM AND D I STRI CT .- O ne of the most
important centres for this industry is in the val ley of theEscaut, near the City ofAudenarde, in central Flan ders, andwhich I have vis ited on previous occasions. O n both sides
56 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
of the river above Auden arde the val ley i s flat and broad ,flanked by hil ls of a fair e levation
,con s isting of water
meadows, which are flooded in the autumn,remain in g under
water unti l the end of February ,when they are drained .
These meadows,which exten d severa l m iles from the c itv
n amed , beyond the vi l lage of H uttegem ,are communal
property, an d upon these ducklings are ra ised i n largen umbers . H ere they find an abundan ce of rich natura l food ,and i n return greatly improve the lan d by their man ure . I t
is no uncommon s ight during M arch and Apri l to see a
hundred thousand ducklings on the meadows . I n A pri l thebirds are removed and the land left for hay . When thatc rop i s cut the meadows are used for cattle an d chickens .
I t would be difficult to devise a more complete uti l izationof M other Earth
,whose respon se shows how wel l balanced
i s the rotation . R ich i s the soi l and ample the return .
When flooded the va l ley is on e vast lake,n early two m i les
i n width . The road an d dwel l in gs by Bevere,and on to
H uttegem, are j ust above the water l in e . I t is in thesedwel l ings where the duck-breeders l ive . Such is the sceneof a remarkable in dustry . Cultivation of the fields otherthan the water-meadows is good ; but the houses are
primitive and n ot of a high order of comfort.
60 . D UCK LI NGS AND CH ICKENS.— Particulars as to the
breed of duck kept i n the H uttegem district are given inChapter V I I I . , which should be stud ied i n view of the
methods adopted,which differs in man y respects from those
general in Brita in . A s a rule each occupier raises 500 to 60 0birds ann ual ly, but in a few cases the n umber i s greater .
As m ight be expected,there is considerable difference in the
manner the work is performed . W ithin the last three or fouryears duck -breeding has somewhat dec l ined
,though it is sti l l
very exten sive , and fowls,chiefly Braekels for production
,
have increased greatly in n umber, as it is found that theseare more profitable and bring a more con stant return thando the ducklings. I t is surpris ing to find that the ch ickensare reared on the water-meadows where we might expectthat the conditions would be unfavourable, owing to the wet
ground . That is declared not to be the case. The enormousamount of natural food obta ined on these meadows, more
58 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
front of the coops . At a later stage they are put out on
the meadows , where natural food is abundant.
62 . A SPARTAN SYSTEM .-H ardihood characterizes the
H uttegem duck,
n ecessitated by the method fo l lowedYoung b irds for breedin g are employed to secure early eggs
,
as hatching commences i n August,so as to have duckl ings
ready for J an uary, when sale commences . The season is a
short one,ending in Apri l. when the birds are removed from
the meadows . I t is,as described to m e
,a stolen harvest."
Rearing upon the Con tin ent of Europe during the winter ismore dif ficult than in the Un ited K ingdom
,as the weather is
less favourable . Whatever i t may be,the ducklings have to
bear i t ; there is n o coddling ; if too weak they d ie. O n a
previous occasion I visited the Audenarde district early inFebruary ,
’when the water-courses were frozen , and the groun dcovered with snow . Even under those conditions the ducklingswere placed out i n the open an d a l lowed to go into the water,access to which was given by breaking the ice. The Englishplan has been to keep the young birds from swimming inwater which is very cold
,as that is thought to retard growth
and induce cramp,but the Flemish peasants do n ot fear any
such consequen ces . I thin k i t is more than l ikely thissystem explains why H uttegem ducks do n ot attain the
same size as our Ay lesburys but that the birds thrive uponi t is un questionable . H uge round hampers wi th hand les
,
and made bottle-shaped,are used for carryin g the ducklings
to the meadows and water- courses, and when the flocks are
numerous a boy is employed to look after them . The onlyprotection given i s by mean s of hurdles
,covered with straw
to break the force of the wind . D uring the earl ier stagesof growth
,the straw coops are usual ly placed near water
courses,but later the birds wander at will . I was i nformed
that the percentage of loss, except from the depredations of
crows, is very smal l , wh ich speaks wel l for the vigour of therace. I t is recognized , however, that the progeny from eggslaid by very young ducks are weaker than those from olderbirds , for which reason
,as soon as the two and three-year
old ducks begin to lay , their eggs are preferred for breedingpurposes .
The Du ck I n dustry 59
63. WATER LENT I LS AND WORM S .
—AS indicated above ,
the natural food avai lable in these meadows and in the watercourses explains the enormous development of the industry ,
and why it has proved profitable . The object, therefore , i s
to make this the foundation , for not only does that meana great reduction in cost, but the birds are hardier and betterable to withstand c l imatic conditions and variation s than i fthey were fed entirely upon supplied and artificial foods .
To this end they are given worms in the i n fanti le stage, anden couraged to seek for them as they grow older. A verystrange but common sight i n B elgium and some parts of
French Flanders is to see the peasan ts gatherin g the worms,which are in duced to appear on the surface i n various ways .
Sometimes an iron crowbar is thrust into the groun d and
we l l shaken , which causes the worms to come out. But the
genera l method is that the peasants in the ir sabots treadthe ground
,which has the same effect. The i l lustration on
P late X I I I . shows the latter process i n operation . I n the
rich meadows aroun d Auden arde worms are abundant, as
there they find plen ty of food and moisture . For the
feeding of youn g birds the peasan ts pick up the worms andtransfer to a bucket or vessel , but when the birds are olderthey group around the operator an d seize the tu nzorzt'us as
they appear ; this action on the part of the duckl ings i sinstinctive ; they need n o instruction or example . L et any
on e commence treadin g the groun d , an d they will speedilyrush to the spot in order to enjoy the feast. There i s , however, another artic le of natural food which is thought to beof almost equa l importance ,
and which is often gathered forthe feed in g of both chickens and ducklin gs, n ame ly, whatis cal led [en ti tle de l
’
eau (Latin : temna m i nor) , or the
common dock -weed known almost everywhere . I t growslarge ly in the water-courses or d itches, an d is eaten w i thavid ity by ducklings . Firm is the bel ief that this weed isal l- important, and that scarcity means a lessened amountof success . The virtue i s n ot alon e in the plant, bu t a lsothe parasitic l ife found thereon . H ence , when i t is gatheredfor feed ing that takes place j ust before sundown , for the
reason that then the water lenti ls carry a greater number of
these parasites than at an y other period of the day . H ere is
a field for enquiry ,for i t is the first time that I have heard
60 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
a suggestion as to the feeding va l ue for poultry of thosem in ute forms of l ife which are found upon plan ts . Suchan investigat ion might help greatly in the work of ra is in gall classes of poultry. M oreover
,there may be many weeds
n ow regarded as a curse which might prove a blessing.
64 . FEED I NG TH E D UCKL I NGs.—Whilst worms an d
plants are chiefly depen ded upon , these are n ot en ough to
secure rapidity of growth , and food supplied is l iberal. For
the first three or four days a m ixture of hard-boi led eggs ,chopped fine
,buckwheat meal , and I nd ian meal , and made
into a paste, is fed upon sacks,together with worms, after
which two or three feeds a day are given of either steepedbuckwheat or of buckwheat meal m ixed with ma ize mea l ,the birds getting what n atura l food they can on the
meadows . O n this diet they grow wel l and rapid ly ,bu t
,
as already stated,do n ot make the size atta in ed by ou r
Ay lesburys in the same t ime . There is n o fattenin g in thissection of Flan ders. When the ducklings are about six
weeks old they are sold to the duck- feeders at Lebbekeand M erchtem
,referred to later, who finish the work . Early
i n the season the pri ce for these young birds is about 1 2
fran cs the couple,but later i n the season 6 to 8 francs i s
the usua l rate at which they are sold . At these figures the
profit i s substantial . M y observations show that duckrais ing is essen tial ly an industry for sma l l occupiers whosecond ition s are favourable, and where the standard of l ife ismodest . Water-meadows are n ot foun d with us to the sam e
extent as in Flanders, but there are man y sections of the
Un ited K ingdom ,more especial ly on lower lying lands,
where there i s an abundance of moisture,divided by
ditches, that should afford equal opportunities as at
Audenarde. O n e point to be n oted, however, is that the
water-meadows are communa l land , and that the floodingand drain ing are regulated by local authorities
,the peasants
having feeding rights thereon . I t is stated that nearlyduckl i ngs are raised annual ly in the d istrict, but
that they are decreasing somewhat.
65. LAPLAI GNE.-The other section of Belgium where
duck- raising is carried out on industrial l ines is at Laplaigne ,
PLATE XI V.—ENCLOSURE FOR YOUNG D ucxs AT LAPLAIGNE AcRoss WATER COURSE.
The Du ck I n dustry 6 1
in the province of H ainaut, on the French border, and l ikeAudenarde on the Escaut R iver. H ere is a great plain , onon e s ide of which is Fontenoy, famous as the scene of an
important battle in 1 745, when the Engl ish and the ir al lieswere defeated by the French under M arshal Saxe. I t is
low lying land , divided by water- courses, and in some casesbelow the leve l of the river. A considerable portion consistsof water-meadows as at H uttegem , under commun al control
,
and flooded every year. H ere is bred a smal l duck of somewhat un certa in type
,but very rapid in growth , producing
fin e and abundant flesh , which is greatly in deman d at
Brussels,Lille
, &c . I was informed that upwards ofare produced annual ly in the commune of Lapla igne
,which
can be ful ly cred ited ,for duckl ings seem to be everywhere
,
both in large and sma l l flocks. Three brothers,named
D rou i llon , are amongst the largest producers, on e of whomra ises annual ly about birds . O n e d istin ctive differencebetween the H uttegem and Laplaigne ducklings i s that thelatter are reared practical ly all the year round . The birdsare ready for kil l in g in seven weeks
,by which time they
weigh 3 to 35 lb . The flesh i s beautiful ly white and soft .
I n M arch and Apri l these birds rea l ize 8 to 1 0 francs each,
but the usual price is 1 2 to 14 francs the couple.
66 . M ETH ODS AT LAPLA IGNE.— I n many respects the
system adopted resembles that a lready described in con nect ion with H uttegem , and i t is , therefore, n ot n ecessary to
describe it i n detai l. But there are differences of importance.
I n the first place, incubators are here employed almostentirely, made n ecessary by the fact that the ordinary fowlsof the distric t are B lack B raekels, which would be useless ass itters, equal ly because they are sma l l in size of body and
unrel iable. The results are said to be very satisfactory , andthe introduction of these applian ces has led to a great extens ion of the industry . A second d ifference i s that durin g thefirst fortnight the hen and her brood are enclosed during theday within hurdles, which are placed by the side of, and cross,the water-courses, as shown i n Plate X IV where they haveaccess to the smal l stream ,
on the banks of which a largeamount of natura l food is obtained . A fter that period theya re given full l iberty . The same system is adopted of helping
6 2 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgium
them to find worms,as a lready mentioned
,an d in the
plate n amed i t wil l be seen that a demon stration was given forour benefit. Another method I had n ot seen previously .
No artific ial heat is provided for the duckl ings,but they are
very fond of sleeping durin g the day on beds of fresh stableman ure placed in conven ient positions
,when ce they obtain
a considerable amount of natura l warmth . Sheds made withhurdles and straw are distributed , into which the duckl ingscan go when d isposed to obtain shelter
,and the older
duckl ings are permitted to wander amon g the trees,which
are found in c lumps here an d there .
67 . FEED I NG AND FATTENI NG.— As distinct from what
has already been stated as to A uden arde,the work is com
pleted at Laplaign e by fatten in g and kil l ing the ducklings .
The method of feedin g gen eral ly fol lowed is that the foodsupplied con sists of crushed wheat or buckwheat meal
,and
mixed with cooked potatoes,to which a l ittle meat mea l
is added . This mixture i s prepared w i th water in to a paste .
Probably the reason why meat meal is added arises from the
acknowledged fact that, as a con sequence of the large numberof duckl in gs bred an d kept on the meadows practical ly al l
the year round,worms are becom in g scarce
,as might be
expected , for the lan d does n ot appear to me to be so rich as
at H uttegem What effect a con tinued deficiency of wormswill have , an d how far i t will increase the cost of production
,
remain s to be seen . That meat will form a good substitutecan not be doubted . The food named above is continued all
the time,but during the last two weeks
,when the birds are
being fed off,steeped buckwheat form s part of the diet
, as
that is found to give firm n ess to the flesh . When this stagei s reached the duckl ings are kept in open- fronted sheds withouter yards, so that they do n ot obtain much exercise , andas a consequence i ncrease rapidly in weight. At the time ofmy visit M . D rou i llon was bui ld ing a n ew brick shed for theaccommodation of the birds undergoing the process of fattening. From all the evidences apparent he and other duckraisers are prosperous . A t that time he had four men as
helpers i n addition to his wife an d daughter.
68. LEBBEKE AND M ERCH TEM .—As already mentioned
(para. on e of the great duck- fattening districts is i n East
V I . GEESE AND TURKEY BREED I NG.
69 . DECL I NE OF TH E GOOSE—As population increases,as lan d i s enclosed and brought un der cultivation , geesedecl in e i n n umbers . That has been eviden t for a long periodof time in the United K ingdom , and statistics with respectto France, D enmark
,I taly and America reveal the same
i nfluence at work . I n n o coun try i s that the case more
than Belgium,where very few geese are seen
,save in two
or three districts . For instan ce,at Ren aix I was in formed
that owing to a large in crease of the area of land given up tobeet cultivation fields do n ot n ow l ie fal low
,and as a con se
quen ce much sma ller n umbers of geese and turkeys are keptby farmers than was formerly the case . Fowls do n o harm to
growin g crops,but geese and turkeys are heavy birds an d
require open pasturage. There are three districts wheregeese are bred in moderate n umbers
,each of which is on the
borders of adjoin in g countries. The most importan t of theseis at Virtou ,
i n the south-eastern corner of Belgium ,c lose to
the Fren ch an d Luxembourg fron tiers , where upon the openlan ds considerable n umbers are reared . A boy , carrying a
horn for cal l ing the birds together, is sent ou t in charge of
each flock,and brings them home at n ight. These geese are
chiefly sold i n France . O n the D utch border at Vise is a
s imilar, though smal ler, industry, but the sale is local . The
L iege people go to the vi llage named to feast upon thesegeese
,which are boiled and served with white sauce , forming
a spec ial d ish n ot obta inable e lsewhere. A t W iers, a vil lagein the Tournai district, a few miles from Laplaigne and closeto the Fren ch frontier, winter geese are ra ised i n fair numbers .
The methods adopted do n ot ca l l for spec ia l notice .
70 . FEW TURKEYS.— Equal ly true is it that turkey
breeding is a very minor part of Belgian poultry breeding,and that comparatively few of these birds are consumed inthe coun try, even at the Christmas period . A partial explanat ion may arise from the smal l size of farms in the moreh ighly-cultivated provinces . Reference to paragraph 8 wi l l
Geese an d Turkey Breedi ng 65
show that at the last census only 1 9 8 per cent. of the holdings were fi fty acres an d upwards in area. Under these condition s the opportunities for turkey-rearing are strictly l imited ,
as that species requires plenty of space , and is essential ly on e
for larger farms. Further, intensive cultivation of the land ,and the smal l size of the plots given up to each crop , makesundesirable the presence of large-bodied birds demanding fulll iberty to wander anywhere and everywhere. That manysections of the country might produce much larger numbersi s evident, as indicated by what is stated below respectin gthe Ronquieres district. The first thing
,however, is to create
a demand which at present does n ot ex ist,and at paying
prices. The sale of turkeys is chiefly in the summer as prizesat the archery contests so genera l at that season of the year.
I n nearly every Belgian vi l lage may be seen a tal l pole on
which are fixed cross-rods inten ded to afford indulgen ce inthis sport. Five to six francs i n the summer i s thought tobe a good price for a turkey designed as a prize, i n the
autumn rising to 8 francs, which does not give much en cour
agemen t to producers. An attempt, however, i s being madeto stimulate the business , as deta i led in the succeeding paragraphs. A number of proprietors in other d istricts keepturkeys, and I saw an exce l len t flock of wi ld birds on the
estate of M . Braconnier,at M odave
,i n the Ardennes .
7 1 . RONQU I ERES.— Nearly 20 miles to the south of
Brussels, in the province of Brabant, is the picturesquevi l lage of Ronquieres. the centre of a beautiful d istrict ,real ly a western spur of the Arden ne region . An elevatedtableland , wel l-wooded and broken up by winding ravinesand val leys
, i t is a favourite summer hol iday resort of theBruxel lois, who come here for fishin g and other sports . I n
I 569 the B urgomaster of this townlet was beheaded at
Brussels, and also h is secretary, who was convicted of
phi losophy , for which reason the inhabitan ts have s ince beendubbed philosophers.
”T hey are Wa l loons, an industrious
,
intel l igent people, having ”the reputation of great honesty
,
M ost of the farms are on high ground, the soi l of wh ichis chiefly loam on slate , though there is some clay . I t is
large ly arable land, oats and beet being the principal crops,an d cultivation is wel l carried out. I n size the occupations
66 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
are above the average,ran ging from I 5 to 60 hectares (37a, to
150 acres) . The houses and homesteads are wel l built,
betoken ing considerable prosperity . H ere are favourablecondition s for turkey-breeding
,both as to n ature of the
soi l , which is dry and warm , and the s ize of the farms .
That , however, i s by n o means so genera l as was formerlythe case , though there has been an increase of recen t years,thanks to the efforts of the burgomaster, M . M ichotte, and
the schoolmaster, M . de Becker, both of whom I m et, an d to
whose courtesy and help I am indebted . Th is increase is
chiefly amon g sma l ler occupiers,for the larger farmers regard
the land as too valuable for turkeys. That there would bea great in crease is probable i f prices were better. The largerfarmers on ly keep pou ltry for meeting the n eeds of theirown households , an d n ot for sale .
72 . T URKEY BREED I NG.
— That this district has beenrenown ed in some measure for a con siderable period is
evident . M . de Becker has traced referen ces to turkeys asfar back as 1780 ,
but thin ks much had been don e prior tothat time . H e says that before then farm contracts for
cen turies stated that fowls , ducks and geese were to be pa idas tribute, but he has foun d n o men tion of the turkey inthis way . A t on e period i t was customary for n early a ll the
farmers to keep a breed ing pen of turkeys,an d rents were
paid by the sa le of the youn g stock , which durin g the monthof O ctober were driven to the c ities and towns for disposa l .With greater cultivation of the land , especial ly s in ce the
introduction of sugar-beet growing, there was a steadydeclin e , so much so that it had almost become ex tinct.O ther contributory causes can be given . Twen ty years agothe birds were fed on the stubbles , but n ow as soon as the
corn is harvested the lan d is ploughed and re-plan ted , as
seen during my drive round the district. A s turkeys are
n ot permitted in the woods or on sown fie lds,their presence
is undesirable. The cost of labour has a lso in creased, and
children , who at the time named were used as turkey-herds,n ow go to school . The results were as stated above. Boththe breed taking its n ame from the district and the industrywere threatened with extinction . About five years ago the
burgomaster, M . de Becker, and others formed a society
Geese a n d Tu rkey Breedi ng 67
with the object of stimulating production in agriculture and
horticulture,inclusive of turkeys , as nearly all the old
breeders had gone and the younger folk were not takingup the bus in ess . The result has been very satisfactory .
A lthough the total stock of turkeys raised in this district issmal l as compared with the opportun ities , every year more
farmers are keepin g a pen of six to ten birds,and breeding
about 10 0 youn gsters each season . O ther efforts are be in gput forth , as shown below
, to popularize the turkey,and i f
a demand can be created at better prices there is n o reasonwhy the industry should n ot grow rapid ly ,
as the conditionsare in every way favourable . The observation s made
,how
ever, show that the people have much to learn with respectto breeding an d rearing, as the ir methods are crude in the
extreme, and in ferior to those to be foun d in Great Britain ,France and America . I n fact, I could come to n o otherconclusion than
,an c ien t though the pursuit is , the people
do n ot un derstan d the business,and that it is the least
progressive an d satisfactory bran ch of poultry-keeping inBelgium . W ith lon ger an d wider experience
,and the dis
semin ation of in formation as to what i s done elsewhere , thereis n o reason why the n ear future shou ld n ot see a markedimprovemen t. At the present time i t i s estimated there are
about 600 to 700 stock turkeys in the Ronquieres area,with
an annual production of to young bi rds.
73. M ETH ODS OF MANAGEMENT .— A S a rule stock
turkeys are kept with the ordinary fowls around the homestead ,
al l running an d sleeping together, and the houses areby n o mean s satisfactory . Under these cond ition s the bestresults cannot be looked for. A t many of the farms visitedthe birds appeared very sma l l . I t is true that the Ron quieresbreed of turkey is n ot so large in size as the American
,
Engl ish or French , but, when fully grown , males wil l reach25 lb . The majority of those I saw were n ot much morethan half that weight . The reason for this is that breedershave fa i led to real ize the importance of selectin g the best fortheir own use . B uyers natura l ly want the biggest specimen s
they can get, an d as these brin g a rather better price thepeople fool ishly sel l them ,
retain in g for reproductive purposesthe smal ler an d least mature birds, which are general ly later
68 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
hatched . As these are used as breed ing stock in their firstyear, the tendency is towards en feeblement of constitutionand reduction of size. The Belgians are not alone in makingthis cardinal blunder
, but I do n ot remember to have seen itcarried to the same extent . A s a rule
,however, the males
are chosen more carefully than the hen s, which are frequentlyvery smal l and of all colours . H atching an d rearing are onthe usual l ines
, but M . de Becker has used an incubatorfor hatching turkeys, in which he obta ined an average ‘of70 per cent , but the chicks were w isely reared by hens .
The system of feeding is i n terestin g. For the first two dayshard-boi led eggs
,chopped fine an d m ixed with breadcrumbs,
are given, after that a paste ca l led matton,made of skim
milk , bran and hard-boi led eggs, is the staple diet, ex ceptthat when the birds are about a fortn ight old, chopped youngnettles are mixed with it, as i t is thought that weed is verybeneficial, which is doubtless correct . A s soon as the changeknown as
“shooting the red takes place the birds are
placed out on the fields and a l lowed to forage for themselves .
I f it is found that on return in g at n ight the crops are not
fi l led, then a feed is given of oats an d buckwheat
74 . D I SPOSAL OF RONQU I ERES TURKEYS.—The great
maj ority of the turkeys bred are sold during’
the summer asdi ndon des g wi
’
ns,that is, when four months old, for the
purpose n amed above, as prizes at archery matches . A t thatage they weigh 5
'
to 6 lb. ,and are s im ilar to the squab
turkeys mentioned in my Report on the Poultry I ndustryin America (p. These are taken direct from the
fields, and are not fattened i n any way . This is a class of
bird we do not know in the Un ited K ingdom . I f our farmerswould extend greatly their production of turkeys, breedinga larger number than they can carry to the Christmas season ,a market cou ld be created for part of the ir flock when threeto four months old ; and ,
further,i t wil l be worth an experi
ment to see whether smal l holders could not grow a few
turkeys each year, se l l ing them at the age named . I am
firmly convinced that consumers only need introduction to
these del icate and fin e-flavoured birds to cause a very largedemand , provided they can be got ready in j une and J uly .
So far as the autumn trade is concerned,formerly large
Geese and Turkey Breedi ng 69
numbers of turkeys were sold to people in the Waterloodistrict
,who fattened them on buckwheat meal , but, with the
decl ine in breeding,that outlet is n o longer avai lable. A
n umber are d isposed of to be fattened on wal nuts an d beechn uts . The majority are simply sold in ordinary condition .
O n e of the most important developments , i f a demand i s tobe created for
,and a satisfactory trade done in Ronquieres
turkeys,is that the birds shal l be properly fattened . I
cannot but thin k that by such method consumption inBelgium itself would greatly advance
,and that a large export
trade would grow up,real iz ing much higher prices for
produce than at present . To attain so desirable an objectthe adoption of more sc ientific methods is essential
,as the
presen t system fai ls in the d irections named above . Wheni t is remembered that the smal l Laplaigne duckl ings , weighing 3 to 3% lh .
,sel l for 1 2 to 14 francs the couple, and
Ronquieres turkeys in O ctober, weighing 10 to 1 25 lh . ,on ly
rea l ize 75 to 8 francs each, the want of a better system is
evident .
75. A TURKEY FA I R — The formation of a society at
Ronquieres has been referred to. To its enterprise is duethe establishment of an an nual fair in the month of September,of which three have been held . The worthy object of thesegatherings 18 to populari ze the turkey i n Belgium by 1nduc1ngthe great restaurants of Brussels and other cities to makethat fowl a leadin g dish from O ctober 1
,onwards, an d to
advertise the breed . Prizes are offered for the best birdsdisplayed for sale , which can hardly fai l to stimulate pro
duction on the on e hand , as wel l as help in the creation of a
demand on the other. A more practical step could hardlybe devised , provided that breeders can be taught improvedmethods of breeding an d rearing, and how to complete theirwork by the finishing process. The turkey ra ised in thisd istrict is very fin e in flavour, but has n ot hitherto had
j ustice done to it.
76 . TURKEYS AND MATRI MONY.—A very interesting
gathering was held on the last Sunday of M ay (Pentecost) ,1 9 0 9 , which for its connection with turkeys deserves notice.
There was held a Gouter M atrimon ial , or M atrimon ial Feast,
70 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
offered by “L a Soci ete les Célibataires Repentants,
to
marriageable girls of the ancient and n ew world , as stated inthe announ cements. These repentan t bachelors i n searchof wives organized a fete with various attraction s , inc ludinga popular ba l l
, on e of which was a feast of turkey san dwiches . Great crowds attended , in c lusive of to
girls, eviden tly on the outlook for husban ds, an d some
sandwiches were con sumed . What have been the resultsmatrimonial ly I do n ot know,
but that the novel fun ctionwould he lp to popularize the turkey is undoubted . Whetherin the ma in d irection of this feast the bache lors referred toregard i t as successful I do not know,
but that i t was of
benefit to Ronquieres an d the district financ ial ly,and a
stimulus to a greater production of turkeys, is thought to beunquestion able . I t is a novel idea, possible on ly under simpleand primitive conditions.
72 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
population is concentrated , with the on e great d ifference ,namely , that the last-named districts do n ot provide for
their own n eeds in eggs and poultry , which desirable resulthas been accomplished in that country . I t is estimatedthat the great county of Lancashire consumes annual lyeggs and poultry to the value of and does not
produce more than Yet i t has a vast area of
agricultural lan d,so that production could be en ormously
developed .
78. NO CO -OPERAT I ON .
—I n my Report on the PoultryI ndustry in D enmark an d Sweden evidence was giventhat the success achieved , more espec ial ly in the formercoun try , has been due to co-operative methods of marketing
,n ot a lone in
, so far as the great egg soc ieties are
concerned , but also that they have advanced the standardof qual ity , compel l ing private traders to adopt simi larmethods in co l lectin g and marketing. But i t must beremembered in th is connection that Denmark m ust export,as she has on ly a sma l l home trade . The same is true inrespect to I re land and Northern Scotland ; but i n Belgiumi t is n ot so . The first object is to meet the needs of her
own people . D enmark has on ly on e large city, Copenhagen ,
with n o other den sely-populated areas. I n Belgium thereare cities such as Brussels , Antwerp, Liege, an d great manufacturing and mining districts demand ing food suppl ies .
H ence there is n o comparison to be made between the twocountries except in respect to area of land . What was a
prime necessity in D enmark— namely , the finding of a goodand regular outlet for produce, with adoption of a systemby which the producers could obtai n satisfactory returnsdoes n ot obtain in Belgium , for there the markets are
near by , as close as is H ertfordshire to London , or the
Fylde district of Lancashire to B lackburn . O ur experiencehas been that in the immed iate vicin ity of great centres of
population co-operation for sale of food products is n ot
required as in the more remote rural d istricts, and doesnot large ly enhance prices a lready obtained . though muchcan be done to improve methods of marketing . That insome of these districts such improvement could be adoptedwith advantage in order to secure more rapid passage from
PLATE XV.—RONQU IERES TURxnvs.
74 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgiu
they are divided into pul lets’ and hens ’ eggs. I f mixed , thepeasants receive a lower price for them . Sale is by numberand not by weight. I n Chapter I I I (par. 39 ) particulars asto ru ling prices are given , from which it will be seen thatthese are very good indeed , frequently reaching 2d . eachwholesale in winter, which i s too dear for exportation to
England . There are plenty of buyers. I f those fromBrussels do not offer enough, Lil le dealers are at hand , andv ice versa . A ny attempt to rin g ”
the market is eas i lydefeated . D ealers buy in the open markets, and have packing houses where the eggs are de l ivered an d paid for on thespot. I n many parts of the Campin e eggs are sti l l sold bybarter. As the prices of food are extreme ly high, farmersmake l ittle by the exchange. Eggs are col lected every T uesday by buyers who go from vil lage to vi llage, a system whichfavours the dealer. I n summer smal l-s ized eggs often fal las low as 5 centimes (éd ) each .
80 . PACK I NG THEEGGS— I mmediately they are receivedthe eggs are packed in large hampers hold in g each, asshown in Plate XV I , i n which are ten layers, with cleanstraw and a sheet of paper between each . O n top is a thickpad of straw covered with can vas, which is then stitcheddown . I t forms a safe package, easi ly han dled , and of coursethe hampers are returnable. So far as I was able to learn,there is no testing whatever, which speaks wel l for the producers . Complain ts as to qual ity are sometimes made, andanyone who attempts to pa lm off stale or bad eggs is
u ltimately found out and soon learns that trickery does not
pay . The packers are very skilful , and speed ily discoverany that are doubtful in freshness. I n Flanders the greatbulk of the eggs are whi te in she l l, bu t there and e lsewherei t is customary to pay a sl ightly higher price for those whichare tinted , as already stated . D uck eggs are exported to
England , where they make a better price than in Belgium .
81 . PRESERVATI ON O F EGGS—Great though the production of the coun try , and I was very much impressed withthis in O ctober and November when supplies are usual lyvery short, the deman d in winter is greater than the supply .
To meet the requirements at that season , and to secure the
Marketi ng the Produce 75
higher prices of best qual ity supplies, eggs are imported fromH ungary and other countries for cooking purposes. Theseare preserved , the yolks of which are n ot firm enough forthe best trade . I n the egg districts very litt le preservationtakes place
,an d that chiefly to supply household needs.
Some of the Brussels dealers have done a cons iderableamount of preservation , but have n ot found i t profitablewithin recent years
,due to the rise of prices durin g Apri l ,
which is the time of putting down . I n fact, at that seasonthere has been very l ittle surplus durin g the last few years,and at 8 centimes per egg, or n early on e fran c per dozen ,the game i s n ot worth the can dle.
"
Preserved eggs, in faceof H un garian imports , can n ot be sold for more than a pen ny ,
even in winter,and when the expenses are taken into account
the balance i s on the wrong S ide of the ledger. M oreover,qual ity can never be so good when the eggs are preserved bydealers in the great cities, as they on ly put down the ir unsoldstocks, which are n ot nearly so fresh as i f they had beenhand led at the po in t of production . As far as can be foreseen i t is improbable that this method wil l in crease to any
extent, by reason of the fact that a surpl usage is n ot l ike lyto be found . I was in form ed that m ix in g eggs is by n o
m ean s un known, but i t is n ot practised to any great exten t .
T rickery is to be met with . A Brussels shop in Novemberexhibited the legend Eggs
,guaran teed fresh
,I O cen tim es
,
”
at a time when n ew- la ids were sel l in g i n local markets at
1 8 cen times each . Everyone knows what that betoken s .
82 . NOTES OF EGGS.— The fol lowing items were sup
plied to me by M . de M u lder, as the result of his long and
wide experien ce in '
the egg trade(a ) Firm yolks i n eggs are of essential importance .
(6) When hen s are fed on maize,yo lks are n ot firm .
Further, maize makes yel low or dark yel low yolks,whereas
red are desired .
(c) Rye produces good qual ity albumen i n an egg .
H en s wi l l not, however, eat whole rye. The peasan ts i nthe Pays d’
A lost make bread with rye meal , short oats an d
skim m i lk for their hens.
(d) When an egg is round,the yolk is one-fourth greater
to the total bulk than i f long.
76 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
(e) When eggs are boi led hard and shel ls removed the
white of brown eggs has a bluish tint, and, a lso, i f cut in twothese have more smel l than those with white shel ls . M . de
M ulder, therefore , gives support to the theory that brownshel led eggs are better than whites . O dour is eviden tly n ot
d iscernible by chemical an alysis.
83. POULTRY MARKET AT AUDENARDE.— Gen era l ly
Speaking, the system fol lowed in the market town s is exactlythe same as i t has been for centuries . H ere producers an d
buyers meet— the on e to sel l, the other to purchase . M . Van der
Sn ickt says the scen e on market day is exactly the same
as he remembers forty years ago, save that the people are
better dressed,an d there is more produce offered for sale .
I t is the same week by week,year in
,year out . A udenarde
on ly waken s up on ce a week . D uring the n ight beforemarket day the whole aspect of the Gran de P lace is changed .
By 7 o’
clock the square is fi l led with booths for sa le of a ll
kin ds of merchand ise . The side streets are crowded wi thcarts an d wagon s of every make an d shape
,from sma l l
two-whee led s in gle veh ic les to great hooded wagons,in
which the various kin ds of produce are conveyed to the
French towns . H ere are l umbering diligences, under whichare crates suspen ded fi l led with pigs or fowls . There are
dealers’ carts loaded up with fowls . The peasants brin g a
variety of goods in their vehicles . I t is estimated that at
least people visit Audenarde every market day ,coming
from many m i les aroun d . At on e season of the year thereare more eggs than chickens , at another the reverse . D ucksare n ot seen here , as they are sent direct to the fatteners.
Soon after 7 a m . the vendors begin to l ine up in a doublerow on the east side of the Grande Place w ith wide aven uebetween . These are main ly women , with from three to a
dozen chickens in a basket. No sale is a l lowed unt i lbut on the stroke of the H otel de Ville clock the buyersrush in
,and i t becomes a seething mass of humanity .
W ithin fifteen minutes sales are completed , the dealers are
packing and loading the produce, and by 10 o’clock all is
over. M uch of the money received is expended at the
booths, and by noon Audenarde resumes i ts normal aspect,for wagon s an d people have departed . The birds sold here
78 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
able to persona l ly d ispose of their birds . At 6 o’clock
every morn ing a wholesa le market i s open ed i n the old
abattoirs,to which the fatteners travel by road . The dead
fowls are packed in hampers hold ing twel ve to fi fteen birds ,with straw between
,which are placed i n fron t of stan ds . A t
six exactly a bel l rings,when the hampers are opened and
the birds set out. Buyers come roun d and barga ins are
made i n accordance with the demand . Thus producers se l ld irect to dealers, and can accept or refuse the prices offeredwithout intervention . When in America I was deeplyin terested in the method adopted for sale of South Shoreroasters at Boston , M ass , which is in the hand of men who
un dertake the work of kil l in g an d pluckin g. As they keepin the c losest touch with the market
,attending it regularly
,
they real ize the best prices . I f for any reason they dec l in ethe rates offered
,or supplies are greater than the day’
s
deman d,the goods are placed in cold storage for a day or
more . I am sure that equal ly on behalf of private producersand co-operative societies the time is fast approachin g whenthey must sel l their own supplies
,e ither directly or by
accred ited agen ts , and i t was of great in terest to see the
method adopted in Brussels, for that en ables the fatten ers
to obtain the highest return s in accordan ce with qual ity an d
deman d . A t any rate they know the state of the marketat first hand . This market is provided by the mun ic ipal ityof the city. The whole question of markets requires to beconsidered in our great cities, but more espec ia lly in London
,
where the system is antiquated an d total ly unsuited to the
requiremen ts of modern times. Not on ly are purchasesmade for B russels itsel f, but buyers come from Lille and
Luxembourg, and large numbers are bought for Germany .
A t times shipments are a lso forwarded to Switzerland . The
qual ity of the birds displayed on the morn ing that I visitedthis market was very fin e indeed , large and meaty
,very
white in flesh and skin , and with soft bon es. The reasonwhy the M a l ines is so great a favourite arises from the factthat whilst the bones are large they can be cut through witha kn ife in carving , which can only be when soft and spon gy .
D orkings have the same qual ity. There were a few ducksfrom M erchtem in the market, good in qual ity , with whiteflesh and blue bil ls. The entire market was cleared in an
M a rketing the Produce 79
hour, some to fowls having been d isposed of
in that time . I t is of interest to note the great growthof the trade with Germany , in spite of the tax of 20 centimes
per kilo on all dead pou ltry imported into that country .
These go largely to the Rhine provinces and Berl in .
86 .-PO ULTRY AUCT I ONS .
— O nly the best spec imen s are
offered for sale in the m arket referred to in the precedin gparagraph . Such as are not sold by 7 a .m . ,
or are in feriori n qual ity , are taken to the H al les Centrales for sa le byauction . This market has been leased to a syndicate , andall classes of produce are so ld . The company referred to hasmade a good dea l of mon ey by i ts speculation , bu t I wasinformed i t has n ot worked to the advan tage of fatteners
,
who have,perforce
,to take whatever price the birds real ize
less the usual charges. Buyers attend in large n umbersseekin g bargains , chiefly those interested in the cheaperclasses of trade , many of whom are women . Not much time
is devoted to each lot, an d the bus in ess progresses at a rapidrate . Nor can i t be otherwise . B uyers wish to get throughas fast as possible
,an d the auctioneer has such a crowd
of lots to sel l , in each of which h is pecun iary in terest is
smal l . That is, however, always so w ith second an d thirdrate stuff. I f fatteners ga in by the system previous ly noted
,
as compared with our own , in this case they are l iable to
lose . The auction mart is se ldom a satisfactory place forthe vendor.
80 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
V I I I .-BELGI AN RACES O F POULTRY.
87 . EFFECT O F VAR I ED COND I TI ONS.— I n the Open ing
chapter references are made to the diversified cond itionsmet with in Belgium , an d to the in ten sified methods adoptedfor the production of food suppl ies . As might be expected,the result of such condition s is evident in the large numberof breeds of pou ltry to be found within the Netherlands.
Those who are interested i n British l ive stock do not needmore than the fact to be stated . O n e supreme reason forthe large number of breeds of horses, cattle and sheep to befound i n Britain is that here we have variations of soil, ofelevation , of aspect, an d of cl imate , to an extent n ot met
with in any other coun try. Breeders have endeavoured to
evolve and maintain races of the animals named suited to
their special environmen t . That they have succeeded is
apparent to everyone. To some exten t the same result hasbeen attained with poultry , but to a lesser degree. Farmers,as a rule
,have not con cern ed themse lves with this class of
stock , and have left improvemen t largely in the hands of
fanciers and exhibitors, who do n ot care whether the local itysuits the fowl or the fowl the local i ty . I n fact, l imitation of
area, over which a breed should be kept ufor practical purposeswould be antagonistic to the interests of this class of breeders ,whose object natura l ly was, and is , to find customers everywhere. To some exten t, however, Nature has shown thatcertain breeds yield better results in given districts than doothers, and as poultry receive more attention from farmers
,
large and small, the ten den cy wil l be for a greater uniformityto be attained over areas where the cond itions are fairlyequal. I do n ot suggest that we should not test n ew breedswith a view to seeing i f they wil l give greater returns thanthose we already possess , for that would be foolish in the
extreme. H ad such a pol icy been adopted in the past theprogression seen within recent years wou ld n ot have beenmade. There are , however, manifest advan tages for practica lpoultry breeding if the birds found within a given d istrict
82 The Pou ltry I n du stry i n Belgi um
from a warmer to a colder cl imate compels activity of bodyand reduces the fatty reserves, so that the hens lay betterthan they do under the original conditions . H e attributesto this the great prol ificacy of Leghorn s i n Belgium ,
D en
mark,Brita in ,
and America . O n the other hand , remova lfrom cool to warm c l imate increases the fat and flesh , induceslethargy, and reduces the n umber of eggs produced . I f thattheory is correct, much wil l be explain ed hitherto unknown .
Belgians possess a great kn owledge as to the science of
breeding, but refuse to revea l i t . They are sa id to haveknown an d practised M en del ’s law for cen turies .
89 . D I STRI BUTI ON OF BREEDs.
— Although many n ew
breeds have been introduced into Belgium by amateurs and
exhibitors, the greater part of these have exerted n o influencewhatever upon the general c lass of poultry kept in the rurald istricts, as they are chiefly foun d in the suburban and
man ufacturin g districts . That, however, is n ot absol ute lytrue. I have already mention ed the Leghorn an d the O rp in g
ton ,especial ly the former, as havin g profoundly in fluenced
the poultry industry of Belgium . Another in stance is the
M inorca, which , introduced about a dozen years ago ,has
spread over a considerable part of the provinces of Liege and
Brabant . Speakin g genera l ly , the areas over which the
different breeds are distributed are as fol lows : The Bracke lfowl is chiefly kept in the Pays d ’
A lost, wh ich includes EastFlanders, a part ofWest Flanders
,an d a portion of H a in aut
the Campin e fowl is foun d on the sandy pla ins of the
provinces of An twerp and Limburg M a l ines fowls are
main ly bred within a radius of 20 m i les around the Cityof M al in es
,Brussels and A n twerp
,Termon de an d Aerschot
forming the border l ines, with a tendency to extend furthereast and west as demand increases ; the five-toed Courtra ifowl , undoubtedly owning the same ancestry as our D ork i n g
,
is found i n West Flanders on the French border ; the
H uttegem fowl is l imited to a smal l area around the CityofAudenarde ; game fowls are met with in al l parts of the
country , but espec ial ly in Western Flanders,in which
province large n umbers of farmers run these birds for cockfighters ; the Brabant fowl is met with in the province of thatname to the south of Brussels ; the M inorca fowl has found
Belgian Races of Pou ltry 83
great favour in Southern Brabant , Eastern H a inaut, and
part of Liege ; over the greater part of Namur and BelgianLuxembourg the Ardennes fowl is d istributed the H erve fowlhas its home on the tableland of Eastern Liege, betweenthe City of Liege, Verviers, and the German border nearA ix - la-Chapel le ; in the southern corn er of Belgium is a
crested breed of fowls ; and Leghorn fowls are distributedover a wide area outside Flanders. The M erchtem ducki s to be seen a l ittle to the north of Brussels ; the B lueTermonde duck
, to a lesser extent,
on the low- ly in gmeadows around Termon de in East Flanders the H uttegemduck near A udenarde ; and the Laplaigne duck on the
higher reaches of the Escaut river, adjacent to the Frenchborder. Geese are met with at W iers , Vese and Virtonrespectively
,an d turkeys i n the Ronqu ieres district
,as
already stated . There are many other breeds of poultrykept in the country, but those named above are bestknown .
9 0 . QUAL I T I ES O F RACES .— I t is n ot necessary for the
presen t purpose to attempt a description of the variousBe lgian breeds of poultry. Those who desire to study the
subject more ful ly wil l find a chapter devoted to these inmy work on
“Races of D omestic Poultry .
” 1 But i t is
desirable that somethin g should be said in a few in stancesas to the qua l ities by wh ich the breeds have attained preemin en ce ,
an d in some cases held a prominent place inthe egg an d poultry production of Belgium for a verylong period . Two points in this conn ection should be
emphasized : First , that whilst the extern al characteristicsof the respective breeds have been kept in view
, evolvedprobably as a result of natura l cond ition s
,productiven ess
has been the determ in ing factor ; and, second, the fact has
been recogn i zed that to secure prol ificacy i n respect to eggproduction a smal l-sized body i s essentia l . H en ce we findal l the laying breeds are sma l l
,and the table breeds large .
A big frame means inactivity and lethargy,so that the eggs
are fewer than where an active habit, combin ed with sma l lbody, is met with . The Belgians have recognized this fact
,
1 London : Edward Arnold, 190 6 .
84 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
for fact it is. I was glad to find the view held very firmlythat in -breeding causes degeneracy in size of egg and reduc
tion of number,as we l l as lessen ed vigour of constitution ,
which may be commended to those who are practising and
recommending what I can not but regard as false methodsof breeding . A n ew point to me is that the colour of earlobeis regarded as important , in that a red earlobe is said to
accompany meat properties, a white earlobe egg production ,and that a smooth earlobe betoken s smooth shel l of egg.
Upon these theories careful observation s should be made .
9 1 . BRAEKEL AND CAM PI NE FOWLS.—These two races
own the same ancestry, an d are similar in all respects savesize of body, which is rather larger in the B raekel , as a
result of being kept on the rich land of Flanders. Theyare prolific layers of large eggs . I t is suggested thatoriginal ly both breeds were related to the Bresse fowl of
France. For a long period B elgi um and B urgundy wereunder on e Crown , durin g which time intercommunicationwould be constant. B raekels are great foragers, and do
not thrive where the soi l is thin . When kept near woodsthey forage all day , on ly return ing home in the evening .
As a rule they are n on - sitters , but en ough become broodyto meet ordinary farm requ iremen ts . Recognizing the
importance of keepin g the bodies sma l l,cocks are mated
early, and precocity in egg production of pullets has the
same efi'
ect. As a rule M ay and j une are the best monthsfor hatching Braekels, and also Campines . I f brought out
early the pullets wil l lay about twen ty eggs and then becomebroody, but if hatched at the time n amed they come intoprofit in the autumn and go right on without desiring to
sit. When about eight weeks old they are smal l in boneand very fleshy, excel len t as pou lets de la i t. A fter that
the table qual ities are very moderate . Brackel eggs have a
large red yolk with strong membrane , and the albumen or
white bears a smal ler proportion to the whole than witheggs of other breeds.
9 2 . MAL INES FOWL .
—Cuckoo-coloured fowls appear tohave been bred for centuries i n Belgium , but probablv
resembling the type of the Coucou de Flandre, which ismet with to a l imited extent on the French border
, rather
86 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
much kept. There,however, over a large area is found a
breed of medium size hearing this name . As might beexpected , essential requirements are vigour of constitutionan d activity of habit . These the Arden n e Fowl possesses .
I t has evidently much of the game i n i ts composition , bothas to colour and shape of body
,and a lso that it is better
i n meat properties than as a layer. Un der the con ditionsnamed i t is in expensive to feed
,as it forages widely, and
therefore is found profitable, which would n ot be the case
i f all the food had to be supplied .
9 5. H ERVE FOWL — A s previously mentioned (para .
on the high tablelan d to the n orth-east of Liege is a breedn ot found elsewhere i n Belgium . The district is cold and
exposed ,with a soi l rich and productive. The H erve breed
is smal l i n size,we ighing 25 to lb . , but excel len t as
a layer, produc ing eggs of average size. M . Weerts in formedme that he had hen s which yielded 130 to 140 eggs per
ann um on a farm under ord in ary cond ition s . There are
three varieties , but I saw more B lacks than an y of the
others . The H erve is a breed which is capable of greatimprovemen t
,though its smal l size would not recommen d
i t . O n smal l occupation s that should be n o disadvan tage.
The other Belgian breeds of fowls,save those named below
,
do n ot cal l for spec ial mention .
9 6 . RUM PLESS FOWLS.— I n n early all coun tries races
of fowls are to be met without tai ls. The cause for thisloss of ta i l has n ever been expla in ed . I n some sections of
the Province of Liege these birds are kept because i t is
thought they are better able to escape from foxes and otherenem ies , who have much less to seize upon . I f that is so,
it i s another in stan ce of“survival of the fittest
, an d of
n atural adaptability to special con dition s. So far as I am
aware, birds hav ing th is pecul iarity are looked upon as
sports , in teresting i t is true,but nothin g more . The
B elgians , however, thin k that there is a practica l va lue inthe absence of ta i l feathers, and state that such birds growmore rapidly than those fully feathered , making flesh one
third greater in the same period . This is a n ew idea, on e
worthy of enquiry . I have always regarded feathers as the
most expensive part of the fowl to produce, and for that
Belgian Races of Pou ltry 87
reason have depreciated their undue development as in somefancy breeds of poultry . M . Paul Monseu says that it costsfive times as much to feed feather as it does flesh . Thatthis body covering i s needed by birds for warmth and fl ightis wel l known , but as we do n ot desire our fowls to fly
, so
much less is required,save that i n table breeds a curtai lment
of the wing fl ights would certain ly result in reduction of the
motor m uscles on the sternum or breast. The question ,however, requires further in vestigation before a definiteOpin ion can be expressed . When in America I saw a largenumber of growing chicken s i n which the feathers werechecked in growth , an d the opin ion was expressed that thebod ies of these grew more rap idly . I n Britain we often findthat artificially
-raised chickens do n ot feather as evenly as
those brought up under hens . That is a weakness wh ichneeds to be combated , an d is very different from the
absence of parts of plumage,such as the tai l
,which are
not requ ired . My view of the matter i s supported by tablepoultry -breeders in Belgium ,
who state that slow-featheringbirds are more del icate in con stitution than those whichgrow the plumage natural ly . Smal l-sized fowls assumetheir feathers more rapidly than these heavier races . Com
parisons m ust, therefore, be made between birds of the samebreed . I t is interesting to note that M . Robert Pauwe ls
,of
Everberg, B rabant, is producing several new rumpless, or
ta i l- less, types of fowls.
9 7 . UT I L I TY BANTAM S .— The claim has frequently been
made by English breeders of Bantams that there is no classof fowl which is so profitable , whether as egg or meat producers, as these diminutive races, taking into accoun t the
space occupied by them and the cost of food . For marketpurposes it would be useless keeping them , owing to the
sma l l size of body and of eggs produced , though as to the
former i t is an open question whether a demand could n ot
be created . I n Belgium what has been stated above is
widely accepted , and there is probably no country where so
many Ban tams are kept as there, chiefly by residents in townsand manufacturing centres . This is not merely a questionof fan cy or exhibition , though these do enter into it, but forthe supply of household needs . I n the Liege district many
88 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
miners breed Bearded Bantams, and often obtain an averageof 150 eggs per annum from each hen
,all of which are
consumed at home . I t is for that reason the Bantam and
other clubs advocate the en couragemen t of breeding thistype of fowl special ly for the sake of the children , whowould probably never taste an egg i f large fowls were kept,as their parents would be tempted to turn them into money .
This is a more important poin t than at first sight appears,and deserves consideration on the part of all who are interested in development of the pou ltry in dustry and encouragement of home production . I f the eggs and chickens are
consumed in the household that is a great gain . H undredsof thousands of Bantam s might be ma inta ined in our greatcentres of population . H itherto we have n ot looked uponBantams as uti l ity fowls
,but the question is worthy of
careful enquiry . M y frien d , M . Louis Vander Sn ickt, saysthere should be three types of every race of fowl ; first,large for table purposes second
,med ium for egg production
and, third , Bantams for workin g people with l imited spaceat command . Exhibition Ban tams are largely kept, and
some of the races are won derful in the extreme. The
establishments of M . Van Gelder, President of the BeardedBantam (Barbu Na in ) Club, at Uccle, near Brussels, and
of M . Robert Pauwels, at Everberg, are wel l arranged , and
include wonderful specimen s of the breeder’s art. M . Van
Gelder’s Porcelaine and Qua i l Ban tam s are among the mostbeautifu l specimens of poultry I have ever seen , especial lythe former.
9 8. COCK-CROW I NG CONTESTS .—At the First National
Poultry Conference in 189 9 M . Vander Sn ickt caused considerable astonishment by stating that the crow of the cockhas a definite economic value, in that it is indicative ofprofitable qual ities . That was a n ew idea in this country ,yet is general ly accepted in Belgium . We would l ike to
check crowing ; the Belgians encourage it,largely, however,
for sport. Among many classes , especial ly miners, this isa great pastime, and is said to have a moral influence inthat the breeding and train ing of the birds keep the men at
home, whilst the eggs laid and surplus birds help to feedtheir fami lies. Cock - crowing contests are very popu lar
9 0 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
The B l ue Termon de duck is much larger in size than any
of those named,and for later and more ful ly-matured speci
men s is excel lent,but these are n ot kept to any great exten t
as they do n ot grow with sufficient rapidity . There is,
however, a distinct predisposition towards blue - plumagedducks, as they are n ot so easi ly seen at n ight as the wh ites .
B lack ducks are thought to be finest in flavour of flesh,whilst blues , which are produced by crossing black on white,have the flavour of blacks and the flesh colour of whites .
To improve the qual ity of flesh a blue drake should be matedwith white ducks, but to secure vigour a yel low or creamfeathered drake, such as the Pekin
,gives the best results .
I am un able to speak person al ly as to the races of geese .
I OO . RONQU I ERES TURKEY .— Tu Chapter V I . some
particulars are given as to the breed in g of this turkey ,the
on ly on e which , so far as I know , can be called a native of
Belgi um . From the appearance i t would seem that it is acompos ite breed , probably havin g the Fren ch B lack as the
basis, though from the metal l ic reflection s on the wi n gs i ti s n ot improbable that B ron ze American blood has beenin troduced . There is great divergen ce in colour of plumage ; in fact, so long as the legs an d feet are white
,wi th
white toe na i ls, the feather colour is regarded as of secondaryimportan ce. I n the hands of a few ski l led breeders the
Ronquieres turkey could be greatly improved . O f goodsize, w ith beautifully white, soft and fin e-flavoured flesh
,i t
ought to occupy a much higher position in Belgium thani s the case to-day .
1 0 1 . BREED ING TH EO R I ES .
— The fol lowing items,repro
duced from my n otes,represen t ideas held by breeders i n
Belgium , as supplied to me by M . Louis Van der Sn ickt.They are of suffic ient importance to warran t consideration .
I do n ot advocate their acceptance without further enquiry .
(a) For improvement of races of poultry in any countrybirds should be selected which have been brought up in a
hardy manner and of smal l size, as these improve greatlyunder better cond itions . I t is regarded as a mistake to use
highly-bred stock for practical purposes,as there i s always
decadence as a result of u ltra refinement .
Belgian Races of Pou ltry 9 1
(b) B lack or dark - plumaged fowls should have whiteunder-colour, especial ly where extremes of temperature are
met with . I t is thought to be inj urious for the surfacecolour to be carried through to the skin . B lack absorbs ,an d white reflects, heat.(c) To make birds or an ima ls breed give them the same
food as they would have when in the infanti le stage.
(d) When a hen is sittin g her feathers throw off n o smel l ,so that the scent of her enemies i s in vain . I t i s stated thata fox wil l n ot be able to discover a sitting hen if she i s out
of sight, even though he passes within a yard or two. The
elements which ordinari ly cause the smel l go into the i n testines
,and are carried off bv the manure, which i s always
most odorous in a sitting hen .
(e) I n winter breedin g ducks must have access to wateror the eggs wil l be in fert i le .
(f) Belgian peasants do not l ike big trees on their farms,as these are thought to exhaust the ground .
9 2 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
IX.— INSTRUCT I ON I N POULTRY-KEEPI NG.
1 0 2 . LECTURES — Comparatively l ittle has been donehitherto in Belgium for direct teaching in con nection withthe poultry industry . That may be due to the fact thatthe peasants in that coun try are a lready skilful at this work,and have very little to learn . O r
,as expressed to me , they
kn ow more of the subject than those who m ight be sen t to
teach them . Such may be true i n certa in directions and
over given areas . But i t is not the case taking Belgium as
a whole . Even in Flanders , where poultry-breed in g reachesi ts highest developmen t
,whilst as to breedin g the peasan ts
have a knowledge which comman ds adm iration , there is
m uch required i n the way of improvement of method .
M oreover, one great advantage of instruction is reporting
what is being done elsewhere . That Belgian farmers are
wi l l in g to adopt progress ive methods is eviden t from the
in crease of artific ia l methods of hatching and rearing i n the
M al in es and Laplaigne districts,an d they should be fit
subjects for instruction . A l im ited number of lectures are
given in the rural districts every year, but i t is recognizedthat these are total ly inadequate to the importan ce of the
subject . I n 19 0 8, 373 such lessons were given,and i n 19 0 9
37 1 . I n the last-n amed year courses of from one to fourlectures were provided in 1 23 v i l lages
, the arrangemen ts
for which are made by the Fédération Nationale des Sociétésd’Av icu lture de Belgique , which body ann ua l ly submits a
scheme to the M in ister of Agriculture, who, on approval,
makes grants for payment of the lecturers,usual ly certified
agriculturists . I n 19 0 9 the appropriation for this purposewas only francs which works out at
15 francs per lecture . No charge is made to students , andthose who atten d not less than three lectures are permittedto sit for an examination
, theoretica l and practical . Suchas obtain not less than 60 per cen t. of tota l marks
, or n ot
less than 50 per cent. of the marks in each subject, are
awarded offic ial certificates of capacity, the value of whichmust depend upon the knowledge of poultry-keeping
94 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
104 . SPECI AL POULTRY SCH OOLS—I was in formed bythe M in ister of Agriculture that there is not i n Belgiumany State poultry school . Some lessons are given inav iculture at Londerzeel
,where i s a horticultura l school ,
and at Gembloux to the extent named above. This lackwould n ot be felt if the two great agricultural col leges ,Louvain and Gembloux ,
were deal in g adequately with the
subject . At Westmal le, in the Province of Antwerp, iswhat is cal led a
“Ferme—Ecole Professionnelle Pratiqued
’
Av icu ltu re ,” conducted by M . Leon Lacroix upon his
own respon s ibil ity . H ere lectures are given in French and
Flem ish, and the course extends over at least three months .
I n struction is both theoretical an d practical , and in association with the school is a poultry farm
,said to be wel l
equipped , but as I had n ot an opportunity of visit ing i tmy information is secon d-hand . The cost of instruction
,
in c lus ive of board and lodging,is 350 francs for
three months . This school was established in 190 3, and
nearly forty students have been trained in it, severa l of
whom are now engaged as poultry-breeders in the n eighbourhood of Londerzeel . The farm comprises 1 50 acres
,largely
used for agricultural students, the poultry section of whichoccupies about 2 1; acres. I n struction i s above all practical
,
but theoretical courses are given twice a year in accordancewith the programme issued by the M in ister of Agriculture,but, being a private venture, n o subsidy is received . S i lverCampin es are kept for egg production . M ore attention is
,
however, given to the rearin g of M alines , as they yi eld a
greater profit. At Thim ister, in the H erve coun try, an
attempt was made some time ago to establ ish what it washoped would be a teach ing centre for that section of Belgium
,
but i t has not proved fin ancial ly successful , and is n ow con
ducted by Mons. L. Weerts as a private breed ing farm and
demonstration plant. The equipment is good as far as i t
goes, but is l imited in extent. There are no students on
the farm ,but it renders a great service, i n that schoo lmasters
are permitted to bring their pupils on visits from time to
time. To build up any industry it is necessary to get holdof the younger folk, as only on e adult in fi fty wil l learn and
adopt n ew methods. M . Weerts lectures for the Federation,
and a lso such communes as desire courses, and practical men
I n stru ction i n Pou ltry-Keepi ng 95
l ike him can do m uch i f they are afforded an opportun ity .
But teach in g plants can n ot be conducted properly on a
commercial basis. I f the sa le of fowls an d appliances,as at
Westmal le and Thimister, has necessari ly to be given a
primary position , the students suffer. M oreover,there is
a lways a danger of promoting such sales within l imitedl in es
,and that advice is unconsciously in fluenced by a des ire
to encourage the bus in ess side. H ence, public funds and
con trol are in dispen sable for the success of education alestablishments . A further point is that i f fees charged haveto suffi ce for meetin g the expenses, that section of the
commun ity who n eed the ben efit of in struction most cannotafford the cost . I was in formed that i n the H erve districtthere are several da iry schools, that being the great buttercountry
,and i t is surprising n o attempt has been made to
i nclude poultry instruction in their respective courses . The
great increase of pou ltry in the H erve section of Belgiumon the da iry farms shows that the two branches worktogether advan tageously .
10 5. EXPER I M ENTAL WORK — O n e of the most valuablemean s of education is i n the conduct of practical experiments,and there is n o bran ch of agriculture in which such investigat ions are n eeded more than in pou ltry -keeping. I n Europethis work has h i therto received very l ittle attention . A s
pointed out in my“Report on the Poultry I ndustry in
America," that is n ot the case in Canada and the Un itedStates . M ore experiments have been conducted in respectto poultry in the State of New York than i n the whole of
Europe , from the Ural M ounta ins to the Atlan tic O cean . I n
this direction Belgium is n o better than i ts neighbours . The
Fédération Nation ale des Sociétés d'Av icu lture de Belgiquehas expended part of i ts fun ds in this d irection
,and would
have done much more had mon ey been avai lable . A t
Gembloux experiments in the fattening of M erchtem ducksand M al in es fowls have been carried out, specia l ly to
compare the va lue for this purpose of buckwheat and
barley , and a lso natura l versus artific ia l methods of rearing .
M . Weerts has conducted feed ing observation s at Thimister,a nd the Liege Poultry Soc iety (L ’
U n ion Avicole de Liege)has also subsid ized , to a l im ited extent, experimen tal work .
9 6 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgi um
A t Gembloux I foun d that in addition to the director,Professor Racquet, a lready named
,Professor M . Schil le
Gregoire, head of the State Chemica l and BacteriologicalI nstitute, and his assistant
,M . Carpiaux ,
are all deeplyinterested in poultry, and ful ly realize the great n ecessityfor research . They have the qua l ification s an d the oppor
tun ity, but the means are wanting. I t is the latter, a denialof which in Europe has prevented greater deve lopmen tof the Poultry I ndustry . With in creased production and
greater inten sification of method the need for experimen ta lwork becomes more urgent
,equa l ly to secure enhancement
of returns and reduction of cost , an d to preven t loss byd isease , the risks of which are correspondingly greater as
numbers increase upon the same area of groun d . I n the
direction of experimenta l work Belgium is distinctly lacking .
98 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
so far as that is concerned . Some of our vil lages have not
got beyond the oi l stage, which in Belgium would havee lectric ity, not because mechanical power i s cheaper thereor oi l or gas more expensive, but from some other reason .
I n fact, progress and prosperity are eviden ced on all sides.
The people eat white bread where they on ce con sumed rye .
107 . RAI LWAY RATES .
— Belgium is n ot alon e a land of
rai lways, but it is also on e of cheap rates . A n ord inarythird- class passenger ticket for 10 0 m i les on ly costs 3 francs80 cents. (3s. which i s 55 . 2d. less than it would be i n
Britain,an d a return ticket for the same distan ce is only
6 francs 0 5 cen t. By the courtesy of M . de Fran ce ,
representative of the Belgium State Ra i lways i n Lon don ,and the Superintendents of the Great Eastern an d Great
Western Ra i lways Compan ies , I am able to give comparativefigures for the two countries as far as these are poss ible . O n e
importan t point must be kept in view— name ly,that there
are n o owner’s risk rates i n Belgium,all goods bein g con
signed at company’
s risk . For purposes of comparison I
have selected (1 ) Audenarde to B russels, 40 m i les, an d (2 )
Londerzeel to Liege,65 m i les, and worked out similar d is
tances on the two English ra i lways n amed .
EGGS AND POULTRY PER PASSENGER TRAI N .
Company Company's risk Owner
's risk
Belgian State 45 . 0 d . per 2 cwt.
G.E. Ry. Co. 45 . 0d . 35 . 8d. per 2 cwt.
G.W . Ry . Co. 9 5 . 4d. 4 5 . 8d .
Belgian State 5s. 7d.
G.E. Ry. Co . 55 . 4d .
G.W . Ry . Co . 14s. 0d .
EGGS PER FAST Goons TRAI N.
Compan y Company's risk Own er
’
s riskBelgian State 12 5. 6d . per 10 cwt.
G.E. Ry. Co. I zs . 35d. I os. 75d. per 10 cwt .
G.W . Ry. Co. 185 . I I d . 1 2 5 . 6d .
Belgian State 185 . l i d.
G.E. Ry . Co. 155. 5d.
G.W . Ry. Co. a4s. 0d .
POULTRY PER FAST GOODS TRAI N.
Cpmpany Company's risk Owner
's risk
Belgi an State 12 5 . 6d . per 10 cwt.
G.E. Ry. Co. 1os. 1od.
G.W. Ry. Co. 18s. 4d.
Belgian State 185 . Hi d
G.E. Ry. Co. 12 5 . 1 1d
G.W. Ry. Co. a4s. 2d.
Gen era l Notes 99
The transit charges for ordinary goods tra in in Belgiumfor eggs and poultry is 65 . 1 1d . per ton for 40 miles and 10 5 .
per ton for 65 miles. I t wi ll be seen , therefore , that rates arelower in certai n directions in Belgium
,but n ot in others , and
that in some cases our producers have the advantage .
10 8 . NATI ONAL FEDERATI ON OF POULTRY SOCI ET I ES .
A large number of poultry soc ieties ex ist in Belgium for
various purposes or d istricts , nearly all of which are federatedin the Fédération Nation ale des Sociétés d
’
Av icu lture de
Belgique,of which M . de Perre is the General Secretary .
Th is great organ ization is recognized by the Government,
an d through i t are chiefly directed efforts for the developmentof poultry-breeding. I n addition to the grant for lectures(para . a lready referred to, a subsidy Of fran cs
is ann ual ly paid to the Federation , which is appliedto the support of its work. The main points which are
kept in V iew are (1 ) I nstruction and Practical Experimen ts ;
(2 ) I mprovemen t of Races of Pou ltry ; (3) Compilation of
Standards of Breeds ; (4) Rules for an d Lists of ApprovedJ udges of Exhibition s ; an d (5) D issemination of I n formation an d Publication of Reports , &c . The Federation hasa lso established a stud book
,but there are many difficulties
in the way of success. I t is evident that what may be
termed fan cy poultry-breeding occupies a large share i n theO peration s of the Federation , but certain ly n ot to the exclusion of the practica l side . I t therefore exercises a wideinfluence, and is general ly acknowledged to have done muchfor poultry-keepin g in B elgium . The fact must ever bekept in view that i t is a Federation of other Societies andn ot a Society with limited interests. H ence it must giveeffect to the wishes of those bodies whose representativeit i s. As fanciers’ associations are more cohesive and
active than uti l ity societies the former n atura l ly dominate.
Grants are made of from 10 0 francs to 300 fran cs to variousexhibitions ; prizes are offered for the best poultry
.
plants ;enquiries and investigations are made as to various diseasesand epidemics, an d general assistance afforded in all sections .
All poultry clubs or societies, . whether for exhibition or
uti l ity poultry-breeding, are el igible for membership in the
Federat ion , and have the right to e lect on e delegate for
1 0 0 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
every twenty-five members, the ann ual subscription be ing5 francs for each delegate. There are n ow
'
forty-six
societies affi l iated , with a total membership O f an
increase of nearly within two years . The Federation ,which was instituted in 189 8 , to my personal knowledge hasrendered very great service to Belgian poultry-breeders byorgan izing representative displays of the nationa l races O f
poultry at the great intern ational exhibitions of St. Peters
burg, M adrid,M i lan
, and Rome, at which B ritish poultry
made so poor a Show, with the result that a large amountof trade was lost to our breeders.
I 09 . L’UNI ON AV I COLE DE Llama—O n e of the most
enterprisin g of the loca l or district societies is that at Liege ,
which has as i ts Pres iden t M . B racon nier,whom I had
met previously at M adrid , and whose beauti fu l chateau at
Modave, i n the Arden nes,I had the pleasure of v isiting. I t
is a large , powerful body with 9 00 members . A t i ts headquarters is a fa irly good library an d m useum . I t has a
veterinary surgeon who treats s ick birds and makes investigation s on behal f of i ts members . I t receives n o subsidy
,
but is l iberal ly supported by subscriptions, an d holds a
large annual Show. I am indebted to Mons. C. Wauters, the
Secretary , for much information as to the work of thisexcel lent society, which may be divided as fol lows : (1 ) Fract ical experimen ts upon a scientific basis , which are conductedunder the supervision of the society, and the results com~
pared an d published . (2 ) Education , both by mean s of the
l ibrary and lectures . (3) Publ ication of a weekly journ a l,
which is sen t post free to members who subscribe 5 fran csper an n um . This paper gives origin a l artic les and extractsfrom foreign publications. (4) Excursions of the membersto visit practical and other poultry establishments in being.
The annua l exh ibition is on e of the most importan t i n
Belgium ,an d is we l l supported .
1 10 . OTH ER SOCI ET I ES.- Breed and district societies
exist i n con siderable numbers as with us, the former of
which are concerned chiefly in promoting the interest of
the respective breeds. There are two Braekel clubs, on e
at Sottegem ,under the presiden cy of M . M isirez, an d the
other at Renaix, whose Presiden t is M . O scar Thomaes,
10 2 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
X I .
— SUMMARY.
1 1 1 . COM PARI SONS .— Great though the differences may
be between Great Britain and B elgium, these are to a large
exten t superfic ial , an d are whol ly overborn e by the s im ilari ties of conditions and n eeds. That such is n ot the case
i n America or D enmark was poin ted out in my previousreports, more especial ly as to the last- n amed country, whereproduction for export m ust be the main object of poultrykeepers. I n many directions the conditions which demandincreased home production of eggs and poultry in the Un itedK ingdom are found to a greater degree in B elgium , wherethis question has been faced , and , to a large exten t, theproblem solved
,whereas we are on ly i n the early stages of
development, though much has been accompl ished within thelast two decades . P ro rata to i ts area the Un ited K in gdomis a den sely populated country, but , as shown in Chapter I .
(para . Belgium has 725 per cent . more people to the squaremile than is the case with us, explained by the fact that herrural districts have n ot suffered by depopulation as in Britain ,and that those who l ive on an d by the land bear a muchh igher relationship to the tota l of the entire country than isn ow the case on this side of the North Sea . D urin g the lastgeneration the growth of industrial and commerc ia l pursuitshas been enormous in both countries
,the respective popu la
tions have increased greatly , wealth and purchas ing powerhave advanced with great rapidity, and
,as a consequence,
the demand for all classes of food products is vastly greaterthan ever before , whilst the rise in prices which has fol lowedsuch demand has not checked i t in any way , due to the
correspond ing abil ity to purchase,and the higher standards
of l i fe of the working section of the community . I t wil l beseen , therefore , that in these directions there are many pointsof resemblance between the two countries . Further, overpractical ly the whole of Belgium conditions are very simi larto those met with in the greater part of England , Wa les, andsouthern Scotland , where the producing districts are near tothe consuming population , affording faci l ities for sale which
Summary 103
are unavai lable when eggs and poultry have to be sent overlong d istances. I t must be recognized
,however, that the
Belgians have risen to their opportunities , so far as product ion is concerned , to an extent which i s far in advance of
Great Britain , which has enormously enhanced the prosperityof i ts rural d istricts . I n this direction we find the greatestdifference between the two countries. The Belgians havereal ized that intensification of production as a resu lt of
smal ler occupations, which a lone is capable of meeting the
needs of a great consum ing population without dependen ceupon extraneous supplies
,whilst we are i n the earl ier stages
of development on those l ines . The result is that, practical lyspeaking , Belgium i s self-supporting in respect to eggs and
poultry,for her smal l imports are more than covered by the
exports to France an d Germany , whereas Great Britain paysforeign coun tries annual ly for these two artic lesof food . A S an example of what can be accomplished on
sma l l farms, Belgium ,
with her numerous and prosperouspeople, affords every hope that the increase of smal l holdingsi n Britain wil l enormously advan ce the relative food product ion of the country in every direction . To accomplish thatdes irable end
,s im i lar methods must be adopted to those
which are already met with in a few sections of England .
I was in formed that horticultural lan d is worth ten times
as much in Belgi um as ordinary farms,simply because pro
duction is ten fold greater.
1 12 . CONCLUS I ONS .
—With a view to summarizing for
the benefit of those concerned in the we lfare of our rura lcommunity i n gen eral
,and the extension of the poultry
i ndustry in parti cular, an d ensuring the success of agricu l
tura l operations whether large or smal l, in which poultrykeeping is capable of contributing to an extent not hithertoreal ized , the fol lowing recommendations are submitted for
con s ideration
(a) That a country which has a large industrial and com
mercial population ,the maj ority of whom are unable to meet
their own requirements in respect to eggs and poultry , canproduce en ough of both these art ic les of food withoutdependence upon foreign suppl ies
,provided that the methods
of poultry-keeping carried out are on l ines calculated to
104 The Pou ltry I n dustry i n Belgium
secure the max imum of returns in accordance with the
n umber of birds on each farm .
(6) That production is greater in relation to the acreageof the occupation where the farms are smal l i n s ize, as therefowls can be kept at the lowest cost an d rece ive that personalattention which is requisite to success. Consequen tly ,
spec ialeffort should be put forth to encourage poultry-keeping in
those sections of the K ingdom where occupation s are moderatei n area, or smal l hold ings are created , as i n this way the
prosperity ‘
of the ind ividuals wil l be advanced an d the
national food supply increased . The instance cited , inChapter I I I . , of Sottegem ,
in which district the decl ine of
handloom weaving was compen sated by exten sion of poultrybreeding, O ffers an example how changes such as that namedcan be met by adoption of other pursuits.
(e) That with a view to the colon ization of the un cultivatedareas, of which there are nearly acres in GreatBrita in , rather more than 4 2 per cent. of the whole coun try
,
the ful lest en couragement should be given to the extensionof poultry-keeping n ot on ly for immediate in crease of suppliesof eggs and poultry, but a lso as a rapid means of advancingthe ferti l ity of the soi l and growth of ordin ary crops. The
evidence given in Chapter I . as to the remarkable changeswhich have taken place in the Campine n ear the city of
M al ines , where land practical ly useless is n ow bein g broughtunder cultivation as market gardens
, due to the greaterferti l ity of the soil as a result of keepin g large numbers of
poultry thereon , is of the greatest importance. There are
many parts of our country capable of such improvemen t,
which might be made productive and support a large an d
thriving population, were the opportun ity afforded . Thisdoes not mean that larger farmers cannot keep poultryprofitably , but that they are unable for various reasons to
obtain equal results, except in the case of turkeys . I n creasedhome production means lessened dependence upon foreignsupplies
,together with a hardier and more vigorous people.
(d) That, as in America and D enmark,and also Brita in
,
the great bulk of eggs and poultry are produced on the
ordinary farms and n ot at special plants,which
,whilst they
1 0 6 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
(g ) That the production of milk chickens i s essential lyin Belgium , as in America , the business of those who keepthe layin g races of fowls
,which grow much more rapidly
than the heavier breeds, and are ready for kil l ing at an
early period . The doing so wou ld provide a profitable out
let for cockerels, which are of smal l va l ue when older, and
would get rid of them ere they become troublesome . The
breeding of these smal l chickens on a large sca le has not
proved . profitable,an d as the number from each producer
must be smal l , i t is desirable that all in the egg districtsshal l keep this branch of the trade in view so as to secure a
regular supply during the period of demand .
(It) That there are manifest advantages i n the keeping of
a s ingle breed of poultry over any area where the con ditionsare sim ilar
,so as to secure un iformity of produce . I n many
parts ofGreat Britain , and to a lesser extent in I re land , thecondition s are very varied
,bu t where that is not the case the
present mixture of races is un desirable . I t would , of course,be essential that a se lected breed should be one which hadproved itself most su ited to the district .
(2) That B elgians have proved that the most prOl ificlayers of eggs are those which are sma l l i n s ize of body , andtheir best laying hens weigh 4 lb . or less. T herefore all
efforts to en large our laying races of fowls for exhibitionpurposes should be resisted , as tending to reduce the pro
ductiven ess . Further,that with intens ification of method
the cost of production will probably rise, and therefore the
careful selection of breeding stock is imperative with a viewto greater average production .
(j) That a modification ofthe system of importing chickensfrom I taly as egg producers , described in Chapter I I I . ,
mightbe introduced with advantage. There is no reason why thebreed ing of such birds in some districts of the Un ited K ingdom should n ot be carried out on an extensive scale byfarmers , sel l ing these to purchasers i n other sections of thecountry.
(h) That whilst artificial methods of hatching and rearingare n ot adopted in the egg districts, where comparatively
Summary 10 7
few birds are hatched on the individ ual farms, i n the tablepoultry d istricts the period of hatching is greatly extended,an d the introduction of these appl iances has led to a greatextension of the industry, which is also true in on e of theduck d istricts . I t is des irable that the system of rearingchickens in glass houses, which is recommended in the
Londerzeel d istrict,should be given a careful test.
(I ) That efforts should be put forth to develop the pro
duction of large winter fowls s imilar to the pou lets de
B ruxelles,and the soft roasters of America , both on the
part of the farmers and at special p lants on the systemadopted by Vicomte de Beugham at Lippe loo, which latterforms a centra l hatching and rearing station in combinationwith farmers who keep the breedin g stock on on e handand fatteners on the other. T hese could be conducted on
co-operative l ines s imi lar to the newly formed establ ishmentat Street, Somerset.
(m) That there are many sections of the coun try wherethe production of sma l l or squab turkeys for sale during thesummer might be introduced . A profitable trade for thesecould be created without much difficulty.
(n ) That in view of the decreasing fore ign supplies ofeggs, and ,
so far as can be seen , the im probabil ity that thereare any n ew sources for good-qual ity produce l ikely to be
opened , i t is of supreme importance that every effort shouldbe put forth by central an d loca l authorities and by individua lfarmers to advance poultry-keep ing on progressive l ines inthe United K ingdom . I n Be lgium the winter average appearsto be higher than with us , and i t is essential that attentionshou ld be given to this question , as the shortage of suppliesfrom O ctober to D ecember is very s erious indeed . Whathas been done in Belgium can surely be accomplished here .
(0) That the offering of pri zes (I ) for poultry on farms ,and (2 ) for the best i nd ividual d isplays at Christmas markets,i s worthy of cons ideration as a means of stimulating the
adoption of better methods, and of increased production .
The first of these has been done on a l imited scale by on e or
two county counci ls, but it is capable of great extension .
1 0 8 The Pou ltry I ndustry i n Belgi um
(p) That the markets in our great cities require to be
re-organized in view of the great increase of population , witha view to securing freedom of trade for producer and buyer.
Such is specia l ly true in London, where Charters grantedtwo or three hundred years ago prevent expansion in accordance with present-day needs . And that by loca l authoritiesor co-operative organization markets or auctions for the saleof poultry
,or fairs , as at Ronquieres, should be established
in suitable districts . Further, that the time has arrived whenproducers must have greater control over sale in markets byhaving accredited agents for sa le of their eggs, pou ltry, etc .
(9 ) That experiments should be undertaken on severa lpoin ts mentioned in this Report, notably as to the feedingvalue of rye-mea l for egg production , of buttermilk for fatten ing, and the use of various weeds with the parasitesthereon for ducks and poultry general ly, as wel l as in m anyother directions .
(r) That in all our deve lopments s implicity should everbe kept in view
,as applied to breeding, rearing, and feeding,
so as to secure the greatest result at the least possible cost.
EDWARD BROWN .
Regen t H ouse,Regen t S treet, W. ,
February ,19 10 .
I I O
D isposal ofTurkeys, 68D istribution of Breeds, 82
D ockweed for D ucklings, 59D roui l lon Freres, 6 1
D uck obreeding, 55D ucklings and Chickens , 56
Feeding of, 60 , 62
H atchi ng and Rearing, 2 1
D ucks and Water, 9 1
with Poultry, 18Ear-lobes, Colour, 84Early H atching, 46
East Flanders, 26 , 28, 43Egg
-farmi ng, 35H ampers, 74M arkets, 73Production , 23, 26
Eggs, Clean -shelled , 34I mports and Exports of, 16
Pack ing the, 74Size of, 2 9
Electric Light in Vi llages, 97En closures for Ducklings, 6 1Enfeeblemen t i n Turkeys, 68Escaut R iver, 28, 29
Valley of the , 55Exhibi tions, Belgian Peasants and, 33
i n Belgium , 8
Experimental Work, 95Exports, 3
ofEggs and Poultry, 16to Fran ce and Germany, 4 1
External Characteristics, 83Fai r, A Turkey, 69Fam i l ies, Large, 27Fan cy Pou ltry, 7Farm Poultry-keeping, 10
Work, 2 7Farms at Ren aix , 31
Poultry, 9Fatten ers, 45, 47Fatten ing D ucklings, 62 , 63
Establishmen ts, 47ofM ali n es Fowls, 9 5of Merchtem D ucks, 95Turkeys, 69
Féderation Nationale des Societies
d’Aviculture de Belgique, 9 2 , 9 5, 9 9
Feeding, 23, 53, 60 , 62
Experimen ts, 95, 10 8Table Pou ltry, 49
Feeding Young Turkeys, 68Ferti l ity ofLand, I mproved, 14Few Turkeys, 64Feyaerts, M . , 51
Firm Yolks, 75Flanders, 5, 1 1 , 13, 22 , 26, 55Flavour of Ducks, 90Flem ings, 5Flem ish Proverbs, 1 1 , 23Fon tenoy, 6 1
Forms of Poultry H ouses, 19
I n dex
Fowls and I mprovement of Soi l , 14French Flanders, 5Fru i t Growi ng, 26
Game Fowl , 82Geese , 83
Breeding, 64Gembloux Agricultural College, 93Gen eral Condi tions, 5
M anagemen t, 18Notes, 9 7
Germany, Trade wi th , 43Ghen t, 55Glasshouses for Reari ng , 46Gouter Matrimon ial, 69Grammon t, 2 8, 73Gran ts for Lectures, 9 2Grasheide, 15, 20
Great Eastern Rai lway Company, 98Western Rai lway Company, 9 8
Gregoire, Professor, 9 6
H aeltert, Plan t at, 10H ainaut, 55
Prov ince of, 5, 2 1H al les Cen trales, Brussels, 79H atching, 2 1 , 46, 51 , 57
T ime of, 18
Turkeys, 68H erve Fowl , 36 , 83, 86
n The: 2 2 » 2 5: 35H istorical , 8H oldings, Size of, 2 9
Number of, 1 2H om ing P igeons, 7H orses and Pou ltry, 2 0H ousi ng, M ethods of, 18, 19H ubert, M on s . C. , 93H ungarian Eggs, 75H uttegem and D istrict, 55
D uck , 83, 89Fowl , 2 1 , 57, 82
I llustrated Pou ltry Record, 30I mported Eggs , 39I mports, 103
ofEggs and Pou ltry, 16Improvemen t of Races , 9 0I n -breeding, 84I ncreased Number of Pou ltry, 1 1
Production , 6 , 36I ncubators , 18 , 2 1 , 46 , 6 1I ndustrial D evelopmen ts, 2 , 6I ndustry , The Duck, 55I n struction i n Poultry-keeping, 9 2I n ten si ve Production , 2 , 6
I ntroduction , 1
I tal ian Fowls, I 7as Layers , 36
I taly , Chickens from , 36
Keerbergen , 15K ickefri tters,
” 8
Ki lling Fowls, 43Table Poultry , 50
I n dex
K izmotin , M . Louis, 48Koorman , M . , 48
Lacroix, M . Leon , 94Laloux, M . Maurice, 4Lancashire, Consumption in , 72Land, I mproved Ferti l ity of, 14Ren t of, 33Languages Spoken , 5Laplaigne,
Duck , 83, 89La Société lesCélébataires Repentan ts,70Lebbeke, 44, 60 , 62Lectures on Poultry , 9 2Leghorn Few] ,Leghorns, Whi te, 9
L en tzl le do l'eau , 59Liéger 39 s 55
Provi nce of, 5, 10 , 37Light Rai lways, 9 7Li lle , 5, 30 , 39 , 71Limbourg, Province of, 5Li nen Weavers, 28Li ppeloo, 9 , 2 2 , 50Li ttle Compton , R. I . , 1 1Local Breeds, 80Londerzeel, 1 1 , 2 2 , 44 , 71L
’
Un ion Avicole de Liege, 9 5, 100Luxembourg, Belgian , 5, 10
Maize, 24Effect of, 75
Making An imals Breed, 9 1M aki ng H ens Lay, 40
M ali nes, City of, 43, 44, 73Fowl , 32 . 42 , 77, 82 , 84Market, 77
Manure Beds for Ducklings, 62U se of, 14
Markets, 44Market at Audenarde, 76
Gardens follow Poultry, 14Poultry, 4 1
Marketing Restrictions, 107the Produce, 71
Matrimony, Turkeys and , 69M eat for Ducklings, 62Merchtem , 2 2, 44 , 60 , 62
D uck, 83, 89Methods Adopted, 45
at Laplaigne, 6 1of H ousing and GeneralManagemen t, 18
ofTurkey-breeding, 67Meuse , Val ley of the, 55M ichotte, M . , 66M i ll: Chickens, 4 1, 105
Sheep , 24M i n ister ofAgriculture, 3, 93M inorca Fowls, 32 , 37, 82Modern Developments, 6
I I I
amur, Province of, 5, 10 , 37ation of Pou ltry-breeders, A, 2 7National Federation of Pou ltrySocieties, 99
Natural Food , 23, 56Nearness of Markets, 7 1Nederbraekel , 2 8, 73Netherlands, Prosperi ty of, 9New Breeds, 8 1
I n troduction of, 8New M ethods of Rearing, 10 7No Co-operation , 72North to Sou th, I n fluence of, 82Note ofWarn ing, 47Notes on Eggs, 75umber ofH oldings, 12Objects ofEnqui ry , 1Odour ofEggs, 76O ld H ens, Sale of, 46Opwyck, 44O rpi ngton Fowl , 32 , 42O ttign ies, 26
Overcrowdi ng, 20
Packing the Eggs, 74Parasites on D ockweed, 59Pauwels, M . i-Robert, 87, 88Pays d
'Alost, 5, 1 1 , 13, 2 7
Perches, 20Phi losophers at Ronquieres , 65
P laskie, M . J oseph , 44Population ofBelgium, 12
Portable H ouses, 19Pou lets de Bm xel les, 1 , 26, 43
de Grai n s, 42de L a i r, 4 1 , 83
Pou ltry and I n creased Ferti li tyLand, 104Poultry-breeding i n Belgium, 5
Farm at Lippeloo, 50Farms, 9for M arket, 4 1I mports and Exports of, 16K eep ing
'
I n Belgium, 1
Market at Audenarde , 76Number of, 13Schools, 9 4
Preservation ofEggs, 74Prices, 107
n OfEggs, 17 , 2 41 39ofTable Pou ltry, 54ofTurkeys, 69
Prizes at Archery Con tests, 65Production , Average Egg, 38
i n Relation to SizeFarms, 104
M ethods of, IValue of, 13
Profits, 51Prosperi ty follows Poultry, 15
ofBelgium , 3Puers, 44Putte, 15, 34
1 12
Quali ties of Races, 83Rabbits, 7 , 34Races of Domestic Pou ltry, 6 , 83
of Poultry, Belgian , 3, 80Racquet, Professor, 9 3Rai lway Rates, 98Range of Tours, 2
Rates, Rai lway, 98Rearing, 2 2 , 46 , 51 , 57Remova l of Breeds, Effect of, 81Renaix, 10 , 2 2 , 28, 30 , 39 , 7 1, 73Ren t of Land , 33Resu lts , 2
at Lippeloo , 54Ronquieres, 65
Turkey , 26 , 9 0Roubaix , 30Roup , Preven tion of, 18
Rumpless Fowls , 86Run s for Growing Birds, 53Rye , Effect of, 75
M eal , 2 4Rymenam , 15
Sale of Turkeys, 66 , 68
Sandy Soi l and Pou ltry , 14Schol laert, the H on . F.
, 3Shape ofEggs, 75Shaping Table Pou ltry , 50Sheds for D ucklings, 63Si lver Braekels, 31Simple M ethods , 18
Simplicity Essen tial , 108S ingle Breed over Given Area , 106Si tti ng H en an d Smell , 9 1Sixteen th and Seven teen th Centuries, 9Size of Body and Fecundity, 106
Prol ificacy , 83Eggs. 36 , 37Fowls , 40 , 43H oldin s, 1 2
Ronquieres Turkey , 67Ski ll in Breeding, 6Slates on Perches, 20Small Area , 71
Farms , 5Pou ltry-keepers, 105Turkeys, 68 , 10 7
Smel l of Si tting H en , 9 1
Sottegem ,1 1 , 2 2 , 28, 39 , 71 , 78
South to North , I nfluen ce of, 82
Spartan System , A , 58
Spec ial Poultry Plan ts , 10 5Schools , 94
Standards ofLi fe , 6StateAgricu ltural Col leges, 93Statistical , I 3Stock-breeding, 6 ]Straw Coops, 2 2 , 57
H ouse , 20
Sugar-beet Growing, 66
Sui tabi lity of Breeds to Districts, 8 1 ,10 5
I n dex
Summary , 10 1
Supplied Foods, 24Syndicates, 73
Table Pou ltry, 10n Atea t 44
Tain ted Soi l , 47Termonde, 43, 44Thimister, 23, 25Thomaes , M . O scar, 32
Time of H atchi ng , 18, 33Tournai , 30
Trade an d Nav igation Return s, 17Gui lds, 6
Trap Nesti ng, 33Trappist M onastery, Pou ltry at, 9Treading forWorms, 59Tributes in Fowls, 8
Pou ltry , 66
Trough Feeding General , 49Turkey-breedi ng , 64 , 66, 67
Fai r, A , 69-headed M ali nes Fowl , 45,
Turkeys, 83and M atrimony , 69
Typical Examples , 31Un cu lti vated Land , 104Uti li ty Ban tams, 87Value of Production , 13
Table Pou ltry, 45Van Gelder, M . , 88
Van Schelle , M adame, 3, 10
Vanden Borchach t, M . , 15Vander Sn ickt, M . Loui s , 3, 4 ,37 , 43
Vari ed Condi tions, Eff ect of, 80
Vicinal Rai lways, 9 7Vi lla des Poulets, Renaix , 32
Virton , 64Vise, 64
Walloons, 5Water Len ti ls , 59
M eadows, Braekels on , 2 9for Ducks, 56
for D ucklings, 58Wauters, Mons. C .
Wavre, 38
Weertz, Mons. L .
, 94Weights I ncreased by Fatten ing, 49
of Duckl ings, 6 1Western Braban t, 2 6
West Flanders, 2 6 , 28Whi te M alines, 85Wiers, 64Win ter Eggs , 39
Fowls, 43, 107Supplies. 74
Worms for D ucklings, 59Yolks ofEggs, 75
J OHN BALE, SONS DANI EL SSON, L td. , 83-9 1 , Great T i tchfield Street, London , W.
OONTINENTAI. DAILYPAROELS EXPRKnown on the Continent as
L’AGENCE CONT INENTALE ET ANGLAI SE
F O U N D E D I N 1 8 4 9 .
Three services da i ly for the Conveyance, at Fixed and Moderate Rates, of consito all parts of the Continent by the
Belgian Royal Mail Route, viaDoverandlisten
P O U L TRYAND L I VE S TO CK .
The Continental Dai ly Parcels Express presen ts itself as a most re liable medthe conveyance of Pou ltry and L ive Stock to all parts of the Con tinent
The C . D. P. E. are the Official Agents of the
B EL G I AN S TAT E RA I LW AYSFor the Sale of Tickets to all parts of Europe. Speclal Cheap Tickets, espe
connection with the
B russe ls I n te rnat iona l Exh ib it ion i n 1
APPLYTo
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An d to n onmn umn n nm mn n ou sn , n ou n .
ES TAB L I S H ED 18 8 3 .
son TH E
FANCIER, AMATEUR, POULTRYFARMER
32 Pages. WEEKLY.
The Leading J ournal for the Fan cier. and hav i n g the lat
circulation of any paper en tirely devoted to Pou ltry .
I llustrati on s by the best Artiste.
Practical , up-to-date Articles and Notes, con tributed by eminent authoritie
A uni que medium'
for the di sposal and purchase of Stock, Appl iances,
Obtalnable of a l l Book-tai ls , Newsagen ts, &c.
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