142 SKRVIA - MISCELLANEOUS 



lyct US add that the silk is commonly used for household industries and the 

 producers often keep about 20 % of the cocoons to unwind and mix 

 the thread with cotton for articles of wear or ornament. Consequently, 

 hardly any of the families that have mulberry trees neglect an3i;hing in 

 order to rear a certain quantity of silkworms. 



§ 5. Livestock improvement. 



Servia is a country of livestock improvement and this department of 

 the national economy provides the principal occupation for the Servian 

 peasant. It may therefore surprise our readers that we speak of it in an 

 article exclusively devoted to industries auxiUary to agriculture. But cert- 

 ain forms of livestock improvement have this character of auxiharies : 

 the improvement namely of sheep and goats, which every Servian peasant 

 keeps on his farm, because their maintenance does not cost much and he 

 makes use of their milk, meat, wool or hair, very necessary in the household 

 manufacture of cloths and clothes etc. We may say as much with regard 

 to poultry improvement ; every farmer has space enough for this and a 

 sufficient quantity of grain screenings, and every peasant family has 

 almost every kind of poultry. To encourage poultry improvement, the 

 State has founded model poultry yards, where any one may learn the busi- 

 ness and obtain poultry and eggs either for money, or in exchange for 

 agricultural produce. On the other hand, in 1909, a co-operative 

 society limited by shares was founded for the improvement of poultr>'. 

 This society organizes the collective export of all its members' eggs and 

 sees to it that they are all fresh and of excellent quality. 



We give below figures for the exportation of poultry and eggs from 

 1894 to 1909 : 



Live Poultry Slaaghtered Poultry Eggs 



Year — — 



— Head Kg. F "^^'- 



1894 74,607 160,886 98,985 



1895 166,591 367,951 18,596 



1896 437.517 776,953 136,453 



1897 412,995 388,891 156,897 



1898 438,952 484.951 84,388 



1899 690,798 658,530 275,883 



1900 1,002,190 610,919 645,329 



I9OI 1.423,407 956,013 1,030,040 



1902 1,736,925 1,052,016 1,244,467 



1903 1.882,438 1,884,885 ^ 853,524 



1904 2,091,890 621,122 949,405 



1905 1,804,809 206,955 437,869 



1906 1,622,557 86,283 1,357,463 



1907 166,700 79,200 2,274,791 



1908 657,222 429,298 1,265,493 



1909 436,235 90,700 1,188,368 



