THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. each, except there happens to 

 be some unfavourable set of conditions or a glut 

 in the market. Prices depend upon so many 



things that it is impossible to name 

 Prices ^^y which may be taken as reliable 



Fatted Fowls, in anticipation. The following prices 



can, however, be taken as averages 

 in the Leadenhall or Smithfield Markets, Lon- 

 don, for single birds : — 



These prices, however good they are, are far 

 inferior to those obtained in France. At Paris 

 20s. to 30s. is frequently paid for picked speci- 

 mens in the Hallos Centrales, whilst even in the 

 districts where birds are actually produced, 

 prices range high. I have been asked by a 

 woman standing in the market place at Bourg 

 20 francs for a La Bresse fowl which would not 

 weigh more than 5i lbs., and at Le Mans in 

 Normandy some of the fatters can obtain at 

 certain seasons as much as 25 francs for first- 

 class specimens. Such prices are not obtain- 

 iible in this country. The explanation is that 

 French systems of cookery are so essentially 

 different from our own, that while a fowl in 

 England would perhaps serve half-a-dozen 

 people, in France, by the accessories provided 

 with it and also the fact that the number of 

 courses in an ordinary French dinner is much 

 greater than in an English dinner, the same bird 

 would probably serve a score of people. Hence 

 the cost of the fowl eaten for each person would 

 relatively be no greater in one country than in 

 the other. Personally I have no hopes that we 

 shall ever be able to secure such prices, and it 

 does not seem at all necessary that we should 

 do so to ensure satisfactory returns. We have, 

 however, in this country a larger population 

 dependent upon others for their food supplies, 

 and we must look rather to the increased num- 

 ber of birds sold to these, than to an enhanced 

 price for each. At the same time, however, 

 there is much to be done in educating the con- 

 sumer, and within the last few years a distinct 

 advance has been made in this direction. In 

 many of the great centres of population, at one 

 time, fowls priced more than 2s. 6d. each could 

 hardly be sold ; but purchasers are beginning to 

 realise that a well-fatted specimen, for which 



they have to paj' 4s. 6d. or 5s., may be cheaper 

 than one at half the price. It is not the size 

 of the fowl only, but also the relative pro- 

 portion of flesh and of carcase which ought to 

 give it the value. There are certain of our 

 large towns where a fatted fowl was probably 

 unknown until a few years ago, and now we 

 see them regularly in the poulterers' shops. 



" We have now to consider the methods 

 adopted in the production of fatted poultry 

 both at home and abroad. In England and 

 Belgium, fattening is carried out almost entirely 

 at special establishments, to which the birds are 

 brought in a lean condition to be fed off. In 



France this is the case to a more 

 Fattening Hmited e.xtent, the majority of the 

 Industry. fatted fowls there being finished 



by those who rear them, the farmers' 

 wives and daughters in that country being mar- 

 vellously skilful in this work. There are, of 

 course, many central establishments, and in not 

 a few cases I have found that the owners only 

 perform a part of the operation, bu)'ing the 

 birds from the rearers in what may be termed 

 half-fatted condition. Where the system is 

 carried out as in England and Belgium, the 

 fatters very seldom attempt anything in the 

 way of hatching and rearing, leaving this work 

 entirely to farmers and cottagers in the district, 

 from whom they buy lean birds. Whilst it is 

 desirable that more of our farmers should en- 

 deavour themselves to improve the quality of 

 their poultry, it must be conceded that up to 

 the present there have been manifest advantages 

 from this system. The fatteners are very skil- 

 ful, and in some cases families have been famous 

 for their work in this direction for several gen- 

 erations. A fatter is able to handle a very large 

 number of birds, and his ability and experience 

 enable him frequently to get better results than 

 would be probable by those who only have a 

 few birds to sell. The cost also of labour in this 

 way is considerably reduced. There are also 

 benefits from larger operations in marketing, as 

 buyers receive specimens in greater quantities, 

 and the fatteners can meet market demands in a 

 way that would be impossible to smaller pro- 

 ducers. At the same time, it is a fact that 

 some of the small fatters obtain the best prices, 

 because they give attention to individual birds 

 in a way that is impossible when large numbers 

 are in hand. 



" Those also who raise the birds have not 

 suffered in any way from this system — in fact, 

 it has been all in the other direction. Com- 

 plaints are made by fatters, both in England and 

 in Belgium, that so short is the supply during 

 certain months, and so great the competition 



