POULTRY 



6303 



POUND 



birds are wonderfully prolific, they 

 are hardy and quick growers, and 

 their eggs are large, generally 

 weighing over two ounces. Un- 

 fortunately, the greater portion of 

 their eggs are laid during the 

 spring and summer, when eggs are 

 plentiful and cheap. They possess 

 no value as table birds, their flesh 

 being stringy and hard ; indeed, it 

 is almost impossible to fatten them. 

 The table class is composed of the 

 breeds most suitable for marketing. 

 Ducks-, although aquatic in 

 habit, will thrive almost any- 

 where, and ponds are by no means 



Poultry. The London thoroughfare, looking East 



carry on for at least two years with- 

 out profit, this period being neces- 

 sary to establish and consolidate 

 one's position. The total value of 

 eggs and poultry produced hi the 

 U.K., 1920, was 65,000,000. See 

 Fowl. 



Bibliography. The Book of 

 Poultry, Lewis Wright, rev. ed. 

 1911: The Encyclopaedia of Poultry, 

 J. T. Brown, 1910; Commercial 

 Egg Farming, S. G. Hanson, 1916; 

 Commercial Poultry Farming, T. 

 W. Toovey, 1919. 



Poultry, THE. London thor- 

 oughfare. Linking Cheapside and 

 Mansion House Street, E.G., it is 

 named after the 

 market for poul- 

 terers held here in 

 early times. On 

 the N. side, S. 

 of Grocers' Hall, 

 stood a sheriff's 

 prison famous as 

 the Poultry Comp- 

 ter, which had a 

 ward set apart 

 for Jews. The 

 poet Dekker 

 and the Marian 

 martyr, John 

 Bradford, were 

 among its occu- 

 pants. It was taken 



indispensable to their well-being ; 

 indeed, the best market produce is 

 said to consist of ducks that have 

 never had a swim. Geese thrive in 

 almost any situation, and so do 

 guinea-fowl, but turkeys require 

 careful handling, as they are very 

 susceptible to climatic conditions. 

 As a general rule they do better on 

 light soils ; yet, in a very dry year, 

 when green food is scarce, they 

 may be better reared on a heavy soil, 

 which would ordinarily be imposs- 

 ible. A rich but not heavy soil will 

 generally give good average results 

 in turkey breeding and rearing. 

 Poultry Farming for Profit 



The business side of poultry 

 farming is no less important than 

 the details incidental to raising 

 produce. Given a definite line of 

 production, there is an almost un- 

 limited demand for results. Hence, 

 hand in hand with skilful manage- 

 ment and enterprise on the farm, 

 should go the careful study of the 

 best means of disposal when the 

 produce is ready for market. The 

 question of labour has likewise an 

 important bearing upon financial 

 results. The poultry farmer who is 

 prepared to work himself and press 

 his family into his service will 

 naturally effect a saving which in 

 the long run may mean all the 

 difference between profit and loss. 



It is generally admitted that 

 no one should embark on poultry 

 farming who is not prepared to 



Poultry Chapel, a Congregational 

 building, built on part of its site, 

 was acquired in 1872 by the Lon- 

 don Joint Stock Bank for 50,200, 

 which the congregation employed 

 for the building of the City Temple 

 (q.v. ). Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress 

 was published from a bookseller's 

 shop in the Poultry, and Tom 

 Hood was born here. The ancient 

 church of S. Mildred's-in-the-Poul- 

 try, hi which Thomas Tusser was 

 buried about 1580, was burnt in the 

 Great Fire, rebuilt by Wren, and 

 demolished hi 1872. Once noted 

 for its hostelries, as well as for its 

 booksellers' shops, the thorough- 

 fare figures in Dickens' s Barnabj 

 Rudge and Beaconsfield's Tancred. 

 Poultry Club. Ruling body of 

 the British poultry industry. It 

 was founded in 1867, to promote 

 breeding, and to suppress irregu- 

 larities in connexion with exhibi- 

 tions, etc., and all important shows, 

 such as those at 

 Birmingham and 

 the Crystal Palace, 

 are held under its 

 rules ; it also 

 offers cups, tro- 

 phies, and medals 

 for competition 

 among breeders 

 and exhibitors. 

 The club quarters 

 are at 3, Ludgate 

 Broadway, L o n- 

 don, E.C.4. 



Pounce (Fr. ponce, pumice). 

 Powder used for rubbing on 

 vellum or parchment whereerasures 

 had taken place, so that ink could 

 ba employed without it spread- 

 ing. Pounce consisted of powdered 

 cuttle-fish bone or sandarac. Sand 

 used, until replaced by blotting 

 paper, for drying writing made 

 with ink was also known as pounce. 



Pound. Unit of weight. The 

 English unit of weight is the pound 

 avoirdupois of 7,000 grains di- 

 vided into 16 ounces. It was made 

 the legal unit of weight in 1855, and 

 the standard pound made of 

 platinum is deposited in the Stand- 

 ards office at the board of trade, 

 and authenticated copies are in the 

 mint, Houses of Parliament, etc. 

 The pound troy consists of 5,760 

 grains, and is the measure used for 

 gold and silver. The contraction Ib. 

 for pound comes from the Latin 

 word libra. See Avoirdupois ; 

 Grain ; Troy Weight. 



Pound. British monetary unit, 

 in full the pound sterling. It was 

 originally a weight of silver, i.e. 

 5,760 grains of a certain standard 

 of fineness. Such a pound weight of 

 silver was a Roman money stand- 

 ard, and was adopted by the 

 countries they conquered. The 

 silver pound was coined in England 

 into 20 silver shillings. The term 

 gradually came to mean the same 

 as the sovereign. In 1816 the 

 silver standard was abolished, and 

 replaced by a gold one, the gold 

 sovereign or pound sterling be- 

 coming the unit. Its weight was 

 fixed at 123 '274 grains, and its fine- 

 ness at 22 carats. See Sterling. 



Pound (A.S. pund, enclosure). 

 Enclosure erected by legal author- 

 ity, in which cattle distrained for 

 rent, or caught straying and doing 

 damage on land belonging to 

 another than their owner, or stray- 

 ing on the highway, can be confined 

 pending payment of the rent, dam- 

 ages, or penalty and expenses. 

 Pounds are either overt, i.e. open to 

 the sky, or covert, roofed in. House- 

 hold goods, or other dead chattels, 

 distrained, which are liable to be 

 stolen or damaged by weather, 

 ought to be held in a pound covert, 

 or the distrainor is liable for the 



Enclosure for straying animals on Hampstead 

 Heath, London 



