78 FRANCE 



of late years. But, if her methods are primitive, 

 they show a degree of enterprise on the part of 

 her people which is deserving of commendation. 

 In Brittany, for example, every peasant keeps 

 fowls, whether he has any land or not, and these 

 fowls play the role of the Irish tenant's pig in 

 helping to pay the rent. Nor has the peasant 

 of Brittany any trouble in disposing of the eggs. 

 There are women and boys who make a regular 

 living by going round the country collecting 

 eggs at the farms and cottages. They start in 

 the morning with a certain sum of money in 

 their pockets, and a wooden crate for the eggs 

 fastened on to their shoulders by means of 

 webbing ; they tramp along lanes and paths 

 which would be impassable for horses and 

 vehicles, even if they could afford such luxuries ; 

 they call on the peasants on appointed days, 

 when they know that a little collection of eggs 

 will be awaiting them; they pay ready money 

 for what they buy, and they bring a good 

 quantity of eggs back with them in the evening, 

 selling them, at a profit of one halfpenny a dozen, 

 either direct to the packer at St. Malo, or to 

 a local tradesman who drives periodically to that 

 port, and will take the eggs with him, himself 

 making a profit on them. The packer examines 

 each egg, rejecting those that are doubtful, 



