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new breeds, or by the selection and improvement of breeds imported 

 from other countries. Essentially practical, British breeders have 

 generally kept the laying or table qualities of the breeds in view, 

 and those which have attained the greatest measure of popularity 

 are profitable either as egg or flesh producers. 



The reasons why Britain has excelled in its races of poultry 

 are many. One is the remarkable variation in the nature of its 

 soil and local conditions. Few countries of the same area present 

 such variation as Great Britain, and for the attainment of success 

 it has been necessary to find birds that were suited to those con- 

 ditions. Another reason is that the limited area of land available 

 has compelled a reduction in the number of poultry kept and the 

 rigid selection of breeding stock in accordance with the object in 

 view. A further influence is that for a long period there have 

 been people of all classes with sufficient means, opportunity and 

 leisure, to enable them to breed poultry, formerly for sport as 

 cock-fighters, and latterly either for the market, or for purposes of 

 exhibition as examples of systematic breeding. It is of interest 

 to note that the greatest and most successful breeders of pure-bred 

 poultry have been men engaged in industrial pursuits. The miners 

 and mill workers of the North of England, the men engaged in the 

 iron and spinning trades of the Midlands, and the tin miners of 

 Cornwall have for generations been famous in this respect. 



The number of poultry breeders in the country has been greatly 

 increased during the last 60 years as a result of the establishment 

 of Poultry Exhibitions. Small local competitions had been held in 

 the valleys of Yorkshire and Lancashire for many years prior to 

 that time, but exerted small influence outside the immediate district. 

 With the advent of poultry shows, an impetus was given to poultry 

 breeding which has never been lost. Existing races of poultry 

 were classified. Standards were adopted, so that breeders had 

 ideals toward which they could direct their efforts. New varieties, 

 both native and foreign, were introduced. Old breeds were re- 

 vived, and as a result other countries began to look to Britain for 

 stock to enable them to develop poultry breeding on advanced lines. 

 Within recent years the number of breeds has grown very consi- 

 derably. The science of breeding has received a great amount of 

 attention. Not only has attention been paid to improvement of the 

 external characteristics, but much has also been done to advance 

 productiveness both in respect to eggs and meat. The older type 



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