THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



of which was 3,829,284 francs($7G,800). France 

 is essentially a fowl-keeping and egg-producing 

 country. The farms, owing to the subdivision 

 uf landed-property among the sons of a propri- 

 etor at his decease, are small, and poultry con- 

 stitutes a profitable stock upon them, especially 

 us they will feed but few cattle. Around every 

 farm-house flocks of poultry are to be seen. 

 They swarm every where, and the markets of 

 every town are abundantly supplied. Much 

 breed does not exist in any of them, but in some 

 parts considerable attention is paid to their 

 rearing. There is said to be a peculiar variety 

 in great esteem in the peninsula of Caux. The 

 fowls of this district are fattened in the environs 

 of Barbezieux, La Fleche, and especially Mons, 

 for the tables of the luxurious. 



The following interesting statistical remarks 

 are taken from a paper in the "English Penny 

 Magazine" for March, 1837. After premising 

 that in the year 1837 the number of eggs im- 

 ported from France into England amounted to 

 69,000,000, the writer says, "These eggs can 

 not be obtained from much fewer than 575,000 

 hens, each hen producing 120 eggs on an aver- 

 age, all beyond this number being required for 

 domestic consumption. Assuming the grounds 

 of this calculation to be correct, the 55,000,000 

 eggs, which a writer in a newspaper printed at 

 Arras states to be the amount supplied to En- 

 gland from the Pas de Calais, are the produc- 

 tion of 458,333 fowls, each of which furnishes 

 ten dozen eggs, imported at a duty of tenpence, 

 being a tax to that amount on each fowl. Al- 

 lowing twelve fowls to each family engaged in 

 supplying the demand for eggs, the number of 

 families thus interested will be 39,861, repre- 

 senting a population of 198,000. In the Pas 

 de Calais there can scarcely be a larger popula- 

 tion than two families out of every five who are 

 connected with the egg-trade; and if this were 

 ascertained to be the real proportion, the popu- 

 lation not directly engaged would be 457,000, 

 which with the 198,000 above mentioned would 

 comprise a total population of 665,000, which is 

 the population of the department, the superfi- 

 cies of which being 2624 square miles. Over 

 this extent of country must those who are 

 engaged in the egg-trade keep a vigilant eye, 



penetrating into the hamlet, and visiting the 

 lone houses which are scattered in this part of 

 France, perhaps more numerously than in anv 

 other departments. Some arrangements of a 

 peculiar nature are obviously required to facili- 

 tate the transactions of the wholesale dealer, 

 who probably resides at the port whence the 

 eggs are shipped. The services of a subordi- 

 nate class of dealers are doubtless called into 

 activity ; and as it would be a waste of time for 

 each of these to visit every week, or at a stated 

 period, every one of the 39,861 houses whence 

 they draw the quantity required, other arrange- 

 ments of a still more detailed character arc 

 necessary in order to bring the article within 

 grasp." 



The British census returns for 1841 present 

 us with an ad valorem estimate of the poultry 

 (of all sorts) kept in Ireland, the pecuniary 

 value of each fowl being reckoned at the small 

 sum of sixpence. This census, however, is only 

 an approximation to the truth ; for it is stated, 

 on good authority, that the country people were 

 not unnaturally suspicious of the intentions of 

 the parties employed to ascertain the point in 

 question, and apprehending that the inquiry 

 was only the prelude to some new tax, they 

 gave such statements as seemed most advan- 

 tageous to their interests; hence their returns 

 were below the mark numerically, and conse- 

 quently, also, in a pecuniary point of view. The 

 returns were as follows : 



Leinster, 12 towns 56,243 



Connaught, 5 towns 35,216 



Munster, 6 towns 62,830 



Ulster, 9 towns 47,883 



The total, according to this estimate, is 

 202,172. Hence the number of poultry re- 

 turned amounted to 8,088,680, reckoning them 

 at sixpence per head ; but, as stated above, this 

 n umber is far below the mark. 



The value of eggs shipped from Dublin tu 

 Liverpool and London in 1848 was more than 

 five millions of dollars. France in 1835 had 

 73.000,000 dollars invested in poultry. En- 

 gland in 1840 had 50,000,000 dollars invest- 

 ed in poultry. Since that time the numbers, 

 of course, have increased. 



From the custom-house returns of the year 



