90 POULTRY KEEPING IN EUROPE, U. S. AND CANADA 



moreover, any further advancement must, in my opinion, be brought about 

 in a similar way. Much has already been accomplished in this direction, 

 since the Danish and Irish poultry industries have both been built up by the 

 farmers and small holders already in occupation of the land, and followed 

 as a supplementary and not a primary branch of their farm operations. 



I have frequently been concerned with the fact that greater provision 

 is made by the Federal and state authorities in America and Canada, for the 

 carrying out of experimental and research work, than is the case in Europe. 

 I may state that practically nothing from public sources is spent on this side 

 and that the industry is bound to suffer on this account. There is one 

 explanation, however, that occurs to me in this connection and it is that 

 there is less need for research work in Europe, since it is the specialist who 

 requires this first of all, and it is only when methods of culture become 

 intensified that the real need arises for the solving of the many problems 

 that result therefrom. I do not mean to infer that the farmer poultry- 

 keeper has no need for this knowledge, which is the outcome of experimental 

 and research work, but only that his need is less great. 



I would have you remember that there has always been large production 

 in Europe, and therefore any increase will be brought about slowly and only 

 as the result of considerable labor. Owing directly to this fact we have 

 found that the first work to be performed lay in the direction of organization 

 in marketing. Whenever one is dealing with the accumulated produce from 

 a large number of producers this work must always take precedence. How 

 this has been accomplished I want to explain briefly, using Denmark and 

 Ireland as illustrations. It is only necessary to deal briefly with the past 

 development of the industry in these countries, since a mass of detail with 

 reference to the general management is out of the province of this paper. 



DENMARK 



Denmark, with its population of nearly 2,500,000 people, more than 

 half of whom are connected with agricultural pursuits, is a country of small 

 farms, the majority of the holdings being not more than 50 acres in extent. 

 The importance of the industry to the country is indicated by its univer- 

 sality. Poultry is seen everywhere. 



The winter climate conditions are unfavorable over the greater part of 

 the country, and labor is scarce, being provided by the members of the 

 family without outside aid, therefore the number of birds maintained on 

 the land is not so great as might be expected. The great majority of 

 farmers do not keep more than 30-50 laying hens and the number of fowls 

 to the acre is small. 



