I^iTltoDUCTluN. 17 



quantity of good Irish poultry, principally from the 

 Wexford district, where fattening is carried on to some 

 extent, and might be enormously developed. The 

 result of this inquiry may be summarised as showing 

 that in order to obtain a regular supply traders are 

 compelled to depend chiefly upon the London market. 

 These observations extended from Aberdeen to Ply- 

 mouth. For instance, one dealer at Bournemouth 

 told me that he buys all his poultry without exception 

 from London, having tried several times to obtain 

 local supplies, but the result was never satisfactory, 

 as they were poor and irregular, and he has been com- 

 pelled to look entirely to the metropolis. Now he can 

 order all he requires by the evening's post, and they 

 are delivered in abundance of time for dinner the 

 following day. Local supplies are not only inferior in 

 quality, but cannot be relied upon, and that would be 

 destructive to his trade. In Leamington a similar 

 statement was made, and in Manchester, which is one 

 of our best provincial markets, whilst they have good 

 birds from Ireland, and obtain the greater part of their 

 supplies from that country, still most of their best 

 chickens have until recently come from London. A 

 further example will suf&ce as evidence of what is 

 stated here, namely, that when in Aberdeen some 

 time ago, I learnt that one of the leading hotels there 

 used 100 chickens per week, all of which were ob- 

 tained from London. This may be exceptional, but 

 it is undoubtedly a case which shows that, although 

 the north-east of Scotland produces some of the best 

 Dorkings we have in the country, yet so irregular is 

 the supply and so uncertain the quality, they fird 



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