26 INTRODUCTION. 



such widely separated countries as Eussia and Canada. 

 Pew people realise the extent to which we are depen- 

 dent upon foreign supplies of both eggs and poultry. 

 Statistics can be found in my work on " Poultry Keep- 

 ing as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers," and 

 need not here be repeated. 



The most striking fact in this connection is the pre- 

 dominance of London markets in supplying the best 

 qualities. London is the medium through which 

 passes the produce from the fattening establishments 

 of Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, and the duck farms of 

 Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, whence are sent 

 forth the best fatted poultry and ducks. So long as 

 fattening is practically confined to one section of the 

 country this state of things will continue. That thete 

 are many parts of Britain where fowls could be, and it 

 may be are, produced as good as in Sussex can scarcely 

 be questioned, but the specimens have not been fatted 

 or finished off. We need, therefore, to extend the 

 system elsewhere, and I hope to see the day when a 

 county without fattening establishments will be the 

 exception, instead of the rule as at present. And I 

 believe traders in all parts of the country would lend 

 their powerful support to the accomplishment of this 

 end. A movement is taking place in this direction, 

 and I hope that it will greatly increase. 



The tendency of any business is ever towards con- 

 centration, arbitrarily so, and we need at intervals to 

 break it up. Table poultry can be produced in Cumber- 

 land equally with Sussex, and ducklings in Yorkshire 

 as well as in Buckinghamshire. Not climate, not soil, 

 not other conditions, so much as brains and energy 



