INTBODIJCTION. 27 



command success in poultry keeping. The spread of 

 fattening establishments would "increase demand for 

 labour, would enable chicken raisers to obtain better 

 prices for their birds, make a local demand for grain 

 and milk, and supply local needs, saving railway car- 

 riage and economising expenditure. 



There are people, however, who object to the fatten- 

 ing system. They fail to understand it. As I have 

 said before, is it not as reasonable to kill lean poultry 

 as it would be to slaughter lean stock ? One is on all 

 fours with the other. Of course, to succeed we should 

 need to improve the breeds of poultry, selecting those 

 with definite table properties, to breed early, to aim 

 for good quality, to study the markets in order to con- 

 centrate our output during the time when rates rule 

 highest. This latter point seems to be ignored by 

 ordinary poultry keepers. Eemember that when the 

 game comes in down go the prices for poultry. There 

 must also be proper fattening and preparation. It is 

 not what we like, but what our customers want and 

 for which they are willing to pay. I should be glad to 

 see here the same universal skill in fattening and dress- 

 ing poultry as is found in some parts of France, which 

 I visited recently, where every farmer's wife under- 

 stands the business, and for quality of fowls marketed 

 they beat the professional fatteners completely. But 

 as a first step we must look to fattening establish- 

 ments. 



How are the changes here indicated to be brought 

 about ? Of course, individual effort will be a powerful 

 factor. The example of one success is a great stimulus 

 towards the development of any industry. But we 



