152 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



turkeys 6^d. per lb. At Lexington, Kentucky, when the 

 loin of beef was from 5d. to 6|^d. per lb., turkeys ready 

 for cooking were 5d. per lb., geese, good birds, 4d. per 

 lb., and fowls 7^d. each. 



On the Continent generally fowls are bred on a much 

 larger scale than in England. In Egypt, China, and 

 some other countries, the quantity of fowls and ducks 

 used for food is so great, that it has been found neces- 

 sary from time immemorial to hatch the young by 

 artificial heat. 



Our foreign supplies of poultry, etc., have progressed 

 as follows : — 



1861 £73,975 



1871 174,518 



1880 456,124 



1883 .... 591,367 



The annual value of the poultry and game we import 

 from abroad (including rabbits) now exceeds £600,000. 

 In 1883 it came from the following countries : — 



Belgium £299,997 



France 164.839 



Other countries 126,575 



£591,411 



Turkeys are supplied to the London market chiefly 

 from Cambridge and Norfolk. Besides the general sale 

 to the public, usually in the Christmas w-eek 10,000 or 

 11,000 turkeys are sent as presents to the metropolis, 

 and it is generally considered that a fine fat turkey with 

 sausages and hamper, carriage, etc., costs about £1. 



They are killed simply by breaking their necks, and 

 the breast-bone is also broken before they are sent off 

 to the poultry salesman, in order to give the breast a 

 plumper appearance. The cocks, if sold out of their 

 feathers to the neighbouring gentry, will fetch Is. 2d. 

 per lb;, and the hens Is., or sometimes only 9d., when a 

 very plentiful season has knocked down prices, or they 

 are not fed up to the mark. The larger they are, the 



