THE CAMPINES 



13 



Let us begin by putting aside certain details of plum- 

 age which would be childish if the importance paid to 

 the feathers had not delayed for twenty years the prac- 

 tical development of a race which has been the fortune 

 of its native district. Before busying ourselves with the 

 pretended perfection of markings of some of the num- 

 erous varieties of plumage, characteristic of the Braekel 

 (this phase will be treated exhaustively at the oppor- 

 tune moment) we insist that the leg should be blue, 

 the beak blue, sometimes clear horn color at the ex- 

 trimity, the eye should be black, the eyelid blackish. 

 The Braekel should have an expression of face bohemian, 

 almost like a "negresse," and this excess of black and 

 bluish pigment on the face has unquestionably some 

 connection with the quality of the egg. At all events, 

 more relation than the ridiculous question of more or 

 less bars on the back of the cocks, which in our time 

 had no bars at all. Transported to another region than 

 its nativit}', on wUose soil and in whose climate it was 

 formed and to which it was adapted, the Braekel loses 

 a great part of its value because not being in its natural 

 environment, its activity is spent in entire loss. From 

 the moment of hatching its instinct induces it to find its 

 animal food where it cannot exist, and to ignore the 

 kind of natural food found by the hen already adapted 

 to its new environment, that is why the Braekel will 

 languish where other indigenous breeds would prosper. 



Even its reputation for laying is proof that the 

 Braekel is "the queen of egg layers." The justification 

 to this title has just been given chemically to the avi- 

 cultural university of Gembleux. The chemical analysis 

 of the dififerent eggs and of eggs of chickens of different 

 races has been made so as to ascertain the relation be- 

 tween the composition of the food absorbed and the egg 

 produced. Eggs of hens that have had animal food are 

 the richest in phosphate and in axotic elements. The 

 diminution of richness in the elements of eggs is about 

 in proportion to the diminution of animal food found oy 

 the hen. But the Braekel hen makes exception even 

 after being deprived of strengthening food; vital elements 

 are still found in its eggs. Then these axotic elements 

 found in the egg, not being able to be produced from the 

 food absorbed, can but come from the hen herself. The 

 Braekel not finding sufficient food to form her egg, 

 nourishes it to her own detriment from her body, and 

 naturally at the expense of her proper health, and to 

 her power of resistance against disease. 



It is always interesting and instructive to know the 

 opinion of foreigners. In 1897 we made an avicultural 

 excursion with Mr. Edward Brown, of England, and Mr. 

 A. F. Hunter of America. This gentleman has published 

 in Farm Poultry in Boston, (of which Mr. Hunter was 

 then editor) the following account: "We took the train 

 from Sottegem on a market day in order to see the peas- 

 ants bring their eggs and the dealers buy them. There 

 were hundreds of salesmen, some a. foot carrying the 

 eggs in a basket hung over their arm, some driving a 

 horse hitched to a cart, some again in a little cart drawn 

 by three dogs, but all having eggs and butter. None 

 had eggs in great quantities; three, five or eight dozen. 

 But small rivulets make large rivers; it is thus that in 

 this season they take every Tuesday to the market over 

 two thousand eggs. Of course, they come in smaller 

 quantities in winter. The town of Ghent receives ten 

 times as much as the market of Sottegem, and there are 

 thus in Belgium a great number of townships and vil- 

 lages whence leaves a great flow of eggs for England 

 and the great towns, such as Brussels and Paris." 



Let us state that the Britishers and sometimes 

 .'\mericans have their preconceived ideas; show them, ex- 

 plain to them, anything you like, they will remain firm 

 in their own conviction that the mass of eggs which 

 passes through Belgium for the English market is laid in 

 Belgium. (The fact is that the Braekel eggs go largely 

 to France, particularly to Paris; also to Brussels). Con- 

 tinuing, Mr. Hunter says: 



"I have seen there a man who buys and sends to 

 England 25,000 eggs every week. And I was introduced 

 to a dealer, Mr. de Mulder, who buys every week 10,000 

 to 20,000 eggs for his own shop of eggs and butter in 

 Brussels. We entered a large room of the town hall, 

 where are delivered the eggs that he buys on the mar- 

 ket; they are packed ready to be shipped by train to 

 Brussels. The eggs are packed in large baskets of ob- 

 long shape and are very strong. A layer of straw is 

 placed at the bottom. The sides are coated or lined 

 with straw, a layer of eggs, a layer of straw, another 

 layer of eggs, another layer of straw, and so on. A cov- 

 ering of sacking is attached to make every thing fast 

 and is sewed to the borders of the basket. The size 

 of the eggs was wonderful; they were uniformly large, of 

 an immaculate whiteness, a collection of eggs in which 

 nothing more could be desired. Perhaps one in a hun- 

 dred was cream color, and this one was invariably smal- 

 ler. I took one in my hand for curiosity, and I was 

 told immediately how this one is never as good; it 

 comes from a cross of Cochin. These eggs, slightly 

 tainted, and a bit smaller are sold cheaper and are put 

 aside. The fine brown eggs that we have in America are 

 not known here. In examining the eggs on the mar- 

 kets of Brussels I have noticed that they were slightly 

 soiled, evidently by the straw in which they had been 

 packed; this must happen when the straw is slightly 

 wet. It is sure that the eggs , that you see on the mar- 

 kets of Brussels are less clean and attractive than those 

 that I have seen in Sottegem." 



Mr. de Mulder has informed us that the cleanliness 

 of eggs depends on the nature of the soil. Dealers of 

 eggs are intelligent enough to make use of only clean 

 straw of first quality. Again, Mr. Hunter says: 



"In passing, before the hotel of the dealer who sends 

 to London we went in to see his way of packing. His 

 eggs are put in boxes containirfg each 1600. It is ex- 

 actly the same method used for transportation in 

 baskets. When the last layer of eggs is placed the top 

 layer of straw is higher than the rim of the box. The 

 lid is firmly pressed and nailed, so that no egg can budge. 

 The eggs seem exposed to be crushed, but I was told 

 that it seldom happens that a single egg is bruised. I 

 could not help thinking that our system of boxes and 

 cardboard compartment was far superior, facilitating the 

 counting and packing. However, here the packers manip- 

 ulate the eggs with an incredible rapidity." (There is an 

 example of Anglo-American self sufficiency. Mr. Hunter 

 is willing to acknowledge that he never saw eggs hand- 

 led with such dexterity. In spite of that he still prefers 

 cardboard boxes. He does not ask how it would be 

 possible to send in two hours' time 2000 eggs packed in 

 separate boxes. According to recent experiments the 

 shell of the egg has an average thickness of Omm 35, 

 pressed at the two ends it can support a medium weight 

 of 26 kilos. It can support an external pressure of 30 

 to 40 kilos, and an internal pressure of 2J^ to 4%. "An 

 excursion in the neighborhood of Sottegem has proved 

 to us that everywhere could be found the same flock of 

 ten to twelve and two or three breeds of chicks around 



