1920.] 



Education in Poultry Keeping. 



759 



accrued from this work. There is, however, considerable 

 room for further extension, especially as regards higher 

 instruction for those who desire to become teachers of poultry 

 keeping. This is an age of specialisation, and when regard 

 is had to the amount of educational, investigational, and 

 research work carried on in connection with the poultry keep- 

 ing industry in America it is obvious, particularly in regard 

 to investigation and research, that much more requires to be 

 done in this country if home production is to be substantially 

 increased and future foreign competition successfully met. 



Unlike agriculture, the poultry industry, regarded as a com- 

 mercial venture, is of comparatively recent growth. Methods 

 are far from being perfected or standardised, and the com- 

 parative values of different practices in feeding, housing, and 

 general management require investigation. Our knowledge as 

 to the best methods of combining poultry keeping with either 

 horticulture, market gardening, or agriculture, is still limited. 

 The efficiency of present methods of artificial hatching and 

 rearing leaves much to be desired; whilst our knowledge of 

 poultry diseases and their prevention is still very imperfect. 



The poultry institute, which it is hoped may be established 

 before long, will have a wide sphere of work, much of which 

 will be on virgin soil so far as this country is concerned, and 

 should prove of immense value to all poultry keepers. The 

 poultry industry means more to this country than many 

 people imagine. No definite figures are available as to the 

 quantity or value of the poultry and eggs produced annually 

 in Great Britain, but it is practically certain that poultry 

 produce to the value of well over 50 millions sterling w^as 

 consumed in this country last year, though, unfortuaately, 

 Great Britain paid 35 millions of this sum to other countries. 



When it is remembered that poultry keeping offers a profit- 

 able spare time occupation to many classes of people, that 

 poultry can be kept in a large degree as an added crop on the 

 land, and that under proper management they can be fed to 

 a considerable extent on waste materials and by-products, it 

 w^ill be realised that the possibilities of expanding home pro- 

 duction are very great. There is also no doubt that home- 

 produced poultry and eggs are infinitely better for the health 

 of the nation than imported frozen poultry, and preserved 

 dried or liquid eggs from China. 



