522 



Eggs versus Table Poultry. 



[dec, 



as long to travel from nest to breakfast table, even though they 

 be only a hundred miles apart, as foreign eggs which are pro- 

 duced by the Adriatic Sea, on the banks of the Danube, and 

 in Jutland. Efforts are, however, being made to remedy so 

 unsatisfactory a state of things, but progress in many districts 

 is very slow. 



Suitable Soils. — That some soils will produce better eggs than 

 others cannot be questioned any more than that richer milk will 

 be obtained in one place than in another. Pure sand is 

 unfavourable for poultry, but with that exception the nature 

 of the soil need not deter anyone so far as egg pro- 

 duction is concerned. The finest quality eggs are met with on 

 moderately heavy soil, on mountain sides, and on the moisture- 

 fed lands salted by the air from the ocean. Wherever grass 

 will grow eggs should be good, and the better the land the 

 better the egg. Some of the heavy lands of the country are 

 not very suitable for fowls, as in low-lying positions they are 

 cold and damp, but they are distinctly better than sand. 

 Fowls on this class of soil should be kept for the production 

 of eggs only. An example of this is to be found on the 

 stronger lands in the corn counties, where egg production is 

 the main objective, for, without knowing the reason, farmers 

 have found that table poultry do not pay nearly so well there as 

 elsewhere. Upon heavier soils, which are naturally colder than the 

 dryer land, chickens do not grow so quickly, and an increased 

 cost of production and an inferior quality of flesh are the results. 

 Moreover, only the hardiest breeds can be kept under such con- 

 ditions, and they do not excel in meat properties, as they are 

 heavy in bone, and, in many cases, have yellow flesh. Thus the 

 first factor to be considered in comparing the relative advantages 

 of egg production or table poultry is the nature of the soil. 

 Our observations have led to the conclusion that whilst the rais- 

 ing of chickens for market can be successfully attempted upon 

 lighter lands of every description, varying from chalk to the 

 Weald clay, but excluding pure sand, it is much more satisfac- 

 tory to confine the attention to egg production where the soil is 

 stronger and heavier, and, therefore, cold in its nature. By this 

 statement it is not meant that table chickens must be bred 

 Under the first-named conditions, but that there are limitations 



