ioi8 



Poultry Industry in Belgium. [march, 



of what can be accomplished on small farms, Belgium, with 

 her numerous and prosperous people, affords every hope that 

 the increase of small holdings in Britain will enormously 

 advance the relative food production of the country. 



The various methods of poultry breeding and keeping 

 adopted in Belgium, the breeds, the methods of marketing, 

 &c, are described in detail, and without attempting to 

 summarize the Report as regards these points, reference may 

 be made to one or two subjects of special interest. 



Improved Fertility. — Mr. Brown draws special attention to 

 the improved fertility of the land owing to the keeping of 

 poultry. The most noticeable instance of this is met with in 

 what is known as the Campine district, which at one time 

 was an arid sandy plain, covered with fir-trees and incapable 

 of cultivation. About thirty years ago poultry-keeping was 

 taken up by the peasants in this district on a somewhat 

 extensive scale, and by the careful utilisation of the manure 

 produced, much of the land has been so enriched that it has 

 been brought into use for market gardening. Signs of 

 prosperity, it is stated, are evident on all sides, both in the 

 appearance of the people and their dwellings. The villages 

 have grown considerably, and Mr. Brown observes that he 

 has not met with "a more striking instance of the place 

 occupied by poultry in respect to increasing the fertility of 

 the soil and advancing the prosperity of the rural population." 



Milk Chickens. — The sale of milk chickens is very large 

 during the early months of the year. They are produced 

 exclusively in the egg districts, as the breeds which are used 

 for larger table poultry are useless for this purpose, and are 

 killed when eight weeks old. At this age they are naturally 

 in a fleshy condition, weighing 8 to 10 oz. without any special 

 preparation, except that for about two weeks the birds selected 

 for killing are fed on soft food mixed with milk, which 

 softens and whitens the flesh. They are in fact the cockerels 

 of light-bodied, egg-producing breeds, which will never again, 

 if permitted to grow, have much value for table purposes. 

 At the age named they realise about is. gd. each, whereas at 

 twelve weeks old they are not worth more than yd. The finest 

 milk chickens are of the Braekel breed, Campines standing 

 next, with Leghorns a bad third. One reason why the breeds 



