THE POULTRY AXD EGG INDUSTRY IX EUROPE 
31 
It is often possible, as in Berlin, for the consumer to select while 
alive the fowl or goose which she wants, and it is dressed in the 
market stall while she waits for it. This practice of dressing the 
fowl in the market stall is even allowed in the magnificent Smith- 
field Market (wholesale) in London. 
Live poultry is also sold direct to the consumer by peddling from 
door to door. In Italy, for instance, it is not uncommon to see a 
peddler going through the streets with a net-covered basket of birds 
on his head, from which the heads of the poultry protrude. There 
are also special poultry and egg shops in most every city, wherein 
only these items are sold. 
A striking characteristic of the open markets in continental 
Europe is the large number of vendors and the small volume of busi- 
FlG. 15. 
-Portion of open retail market in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Buildin: 
ground is devoted exclusively to the sale of eggs (ja.ial 
in back- 
ness done by each. It is not uncommon to see a woman sit from 
early in the morning until noon disposing of 15 or 20 hens and 
5 or 6 dozens of eggs (see fig. 15). The wages made are small 
because of the small volume, yet the spread between the wholesale 
and retail price is as large, if not. larger, than that prevalent in the 
United States. 
Dressed poultry is not sold in as many different channels as live 
poultry, as its sale is usually confined to inclosed markets, special 
poultry and egg shops or butcher shops which handle beef, veal, 
mutton, goat, horse, donkey, and water-buffalo meat as well. In 
southern Europe the carcass of a chicken is often handled in a simi- 
lar way to the carcass of any other meat animal. It is sold in a 
drawn condition, and even cut up into portions so that it is possible 
