8 BULLETIN 1385, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
areas where there are warm nights, long growing seasons, and ade- 
quate rainfall. Thus, we may expect that the exportable poultry 
surplus in Europe will continue to come mainly from the lower 
Danube Basin and Russia. 
The egg supply will probably also increase in this area and in the 
sections of Europe adjacent to the large markets, such as Denmark, 
Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, and Ireland. In these 
countries interest in the keeping of poultry for egg production is 
developing more and more rapidly, and the flocks of poultry can be 
expanded even though a large part of the feed supplies must be pur- 
chased from abroad. 
BREEDS OF FOWLS 
As in the United States, there are a great number of different 
breeds and varieties of fowls in Europe, but the distribution of the 
different breeds is much more localized than in this country. Many 
countries have breeds which are peculiar to them. Other countries 
have breeds which are peculiar to particular sections in that country. 
Often some of the breeds which are peculiar to a certain country 
are apparently of much less economic value than breeds in even ad- 
jacent countries. This seems to be specially true in the new coun- 
tries whose boundaries have been created since the war, and is but a 
reflex of the intense nationalistic feeling in these countries. Their 
strong determination to maintain their national independence in 
every detail is carried perhaps even so far as to be a detriment, as, 
for instance, in the case of perpetuating the Polish "Greenfeet" 
breed. This breed is exceeded by many others in utility value, but 
because it is different from that found in other countries and is more 
or less adapted to its habitat, it is adopted as a national breed. 
On the other hand, certain breeds are kept which are not only local 
in habitat but are highly specialized and adapted to their ultimate 
value as meat or egg producers. Among these are the Malines in 
Belgium, the LaFleche and LaBresse in France, the Sussex and 
Dorking in England, which are essentially meat breeds; the Campine 
and Braekel in Belgium and the Leghorns in Italy, which are essen- 
tially egg breeds; and the Barnevelder, which rs being developed in 
the Netherlands because of the very deep brown color of its eggs. It 
also has a large body, which enables it to be classed as a meat breed. 
Other breeds are spread generally over Europe without respect to 
country. The most extensively distributed are the Leghorns or 
crosses of the Leghorns, which are usually called u Italian fowl " 
rather than Leghorns. These Mediterranean breeds are responsible 
for the white eggs produced in Europe. 
Certain of the American breeds of poultry are well known in 
Europe — Rhode Island Reds, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Wyan- 
dottes. The Rhode Island Red apparently stands higher in favor 
than the other American breeds. For instance, when the question 
was asked in France, Spain, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and other coun- 
tries as to which breed of poultry is best adapted to that particular 
country, the answer was always the breed which is more or less a 
product of that country, and the second choice was the Rhode Island 
Red. No definite reason could be ascertained for this preference 
except that this breed seemed to do well in the few experiment sta- 
tions and fancy poultry breeding establishments that exist in conti- 
nental Europe. 
