February 10, 
COUNTRY GENTr,EMAN’S COMPANION. 
377 
“ I am rejoiced to see the committee are thus labouring for 
the good of onr poorer bretliren; it is a noble duty in a 
noble cause, and I would wish to see its labours in tliia re¬ 
spect still more extended. I see farmers are rewarded for 
having sheep, and cows, and pigs in good condition ; I 
should like to see a prize offered to the farmer who would 
have his labouring men in the best condition (laughter and 
confusion). "When our young men by hundreds joined the 
militia at Hertford, it Avas publicly remarked that they 
were low in tlesh, but high in bone (laugliter) ; they must 
have come from hard Avork, or no Avork and Ioav food, or 
not such as men require in this climate; their uniform 
liung loosely on them, but in a month’s time, by the 
cai'e of their noble master, the colonel, seeing they had a 
regular supply of animal food, they fdled out to their red 
ooats—(laughter)—and Avhen they came home on a Sunday 
to visit their friends, they were astonished at their improve¬ 
ment in condition (cheers). I say, then, we Avant some 
means of putting our labouring men, as well as our cattle 
and sheep, in better condition—they must be Avell fed as 
Avell as the cattle and sheep—it behoA'es landlords and 
farmers to look to this, for wages must lise with the cost of 
provisions. If this Avere the case, the poor man AAmuld not 
be compelled to take his little boy aAvay from school at eight 
or nine years of age to go to work for food, but he AAmuld bo 
able to keep him at school till twelve or thirteen ; and then 
I should have candidates for my prize, No. -lb, Avhich our 
chairman so kindly noticed, but which this day is to be 
marked ‘ no competition.’ What we require is, I believe, a 
more extended sphere of encouragement in this direction, 
and in other branches that would directly or indirectly tend 
to improA'e the moral and physical condition of the labourer 
(hear). For instance, let there be a prize also for the 
farmer aaIio would supply the best home-broAved beer for his 
men—(laughter)—let the masters take steps for the men 
having good beef, and mutton, and pork as well as bread. 
Depend on it it Avill pay well; the men will be twice as strong, 
and mucli more proof against disease. Let them take the 
trouble to provide ‘ change ’ for the payment of every man’s 
AA’eekly Avages, and not force him to go and change £5 notes 
or sovei’eigns at the public house. Let the men have half¬ 
holidays on Saturday—‘ all work and no play makes Jack a 
dull boy’—(hm’rah)—let e\'ery village have its playground 
for cricket and otlier manly games—let piizes be given for 
proAvess in these, and for the produce of poor men’s gardens 
—(cheers)—and let prizes be given for the best reapers as 
Avell as the best ploughers. I Avas in Belgium lately, and 
saAV a capital instrument for reaping, betAveen a scythe and 
a sickle— I hope to have one to shoAV at the next Aneeting— 
there was no wasteful scattering of Avheat, and the work Avas 
easier than Avith either of those implements ; no great horse 
drag Avas required to drag up the leavings, Avhich I am sorry 
to see in many places in this county lying on the ground for 
five or six Aveeks after the sheaves are carried, left to grow 
and moulder on the ground, so as to he little or no good to 
the farmer, and also keeping the gleaners otit of the field. 
I saw also the Belgian hedges of quick, only about six inches 
wide and four feet high, groAving like thick trellis woiic, and 
not a blade of grass or Aveed at the bottom. "iVliy should 
not the Hertfordshire hedges be in the same way ; why not 
the men do this Avhen there is no other Avork for them ? If 
the emploAunent of the labourers be one of the criterions of 
a parson’s conduct, as Avas just noAv stated by our v'ice- 
chairman, I must plead guilty to being a v'ery bad parson 
(no, no) for often I see fifteen or twenty men of my parish 
cut of AA'ork; but the fact is, in Arderley, there are—even 
after all the drain of the war and militia— abouttAvmity men 
more than the land requires, and yet, by the absurdities of 
onr poor laAV, they are tied doAvn to the parish—(cheers)— 
and dare not go beyond the neighbourhood for employment. 
I say these restrictions are a clog to the labourer, and incon¬ 
sistent with these days of locomotion (hear). We have free 
trade in corn, and we Avant free trade in labour—(cheers)— 
let the laboAirer Avhen in distress be relieved Avlierev'er he is. 
But the course I propose would prevent distress, diminish 
poor rates, and pronAote independence; and I think these 
societies, through their more influential members, ought 
to bring about this improvement in the condition of the 
labourer.” 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Essex. At Colchester, 8 th, pth, anil lOtli of .Tanitary, 1857. Sec.t. 
G. E. Attwooil, anrl W. A. U'arAvick. 
Wpeeington, Salop. At Wellington, Salop, 20th and 27 th of Feb. 
Sec. hlr. T. W. .lones. Entries close Blondaj’, February 18th. 
WiiARFDALE. April IStli, at Otloy. Sec. Blr. T. Metcalfe, Otley. 
Windsor Poultry Exhibition. At Windsor, 4(h, 5t.h, and 0th 0 / 
.Tune, Sees. Thos. Chamberlain, and Henry 'rhompson. Entries 
Avill close May 10th. 
N.B .—Secretaries vjill oblige ns by sending early copies of their lists. 
It is said, that when troops are marshalled in their 
respective positions for an engagement which is about 
to talce place, it is tlie quietest moment in an army, 
and the time when men are most disposed to listen 
to reason. Neither the excitement during the fight, 
nor the prostration after it, having taken place. 
Our great poultry fight is ended, and Birmingham 
lias resounded with the shouts of the victors, and the 
Availiugs of the defeated, but the report is before our 
readers, and we would, therefore, use our quiet moment 
for a few words on Eggs. | 
The subject is suggested by the following article 
taken from a French paper:—• 
“ FeAv people form an exact idea of the importance 
attained by many branches of our rural industry, such, 
for example, as the product of eggs. France sends 
every year to England about 7,780,000 kilogrammes of 
eggs, say 717,160,000 eggs, at a calculation of tw'enty- 
two for the kilogramme. Reckoning that a hen lays 100 
eggs in a year, which is a fair average, it will be seen 
that this exportation is the produce of 1,711,600 hens. 
Our importations from other countries are only about 
60,000 kilogrammes, and about the eighth of those sent 
to England are supplied by Belgium, and the Sardinian 
states. As for the consumption in Paris, it is not less 
than five or six millions of kilogrammes, that is to say, 
from 110 to 132 millions of eggs.” 
Our neighbours are clever in their statistics, and it is 
said that peace has so developed their energies, that in 
those manufactures on which aa^c most pride ourselves, 
our superiority disappeared when the productions were 
side by side at the exhibition in Paris. We doubt 7iot 
our great iron-founders vA'ill be on the alert. We aVIU 
leave them to “ The Times,” but on eggs Ave must say 
a few words. 
It Avill not be said there is not a demand, when it is 
proved that so many millions are consumed over and 
above what the country can produce. Our OAvn poultry- 
keepers have a great advantage over foreigners. They 
have no freight, duty, nor expensive packing. Their 
market is always close at hand. A still greater advantage 
is, that the expense incurred by the foreign exporter, in 
collecting from Belgium and Sardinia, is just so much 
encouragement to ourselves. 
The first idea that strikes us is, that in many large farm¬ 
yards many more fowls might be kept, without causing 
extra expense. Let us admit that the occupier is not a 
poultry fancier. A hen lays 100 eggs, and they are Avorth 
at least five shillings; a hundred hens will then pay, in 
eggs, twenty-five pounds. But, Avith care in selecting the 
breed and the birds, they may be made to produce more. 
We say nothing of food, because the fowls bred at a 
farm will more than pay any expense. Near a large 
toAvn, where there is a demand for new-laid eggs in the 
winter, and at the commencement of the spring, they 
will realise much more than Ave have stated above. 
We will say nothing of the other mode of making 
