THE FLEMISH SYSTEM OF POULTRY-REARING.t
Iar this country there is still some difference of opinion as to whether poultry-farming can be made to pay sufficiently well for it to be regarded as a good business enterprise. Belgian poultry-farmers before the war had long settled the problem, and solved it in the most satisfactory way by showing big profits and a rapidly increasing industry. Mme. Jasper in her useful book describing Flemish methods of poultry- rearing tells us that whole districts were employed entirely in the pro- duction of table birds, and " the neighbourhoods of Brussels, Antwerp, and Malines are the great centres for the production of eggs, chickens, and fowls." Mme. Jasper, who is well known as an authority on the intensive and artificial rearing of poultry, gives a detailed and interesting account of her own work and the methods which made it successful, describes the construction of the incubators, arid relates various experiments which she carried out for the improvement of ventilation, lighting, heating, Ate. Poultry-farmers here will be interested in Muse. Jasper's comparison of Belgian and English systems and her friendly criticism of our methods. Sho gives credit to certain English farms which " aro admirably conducted," and admits that " the English are our masters in the art of breeding." On the whole, however, she is of opinion that " they have hitherto shown themselves ignorant of those methods for producing poultry for the market which bring in the most profit." We doubt whether, on Mme. Jasper's own showing, it is ignorance so much as indifference that has prevented our adoption of such methods. Mme. Jasper herself gives as ono reason for our failure the prevalence of the poultry-fancier. " English people have a double ideal in their minds in regard to poultry-breeding. They have one eye on exhibition birds and the other on utility fowls. These objects cannot be pursued at one and the same time. . . . Here, as in everything else, speciali- zation makes perfection." Another cause given by her of our failure to adopt more scientific methods has a delightful touch of senti- ment in it, but is, we think, none the less true for all that. The English, she says, know little of the art of raising poultry " artificially produced according to our methods. Those method' are repulsive to their sporting tastes, their love of the open air and of muscular exercises." Our penile have so often bean dubbed " a nation of shopkeepers," with nothing but commerce as an ideal, that it is pleasant for once to be told that our sentimant is getting in the way of our business I
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