POULTRY CULTURE IN FRANCE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 323, 8 December 1888, Page 5

POULTRY CULTURE IN FRANCE.

Ttie Land of " Poulki 1 . " [It has been estimated tnat in Paris the ■averago consumption of eggs^every year is 150 per head of the population, ".while of [chickens a computation arrivedatafew years ago stated thab every year .there aie about eighty millions of capons and chickens consumed in "France. Only a comparatively small numbOr of these are capouf, perhaps about four per cent. ; for, while the orciinai y chicken enters into the daily food of all classes, except perhaps the very poor, capons are, from their prico, necessarily liniiced to the wealthier section of the community. The English. Consul at Le Mans informed us that he cannot obtain a good capon Hinder 16f., while if he desires a fine poularde he rauH pay 20f. to 30t. Thosebirds are fed for several weeks on the very best food. They requiro a large amount of attention ; and the dealer who finishes them oil' and sends to the consumer expeetfe to receive at least two shillings per pound. Thus it will be seen that the supply* of and demand for the better qualities of French poultry ,the capons and poulardes, is necessarily limited. But (.he ordinary chicken, superior in every way Lo the average fowls sold in this country, forms an article of diet in French households of a class where poultiy aro only here seen occasionally, and as >i special dish — except they are bred by the consumer. in considering-, therotore, the question of poultry in France, it is well to bear bhiw fact in mind.

Tin; Poultry Show in Paris. In France the breeding and feeding of poultry enters into agricultural operations I in a manner which cannot be understood on this side the Channel. Direct, encouragement is liberally given by the Government to the culture ot poultry ; and the besb information is widely di&beminated, a=! part of that .system of rural education which puts to shame all the puny efforts here made for the improvement of our agricultural

population. As an example of the way in which the French Government regards agi-iculture and its responsibilities in connection with the greatest of all industries may be mentioned the annual show held at Paris, about a fortnight before Mardi Gra,s. The poultry are placed in spacious pens ' to be se^n of all men,' and the magnificent pavilion which stands in the centre of the palace is occupied by those fowls which are fortunate enough to win the great prize. The proprietors of the leading caf^s and restaurants will pay a& much as 100 f. for a prix d'honneur specimen, so that their patrons may be able to dine off tho champion fowls of the year on Shrove Tuesday.

Vineyards as Poultry Runs. In all parts of France it can be seen that poultry enters much more into the farm j economy than is the case here. There are, it is true, special districts where fowls are exceptionally cultivated, such as LaManche and the valley of the Auge in Normandy, La Fleche and the valley of La Sarthe in Maine, Houdan, and Mantes in Seine-et-Oi&e, the Bourg and Louhanb in Burgundy. In the same way, Surrey and .Sussex pioduco the best oi' English table fowls, Avlesbury the finest ducks, Norfolk and Cumberland geese of a high order, and Cambridge and Norfolk the primesL turkeys. But it is when we v regavd it from the general point of view that we see the immense superiority of France. English farmers do not maintain flocks of poultry ass p-irt ot their farm operation?. In France the agriculturist would never think of neglecting even so small a branch of live stock. More especially is this state of things to be observed in the wine districts, which comprise so large a portion of the cultivated land ot the country. The- hon&es in which the fowls live vary very much in size and style ; many are permanent — made of brick, or stone, or wood ; and, where the caste of the owners has been allowed to display itself, they are often ornamental, but the greater number are portable, general'y of wood, and made very narrow, so as to permit ; their standing between bhe rows of vines, with handles at either end in order that a couplo of men can carry them. All the yeai round, except tor a couple of months when the fruit is ripening, do the poultry livo in this way. The benefit to the land is very great. Not only do they enrich it with theit manure — a most important consideration — but they clear the ground of worms and slugs ; and the avidity with which they follow the plough during the periodic turnings of the soil at once confirms the opinion that insect life is the natural food of fowU. The effect upon the birds themselves is very beneficial ; and of all the poultry produced in France, excepting those especially fattened, the finest, both as to tenderness and richness of flavour, are bred and fed on the vineyards. It would thus appear that the very qualities of soil and climate which go to make the best wine are those needed to produce the linest poultry — which view is borne out by the fact that the eggs laid are also very rich. To obtain an ordinary fowl in perfection we must have one fed on a vineyard and cooked before a wood fire.

.Varieties oi* 1 " Poulet." , Each of the great) centres ot poultry brooding and fattening has one or more varieties which ' are distinctly its own. The premier position ' is held by ' the La Breose, Which comes from the departments of Ain and Saone-et-Loire in Burgundy. For exquisite flavour, delicacy of fle&h, and fineness of bone, it has no equal ; and even an Ordinary 'specimen will command 30 f. at the Halles Centrales'of Paris. Of .La Bresse there are two varieties, one coming from Bourg, in the' department of Ain, and the other from Lonhans, in Saone-et-Loire. Both; however, 1 havetho same characteristics, and are equally fine in quality. These birds present a most peculiar appearanco when offered, for- sale, being boiler-sbaped, though .more pointed than .round. This is obtained by the process of, shaping ; ,for all French fowls ,of the ibetteiv .class are, dealt, , with in ibliis-'.manneivt either, '{with* cloths alone, as in>the La, Bress>e, or with boards and cloths, as in the other breeds. For the La Bresse the cloths are so made as to give

a spherical shape,' the, wings and legs, being.! jpressed into the sides—a method .uniguo, in/ the preparation^ 'domestic poultry. ,,,As soon as tho bird has-Jaeen plucked; and drawn, ib is sewn tightly up in.'the cloth, - soaked in cold water, and allowed fco< stand lor a couple of days. , , tj /

How Fkencii .Fowls ar& Fai'tuned;' The " poale de Mans" is bred only in the Le Mans district, and rivals the L'a'Bresse in the favour with which it is hold. Poulardes — that is female chickens deprived' of bhoiv reproductive faculty- 1 — are preferred, and specimens during the first mont'hs 1 df the year are' sen b to all parts' of Europe, 1 ' though the chief demand is in France itself/ It is almo&b without exception the case th'at the breeder and fattener are two separate individuals. The iarmcrs around Le Mans do not fabten — they simply breed the large, massive, black fowl which is characteristic 1 ' of the Sarfcho valley, and in the 'autumn the chickens are bought up by the dealers, who iaUen them to meet their demand. The .season tor fattening extends from November 1 to bhe end of March, and the birds aro kept in small dark cages, and fed upon buckwheat meal, mixed with tat and milk, and made into patonb. Ono dealer at Le Mnns usually sends out every season 2,000 of these biicls, though he has in an exceptional year reached a total of 3,000. There is also another delicacy produced here, the " oia de Mans," or geese, fattened up in a. similar man net*. La Fleehe is about thitty miles south of Le Mans, and is also the centre of a yreat dipbricfc for poultry culture. A well-fed La Fleche poulard e is ono of the finest table fowls that can be tnet with. There is yet a third variety owning this dihkicb as its home. This is the couries paltes, a short legged, quaintly shaped, black fowl, used chiefly to supply the early season's market From this is made a famed dish, "pouletsa la reine,'" at one time an especial favourite with epicures.

EoG-HATCIIIXCi AT E0UPA> r . Fiom Normandy comes the creve-cceur, which, while it cannot claim bhe delicate flavour of La Bresse or La Fleche, is yet esteemed for its valuable qualities on the table and as a layer, It can .scarcely now be spoken of as a purely French fowl, for ifc has won its way into other countries. And the same may be said of the Houdan, which with its varieties, the Le Mans and the Faverolle, is bred so largely on the banks ot the Seine below Paris. These are all of the more u-elul breeds, which are largely bred by the farmers of the districts whence they emanate. Near to the town of Houdan is a great egg- hatching .establishment, where thousands of : o#ickens aro born in incubators every year. Farmers bring their eggs, returning three .weeks afterwards for the chickens, paying the establishment one out of every three so hatched for its share of the work. Artificial incubation and rearing has developed greatly in France since the Franco-German war, but as a rule the ordinary poultrykeepers content themselves with, the natural methods, unless there is some such establishment as that at Gambais. In fattening, artificial methods have for, a much longer period been, greatly adopted, and nearly all the fowls sent to market are crammed either by hand or machinery. Elaborate apparatus of various kinds have been introduced from time to time. These, however, find favour chiefly with those who approach poultry-keeping a& a hobby rather than a profitable speculation. The practical conservative spirit of the French pea&antry leads them to continue on the old lines. They prefer to keep the profit they already have, and are not disposed to expend money in reaching after that which is uncertain. The success of any plan has to be more than usually determined ere they will venture upon ib. The regular methods of fattening are very simple. The fowls are kept in dark cages, and are crammed with food, generally liquid, three or four times a day. At one timo the crammer filled his own mouth with the food, and foiced ib into that of the bird.

This plan can yeb be seen in out-of-the-way : places. Insbead of the mouth, in many places a funnel is used, the nozzle of which is inserted in the throat of the bird and the food poured down. The method now largely followed is an improvement on this ; tor a machine contain* the food, and by a simple pressure of the foot enough of the contents is ejected to form one portion. The fowl's mouth is fitted to the nozzle provided for the purpose, and Mie , operation is most effectively and swiftly pei formed The system of feeding by pawns is also largely in vogue. In this case the food is made firmer, and formed into large pellets about the bize of a finger, several of which arc forced into the bird's crop.

Fowls sold Pieuemiul. That economy which is so great an clement in the French character is very evident in the marketing of fowls. In Paiis half birds can be purchased, both cooked and uncooked, but at Bordeaux this division of the fowl is carried out to a much greater extent, and in the octagonal market of the beautiful city on the Gircnde can be seen peculiar-look-ing carcasses, offered there for sale — carcasses whose leading characteristic seems to be the absence of meat. Legs, wings, breast, all are gone. These limbs and portions are offered for pale separately, and thus a Bordelaise ■ housekeeper, able, as all French cooks arc, to make a fine dish with very little meat, can buy a leg, or a wing, or a breast without any of the other portions ; or, if the purse is not well lined, then the carcas3 can < be taken, from which a splendid dish of soup may be made.' Even the blood is sold,* showing that> here at least the proverb "waste not, want not "• is understood and observed. How different to the wastefulness in the kitchen of a Yankee millionaire, of whom we recently heard, where the breasts alone of the fowls are cooked and sent to the table* the carcasses including, legs and wings, 1 being thrown on to the dunghill, i The- secret of French success in poultry, culture comes from the attention paid' to- the little things, and from a practical belief in the importance of this branch' of live stock as a profitable , portion of agricultural operations. — English Paper. ' »' , •

Pruning. — The ( ,besb 'time if or pruning' ( depends considerably upon civjcuvristariees.' ' As a ri\le y whenever the li'n^bs-growin such a way a& to, beeouve, troublesome, out them dlf.re^'tu'dlosa of thcseasop. ' If the work ia ( .propevlv.donp, culfeing srapotli &o as /no 6 to \ bruise or'mangle tho ba'rli,iip^id jury 'will, lie*! j done. " ,