Organisation of the British Industry.—The first effort at organisation in the British poultry industry was made in 1877 when the Poultry club, the oldest society in the country, was originated. A step towards linking together the various exist ing organisations was taken in 192o, when the National Poultry council was formed to act as the central representative body of poultry societies, clubs, federations of local societies, so cieties of co-operators or traders engaged in the distribution of eggs and poultry, and institutions or local authorities engaged in poultry instruction and investigational work. Since its inception, the council has done work of much value to the industry. Con cessions have been obtained from railway companies and local authorities ; an arbitration board has been set up to settle disputes between poultry-keepers ; a legal defence club has been established to protect poultry-keepers from unfair assessments from rates and taxes ; a register of laying trials has been opened, and the council now proposes to set up a register for individual birds whose performance in registered laying trials reaches the pre scribed standard. An effort has been made to obtain legislation for enforcing the marking of all imported eggs with an indication of their origin.
Development of the American Industry.—From the time of the first settlements in the United States to 1825 there was no great demand for domestic fowls because of the plentifulness of wild fowl. From then on the poultry industry expanded along commercial lines, largely as a result of cheap grain in the inland districts and improved transportation from those districts to the more important consuming sections of the East, and the leading European breeds were imported. In 1849 the first American poultry show was held in Boston. Annual poultry shows through out the country increased rapidly, and this tended to create further interest in improved breeding methods. The industry developed particularly throughout the Middle West where grain was cheap and the cost of egg production low. Marketing, however, was lim ited because of the lack of means of proper preservation. Up to this time, eggs were frequently preserved by immersion in lime water or oil. About 188o the displacement of the barrel by the 30-dozen egg case brought about great economy in the marketing of eggs, and in an improved quality of product. The industry has expanded enormously of late, the increase in poultry population from year to year being at a relatively greater rate than the in crease in human population. The last census (1925) gives well over 400,000,000 adult chickens on the farms of the United States. The total number of eggs produced for 1926 was approximately 2,000,000,00o dozen, and the total farm valuation of the poultry industry is well over $1,000,000,000. The industry ranks sixth
in importance among the agricultural industries of the country.
The American poultry industry breaks up into four principal regions: (I) The north-eastern section, contiguous to the larger markets, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Buffalo, where the industry has been developed along commercial lines ; the big demand for poultry products and the nearness to market have been two favouring factors here. (2) The Pacific coast, whose climate is relatively mild and where other conditions are favourable, provides a surplus over the local requirements, so that a market has to be found in the Eastern cities. While Pacific coast producers compete with the Eastern producers, they have 3,00o m. to ship their eggs and poultry, but conditions of transpor tation have been so improved in recent years, that the quality of eggs and dressed poultry shipped from the Pacific coast to New York and other Eastern cities has been of a very high order. (3) The Middle West, where the great bulk of the annual poultry crop of the United States is produced, contains about half the human population; it also contains over 70% of the poultry population. Here the farm poultry is the backbone of the industry. There is relatively little commercial development in this section but prac tically every farm keeps a flock of chickens. As compared with the north-eastern section, the Middle West has the disadvantage of being situated at a greater distance from the more important consuming markets, but it has a decided advantage in the relatively low prices of grain, so that the poultry industry of the Middle West may be regarded as in a fairly stable condition. It is less apt to undergo the changes characteristic of specialization. (4) In the Southern States from Arizona to Florida, where the industry, up to the present, has not been much developed, there is little specialization, and the farm flocks are small in size, so that produc tion in several of the States frequently does not meet the local demand. The tardy development of agriculture as a whole and the general reliance on cotton and tobacco as sources of farm income in this section have prevented the normal development of the poultry industry. These conditions however are being remedied very rapidly.
Improved Marketing Methods.—One important factor in the development of the poultry industry has been the improve ment in marketing methods, particularly in the transportation of eggs in cold storage cars and the holding of eggs in cold storage warehouses. It is now possible to hold eggs in storage for a long time under such conditions as to prevent excessive evaporation and maintain their high quality, especially when eggs of superior quality are placed in storage.