Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Rural Husbandry. Introd. by H. Juhlin Dannfelt - 2. Live-Stock - Rabbits. By H. Funkquist - Poultry-Breeding. By H. Funkquist - Bee-keeping. By N. Rosén
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
poultry-breeding.
105
peasants as is commonly believed. The great majority of Swedish rabbit-breeders
keep unimproved breeds of county rabbits. There also occur in Sweden a
number of foreign breeds, such as the large French rabbit, the little silver
rabbit, and the white Danish country rabbit. The latter is considered to be
suitable for crossing with the Swedish country rabbit, to improve the breed.
Poultry-Breeding.
Cocks and hens, ducks, and geese were found in Sweden as long ago as the
Iron Age. On the other hand, the turkey was not introduced before the end
of the 16th century. The hen-roost and the goose-pen were ordinary parts of
the equipment of an ancient northern cottage, and in many parts of the country
they were retained far into the last century; nowadays, poultry has, almost
everywhere, been relegated to the barn-yard, or to special poultry-houses.
The total number of poultry in Sweden is estimated to be at least 1 250 000.
Poultry-breeding, as a whole, is not in a thriving condition in Sweden,
except in the southernmost provinces, from which a large export of eggs and
poultry takes place. Skåne and Öland do a thriving trade in geese: in the
autumn they send a considerable number to other parts of Sweden and to
Denmark.
A number of different breeds of poultry have been introduced into Sweden;
the Leghorn, Plymouth Eock, Wyandotte, and Orpington fowls, the Rouen,
"Svenska Blå", Aylesbury, and Peking ducks, the Skåne, Toulouse, Emden, and
Pomeranian geese, and the Bronze turkey have the best reputation and are the
breeds most widely spread.
Interest in poultry-breeding seems to be increasing. In 1898 was formed
"Sveriges Allmänna Fjäderfäavelsförening" (Society of Swedish Poultry Breeders),
which was joined by a large number of members from different parts of the
country: in 1912 the number of members was 6 701, belonging to 23 provincial
associations. The Society receives a subsidy from the State, to which must be
reckoned the contributions made by the Agricultural Societies to the provincial
associations. The Society works in a variety of ways for the promotion of
poultry-breeding in Sweden. It employs salaried experts, arranges exhibitions,
inspects and subsidizes breeding-establishments, attends to the control of
egg-laying, distributes breeding-eggs and breeding-fowls, etc. Furthermore, on the
initiative of the Society, many small producers, who carry on poultry-breeding
with great advantage, have been induced to form "Egg-Selling Associations",
whereby better conditions of trade have been secured. The export of eggs from
Sweden is mainly due to the existence of these associations.
In 1910 there were in Malmöhus Län no less than 60 of these associations,
which collected eggs from 160 places.
Eggs are exported from the southern provinces to England, direct or via
Denmark. Table 25 shows that the import of eggs has remained almost at a
standstill during recent years; the export, however, has increased to such an
extent that in 1913 it exceeded the import.
Bee-Keeping.
The bee has been domesticated in Sweden since time immemorial.
In most places in Sweden the conditions are extremely favourable for making
bee-keeping pay. Bee Associations, by disseminating knowledge as to the
management of bees, and the Agricultural Societies, by granting subsidies, have
endeavoured to obtain for bee-keeping its proper place among the most impor-
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
