Poultry Raising.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 284, 1 December 1898, Page 17 (Supplement)

Poultry Raising.

It would hardly be correct to refer to poultry raising as an industry of Auckland Provincial District, but it is unmistakenbly a prospective industry. At present there are two classes of people who keep poultry. The first is the small farmer's wife, who makes a little ready money from the sale of the eggs and bird's of a flock of a few dozen fowls that very largely make their own living round the homestead. The second class, perhaps, requires subdivision in to two sect ions: — (A) the suburban resident who keeps a score of fowls go as to obtain fresh eggs; and (B) the person, also suburban, who is a fowl fancier and keeps a few birds of one or more pure breeds. The householders who keep fowls for their eggs usually have abundance of eggs when the price is about Sd per do/en, but may generally be found when eggs are at all scarce cursing their fata at having to feed a lot of non-productive hens. The fancier of pure bred birds seldom gets eggs, but is not surprised thereat, for it is pretty well what he expects. What the amateur does not so much relish, however, is his inability to beat the professional breeders at the show?, and eventually, unless he is very infatuated with* the hobby, he goes out of keeping pure bred fowls and buys a dog with aspirations to a pedigree. This classification will apply to all but perhaps a few poultry raisers who conduct their operations as a business. A return in 1891 —the last year in which such a return was taken—showed that there were 359,882 fowls in the province. Following out the rate of increase that previous returns show was made up to that year, it seems probable that there aKenQw.som.ething o\er 400,000 f oyyjjjjn,, Uie^ With a foundation such as this something could very well be done outside supplying a restricted local market and exporting a few dozen eggs to the islands. Experiments of laic years have conclusively proved That eg"gs can very well be carried considerable distances when properly packed, even without the aid of cool storage. For some time also an export of dressed poultry by insulated steamers has been recommended by more than one expert. From Victoria such shipments have been successfully made, and trial parcels have been sent from this colony. An export of fowls such as are commonly sold as table poultry locally would meet with dire failure. It is all very well to let the birds earn their own iiving. but to fit them for the table they require a certain amount of careful feeding. English taste, cultivated to hand-fed Surrey

capons, dbes*not take kandly to birds that hay© had a battle for existence. Such, a trade as We suggest could only be carried out successfully ,by those who made it their business and conducted the business both carefully and intelligently. At present there can hardly be. said to be.siich a thing as poultry farming locally, but the necessary natural conditions for success are not wanting. A considerable area of suitable land can be obtained at a very low price; the birds to stock a run are easily obtainable, and all the products necessary to such a business are grown locally. In connection with such a trade something could be done in the direction of breeding so as

to supply the local market""" with 7 eggs at the time when they are abnormally scarce and dear. That there is money in such an "industry for the person who, first having settled on a suitable spot for the experiment/ capably;- exploits it we are certain. The chief, requirements for success are a practical knowledge of fowls and business capacity to deal with the commercial necessities of the question.- It is for this reason that we have devoted th^se few lines to the subject, for we are convinced that owing to natural climate and artificial -conditions Auckland Province is particularly well adapted to an experiment' in. poultry raising on a large scale. 7 / .