THE HEN AT WORK

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 184, 5 August 1936, Page 9

THE HEN AT WORK

MILLIONS OF EGGS. DOMINION PRODUCTION. STATISTICS SILENT. At breakfast this morning the diner chipped the top off a boiled egg. With a slice or two of toast, a little pepper and salt, it made a light meal. The diner thought no more about it. Yesterday, in someone's backyard, or on an up-to-date poultry farm, a hen had laid the egg, and followed it up with a five minutes' cackle to proclaim to all what she had so accomplished. It was one of those rare cases where it doesn't pay to advertise, because a few minutes later the owner of the bird came along, and the egg disappeared from the nest. If you asked the Government statistician how many head of cattle or how many sheep there were in the Dominion he would at least be able to give a rough idea, but if you asked him how many head of poultry, he would be silent. Statistics have nothing to say on the point. Perhaps he would tell you that all poultrykeepers with 25 or more birds must register their runs, and that there are over 100,000 runs in the Dominion, but there must be as many yards with less than 25 birds. However, the taking of the census in March last will throw some light on the question, because it was necessary to supply, among other items, the number of head of poultry each person possessed at that time. Again, the recently set-up Auckland Egg and Export Committee is gathering data, and in due course should. be able to provide interesting informa-J tion dealing with the whole of the egg industry.

Modern refrigerating methods enable the merchants to whom the eggs are sent in thousands daily to keep their stock in good condition for many months. Refrigeration also enables thousands of crates of eggs to be exported to other countries and arrive in good condition. Xew Zealand produces eggs in euch largo quanti-

ties during the flush season that there is a surplus of millions which is shipped to the London market. Chemical Composition. Protein, fat, minerals, especially iron, and vitamins are in the egg. These elements place it among the essential foods for young children, and include it among many invalid diets. Also, its virtues commend it as a frequent food | for the average man. As such it is regarded as containing, pound for pound, as much fat as beef and half as much protein, but as it is, when properly cooked, more easily digested than beef, the egg's food value is not measured alone by its chemical composition. The yolk is the chief carrier of the vitamins; the white is the protein carrier. Long indeed are the list of ways to utilise the egg. The demand for eggs is almost limitless, so much so that man has had to look around for some way! of helping the hen out. Man produced the incubator, which has enabled the hen to save the time spent | hatching and devote practically the whole of her time to production. In one hatchery in Auckland over 30,000 eggs have been "set." There are hundreds of others with large settings, fid though it is a wise poultrykeeper who does not begin counting until the chickens appear, he has a fairly good idea of the percentage to be expected. Unlike the magician on the stage, the hen cannot produce eggs from apparently nowhere and in hatfuls at a time. Although hens occasionally lay two eggs in one this is usually followed by a few days' vacation. The fowlyard motto is, "An egg a day keeps the axe away." It is considered a fair estimate to put the yearly production of eggs down at 150 per hen. There are the best layers', the good layers, and the not so good, and, all things considered, the figures j mentioned would be near the mark per I hen for a year's work. They are not j governed by any 40-hour week. A prominent merchant this morning stated that in the flush season — August to November—the number of eggs coming to the Auckland market would be about 1,250,000 weekly. This will prove interesting to those who have been limited to one egg for breakfast. Millions are exported to London. And now, sir, how will you have yours? Boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, scolloped, curried, or devilled ? I