A BIT OF GOOD WORK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 288, 29 August 1908, Page 3

A BIT OF GOOD WORK.

- — \ ■ \ MR. HYDE AS A JUDGE POULTRY.' In tho course of his country travels, Mr. •Hydo, the chief Government poultry export, performs many good offices for poultry keepers. Tho other day up in the, Auckland .Province he came across a poultry keoper who was laid up. This man had\ a large flock of birds, and owing to his, illness tho flock was .being managed by his young children. " Mr. Hydo found that there were many unprofitable birds in tho flock, and at tho. owner's ..request, ho undertook to cull out-the worst for dale, and also to select, the'fifteen best layers to'malap up two breeding pens. Mr. Hyde has since received from tho poultry keoper a lcUor, from which a portion' may be qubtcd;— "Now about the fowls," wrote the farmer. . "Record yesterday of 352eggB,i about 130 being from the hens, and,'tho\ rest from pullets. That's better, isn't'. ' it? _ ■ - \ ' 'Tho fifteen birds you put up with \ two'cockerels'laid twelvo'eggs for two days just after you left, and now aver- ... age from eight to twelve daily. "Tho last of condemned hens we sent • away this week.. . .1 had only two crates, so could not send all away when you left. ! So'l had to 'keep the last twenty until , the boats suited again, and during all that time not one of laid an egg..' . • "l'onr work that night has spoken for itself, hasn't it? and ,wo are .all very pleased indeed." ' • . Mr. Hyde states, that ho culled out ninety birds, from the flock,• and that as ho did it at night, when the birds wore all gone to .roost, he examined ithem in the'darkness, not using a _ light for fear- of frightening' them. He judged them solely by feeling. That ho' judged them well is shown by .the fact that the twenty culls which were kept the longest did not lay a single egg. The same mode of judging decided the fifteon. birds for the breeding pens, which imme- ; diatoly laid-twelve eggs a day. The words of this _ letter,,.of. course, • sound like sweet music in . the ears of the . expert; who is fighting a battle under hostile eyes. But they, are more than.that. They are ono of the many proofs that poultry can be a great success or a dismal' failure, according to tho knowledge and method of the keeper. People who are failing should therefore take courage, and call in Mr. Hyde to help them without more delay. Not that Mr. Hyde wants more work'to fill up his time. Ho is a .busy mail, and seems to be always .out .in the country, working among tho poultry : farms.; : 1 . ..., .. . . „

SYDNEY ECCS AND CHICKENS. ■ r— NEW ZEALAND THE CHIEF OUTLET. New Zealand is the chief foreign customer for the eggs and poultry of New South .Wales. In 1907 (according to a' Government- return) New Zealand bought from New South Wales'42o head of live poultry, and 5110 dozen eggs. The,'poultry,' of course, were for'breeding' purposes, for' the pried of tho ,420 was £482. .Australia has made an exact science' of egg-farming, and Australian flocks frequently, supply record-breakers" to the egg-laying contests. Australian birds from famous egg-laying strains have been purchased by numbers of New Zealand poultry specialists,, and also by the New Zealand Government. , A somewhat similar explanation may account for tho largo number of eggs wo purchased. They numbered 5110 dozens, and fetched £392—an average of about Is. 6d. per. dozen. .This is nqt^jpriq^,at,which tlioy would be purcliasod "for foo'd; and doubtless it is accounted _for by. the inclusion of a large number-of sittings of eggs at special prices. In contrast there were only 30 dozen- sent to Britain, and the prico .averaged Bd.,.pcr dozen. A few eggs (196 dozen) sent to' Canada, and 468 dozen to Fiji, averaged a fraction over Is. a dozen.. New Guinea purchased 70 dozen at about Is. 6d., Ocean Island 506 dozen at Is. 3§d., Marshall Islands 460 dozen at Is. 2d., New Pomerania 891 dozen at Is.' 4d., and the South Sea Islands 1146 dozen at Is. ljd. Frozen poultry'' went chiefly to Natal (3116 pairs at 4s. a pair) 'and the Philippine Islands (1808 pairs at 12s. lOfd. a. pair.)

DEARTH, DEARNESS, DEPRESSION. I WHAT HAPPENED "IN THE CUTTER ' MARKET. ; ■ ■In_ liis annual address to shareholders of the Ivew Zealand Dairy Association (says a I ress Association telegram from Auckland) Mr. Wesley Spragg said .1 the last season's London business had boen ■ a marvellous one. Prices ran to 1605., a figure which was generally said to havo been without warrant and which was considered! to have been a disadvantage rather than otherwise to the owners of butter, < because, as always hap- , n a mar ket had been unduly inflated, the fall, ra price which followed was in turn much greater than was warranted just as_thd'previous inflated prices, were too high, .There'was one lasting injury which had been done, by . this inflated market—it had fostered, a demand for blended and artificial butters and margarine. The forecast. for the coming season was that it - would bo a good, paying - one. In (Siberia the severe winter had reduced the dairy herds by one-half. Reports of increased homo consumption also came from Canada, Siberia, and Denmark, and practi-' cally all their competitors, excepting Argentina,' had their winters just at the time that' Aew Zealand was at its best; and although freezing storage helped- to equ&liso supplies to some extent, the season through, the New Zealand dairyman's big'asset was, after all his season, which gave him summer, conditions to operate on a winter market.-

-FAMOUS BRITISH STOCK. 1 PURCHASES FOR NEAV ZEALAND. .A' , tilo J al ° of Lincoln long-woolcd sheep bred.by-Messrs. &. 1.-Dcan and Sons, of Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire, last month Air l. lattullo manager of'the Now Zealand and Australian Land Company in New Zealand, bought for the company at 115 guineas an animal' from tho winning pen of five rams at the recent British Royal Show. The prico - paid was tho second highest' at the sale. The highest was 140 guineas, paid bv an : Argentine buyer. Mr. Pattullo also bought at the Royal Show,' from Mr. T. A Buttar, two Shropshire. yearling rams * out ot a highly commended pen of five at 35 and 80 guineas. +i,^ r -b a yasour, of Blenheim, also bought at the Royal Show Mrs. W. fr.' Inge's firstprizo shearling ram at 65 guineas.