FEATHER NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 293, 4 September 1908, Page 11

FEATHER NOTES.

[Br DOMIXO.]

The following articlo appears in "Ifaneior's" c6lumn in the "Weekly Press," It ia one that Bhould be porused by 'all who' have, an interest in our North bland chainbears Out" much/that has already been written by "Domino" in this column"Tho North and South, Island 'associations have both done a lot of good, but it .will he ;agrbed -that evils jii con.ncetion:' with' tho allotment, of'championships which demand rbmedving.';; Tho evils - are due ; to v tho;. maimer < in ; which the . allotment is mado,. Tho: Northern Association 'think it fair. ; that the championships should be' evenly allotted among the affiliated societies. The southern, body think it righi to dd the samo once* in qvcry two years, .'and in tho other years, .to .havo them all competed for at a given slioVr',* each' society 'tohavo its turn. At the; bi-annual champion 'shows of the South - Island both competition and quality is good as a • whole, but in the years that the ; championships are- distributed in tho £oiitli;jsiiicl- every year in tho nbrth, the competition and quality'is oftenvcry poor, while' in niany,. cases-the prizes are awarded by an allrrbuhd judge but. 1 not a specialist in tho cliampidn' classes. .'The result is" well known. Birds; of'pierit. from one owner have all their own ,way. fo'r lack .of competition, and, often the';merit ia-'absent. because fanciers, as.a. whole;' will.'not send- their birds to out-of-way places .'0r.,.t0; shows where the judgesare. iiot'>sp|pia]ists in the champion classes.The.,.fact .-,of •; a; poor .bird getting '-a championship'i's in itself'bad; but it is when a distance bjiys the bird or. its'- stock - oBji; the strength of its win that, the greater.-je.vil comes in. To withhold cham-insufficient-merit or competition might remedy matters somewhat, but it.wpUlcT.(!?.'use.no'ond of, trouble. ' A milch better Vetoed,v, to my mind, would be for'tho championships to :bo ; decided at leading shows only, -and'- the 5 most central -for. choice. The societies deprivod of the championships would lose, a- fewfrentries, perhaps, but it would not . -afflict ;them "otherwise. ; On the" other, baftd, thepocieties wliiqh. ran,'the champion' shows a lot, and the others might object, .biit;the fancy," as awhole/wpuld cerr. taitily beiieiiti and that'll- think, is the main desire. One thing is .certain, that uri'der tho present": system -thore. is muchof a fared aboUt. ; tli4'. ; Awarding of championships, and the;. eplsv.Gf'V.the . system far outweigh any good rtW; individual clubs may derive. This is generally admitted, and it behoves the delegates to- sink-localism- and support' a." system which will be an improvement on the pre,sent. .. That': 1 should' ijo/dojig, and. will be done.if tho clubs will considcf the fancy as a_ whole, and-not theiiV.own'locality in par-, ticiilar."- ; : -

. At Southern; exchange- contains the following interesting paragraph':—Throe' high-class ' wyandottes—two hens, and -;2,'-...copk-—wero brought'from Home'by the.'Adtea for Mr. J.-B. . White, of Musselburgh:/ All of them have-been big winners in the leading shows in; Ehglahd.. pne of tile hens won the Challenge Cup at Birmingham Mast year.' This is' the- iilost.'important' poultry -competition in: Great-'Britain; - and it is said that this bird ;is -perhaps ;.the best ever seen in. Dunediii.; TKfi cost'of the trio landed in Dunediti . is reported..to'bp_ something like 55 guineas. . The ' list of'-liie : South ■ -Island Poultry,' Pigeon, 1 arid Canary" Association's champion- , ships/won, outright during the 1908. show season, vlliio at £5 each, and totalling £70, is as; follows Poultry: Whit<J leghorns,' H. Hearfield.Y'Christchurch; white wyandottbs, G. H. -Blairj Gleh-iti; golden wyaiidott'es, 'Alex. Kerr, Christchurch; .brown leghorns, L. F. ! Hickman, Balcaim; miriqreas, J. H. Hopkins, Grariity; golden wya'ndottes,. J, Steer, . Greymouth; houdan, T. Breeze, Ashburton; langsharis,-Gill Bros., Invorcargfll; bantams, J. Symington, Oaraarp; ■ Ducks: , India®'runner's, • ..R.-jsPrebljlD, Abbotsford; ducks;i',other than iiidian ruiiners,:. J: Mowat. Halfway Bush. >iJ<Bigeons-: Tumblers, longfaced, ■ clean legj A. Fraser,-• • Christchurch; flying, homers, F. D: Gibson, Invercargill; Canaries!' Norwich biifF;. J. :T. Brice,. •' -■''!• ; - » Period 'of' incubation ' for domestic birds! eggs i-r-Swans, thirty-fivo, to forty days; .raus- ' covy, thirty-live days;, goose, thirty days; duck,:twenty-eight days; turkey, twenty-eight days; pea iowl," twenty-eight to thirty days; guinea ' -'fowl, twenty-six to twenty-eight v.f days; fowl, twenty-one days; pigeon, eighteen days from last' egg; cana.ry, thirteen days • from steady sitting.. : .