POULTRYMEN CONFER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2755, 26 April 1916, Page 8

POULTRYMEN CONFER

THIRD DAY'S WORK - .3 AN INTERESTING PAPER - : V-\ . I Consideration of .remits occupied' the I \ of delegates attending the New }: ' Conference yesterday ;. moffing.TVrßuring. tho afternoon visiting !•' the Anzac Day celei' At tho evening session Mr..P. ! > O.^BroVn;-Government Poultry Expert, [./. rea fi Poultry Industry." : J'.F.urther. Remits: Considered. j. Tlie Auckland Co-operative Egg Producers'" Association urged:';" That the'."Govje I'Dtpent.^be.;agaiii asked .to Reduce ' thp: !;■ ; railages chiii'ges^ott -eggs- to tho same rater : as' and also.'.thdt eg£s'' !. be.classifiedvas j perishable goods."-•; • ?»«* Mr. Bodumgton and Mr;! i. G.'. Finn : «!..thought '.that;-the time:'was. inopportune j to ask the .Gpverninent; to", remit railway s' charges;: aiid,; besides, ' the Government | cari'ie<l'':returned'.emptie3 free. . |1 7 l'? e, |Temit :was -adopted by a majority- ; sf o'lie', I '.'-.-."^."'./.::'.."'.' | - A carried to the' effect j that the; Government be asked to pass an I . Act that all' eggs other than fresh offered f 1 for sale in the Dominion be clearly stamp- ; :ed "000 l stored".or ('.'Preserved," etc.; as ] . the case may be. \ ' . j j\ It-.ivas also resolved, on the motion of I i. . delegates'.'from the Canterbury Egg j Circle,-"that the Government be requests' ed 4o 'encourage' the • shows for' fanciers' I; poultry, similar to. the Victorian Govern. l tnont, by allotting a number of medals."t".' Hn.'S.'H. Scott, Onelinnga, moved the ' following resolution, which was-adopted without discussion: "That the. Govern--merit be approachedre the encouragement of'returned soldiers or their dependants ■ to."take up>, poultry culture in connection witlj the proposed fruit farms." ' • ' The Wairarapa Egg Circle forwarded the'., following remits: — (1) "That the time is now"'opportune to 'form a Utility-Poultry! Breeders' Association, . for the purpose of registering e&- \ tablished strains of birds, such, associa--1., tion "to be affiliated to the New., Zealand. I -Poultry Association." !. ■ (2) "That it be a recommendation to : the Government before undertaking to ' :onduot a record egg-laying competition in i .. the Dominion', they consult, the executive t, »f th'e New Zealand Poultry Association ; " >s to the necessity thereof.". ■ The former-remit was loft to,the Esecii-, ' five Committee to deal with, and the i . second was adopted. j "If it is found advisable-to hold ' all i Kecutivo. board meetings at Wellington, I' iliat the executive inaugurate a scheme of S-- taising funds.'to defray expenses of dis- [ tant members of'the Executive Board, so i !hat ;they may be able to attend at .least t)ne meeting, per year, and at a date when I Parliament is sitting," was a motion pro. posed by Mr. Scott. ' After considerable j discussion it was oarried.

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY;

, PRESENT POSITION AND SUTURE PJKOSPECTS. '

■ ■ Mr. F. C. Brown, Government Poultry i £.-pcrt, read a paper on "The Poultry In. r ' itustry—lts / Present Position: and Future f* Prospects," at the evening session. Ho i said that more than one> reform-. had to I ' be effected before; the business could ;bo } placed on ..a- permanently satisfactoryI footing. It'has tared so wolt-.howover, I 'n tlxo face of the general "dislocation of 1 ,Tr ; de, consequent upon l- the.".great," war, : that the' results liad. been better' than J the most sanguine could (.'have 'qntici. ; pated. '-With no export trade, aritl.the ! abnormal prices ruling for grain anf its , by-products, the New Zealand-poultryman ; was at one stage "of' the war tbreatenod j with disaster. Fortunatdy-for poultry... men, . but unfortunately for the. grain I giower, the shortage/ of oversea shipping j space had,/led- to'-the decline in wheat i values, and,'this great l-ejief had latterly | been accompanied by better prices for'

j". Air.. Brown said" : 'that; the me has.had j. one good'"effect. It'\liad' directed-attend [. tioi. in a-striking manner to the iinpor ; - [. tant work of culling. Another benefit was, i the investigation it had enforced in re- ' gard to feeding for egg production, j-' ■ "Before' the war it was commonly ; . be- ! lieved that nothing would take the, place • of' wieat in the'ration of the..heavy. 6gg; t 'Owing to the scarcity.,and. the . famine -prices of- this staple'"grainj ' tho j' Agricultural Department is .conducting i: an experiment •_ at the- Milton Station -to determine -what "results* . could be obtained fTOip. birds fed, on a. dietary ■ from which wheat "is eliminaited. 'Siricr \ it is recognised that- so long as flour is ; produced; in the Dominion, the by-pro. ■ oucts of wheat (namely, pollard and bran) . will be 'available for 'poultry food, and these were included in the ration-laid ; down in- the test. This experiment

started on May I,' 1915, and terminates on April' 30. The birds taking part in the test comprised twtfrve White Leghorn and twelve Brown Leghorn pullets. Oiio pen;;-.oJ. each; '.breed had wheat in the ration, • and'.the others liad none. Birds.'jn the same strain in each variety were, selected as-evenly as possible in regard to 'age, type, etc. At present, the results of 'this experiment are most interesting, and on the ivhole more eatisjactory than was anticipated." Continuing, Mr. Brown said there was abundant room for the expansion of the industry. Unfortunately the poultry Industry more .than any other branch of rural activity suffers greatly from the doluded notions of many peopie who rush into it without experience, capital, or other essentials to success, imagining ■ that it is. a get-rich-quick business requiring no' previous knowledge. It is a trade which takes years to learn, and .an apprenticeship to it is just as neces- ; sary. as in any other calling in life. It •demands' capital, experience, common : sense, and hard work, and the person •who has failed in other walks of liio •(makes his greatest mistake when he takes |;on poultry farming as a last resource. Mr. Brown then went on to describe the details, in tho management of poultry on the farm. , In conclusion lie said that while tho utility poultry breeders have good reason ,to congratulate themselves on the perfection of the laying machine into which: rthey have converted certain races of do■mestic poultry, there is always a limit to a man's interference with nature. Evidence of this is manifest in the deterioration in. tho size of many of the. breeds as well as in the size, of eggs they lay. . At the close of his address Mr. Brown answered ninny questions. Before closing -the 191b' conference the chairman (Mr. Boddington) proposed- a. hearty vote of thanks to Mr.- Brown -and the Agricultural Department for the work they had accomplished during the past twelve months. :