NEW ZEALAND FOWLS.

Evening Star, Issue 14628, 26 July 1911, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND FOWLS.

TABLE BIRDS AND WINTER LAYERS NEGLECTED. GOVERNMENT SCHEME CRITICISED. It is an undoubted fact, said a breeder to-day, that the poultry industry is tho roost "neglected of all the industries in New Zealand. Fanciers do not get the encouragement they deserve. ' They go to a lot of cxpeneo in bringing birds from the most valuable strains in the world—l mean from England, which is the first place in the earth for fowle and dogfi—and they then have to fight against difficulties. All through a mistake. The Government have been encouraging laying strains only, arcd in doing so they"have been going on wrong, lines. Tho Government, have established export depots in New Zealand, and tho laying strains they are encouraging cannot supply the depots with anything like enough to export. If we want to build up an export trade wo must get more fowls of the right sort. I mean table birds. The heavy breeds supply two wants : birds for the table and birds for exporting, and they also give eg:;s in winter. The socalled utility breeds, or laying strains, produce plenty of eggs in the summer, and, taking all the vear round, more eggs than the table bird; but the tabic bird is the one on which to rely for flesh at all tinier and eggs in the winter. England pays about ten millions a year for eggs that are brought into her coasts, principally from Russia. The reason for getting them from Russia is that the people- them are not yet educated up to ; 1 a high standard of living. As soon at; the j j Russians come up to the same scale of diet as is reached in England they will require for themselves all tho eggs that they can j produce. Meanwhile, Russian eggs are i given for English gold. The same tiling applies to New Zealand. We cannot produce eggs in sufficient qnan- j titles for our own consumption, and at the j present time the Dominion is importing : tiorn China dried yolks in 141b and 281b j tins for use by the pastrycooks. tins money outrht to'be kept here, and could be if the industry were properly encouraged. ! Tho fancier goes in for a thoroughbred i fowl. His object is to bring each breed 1 to the greate.-t pitch of perfection. All j the world over the same rule applies in rej gard to stock for food .supplies. The mau ; ! who wants to produce tho best muttoif" d.ies not put a pure-bred ram to a mongrel I ewe; he mates pure breeds and gets a- : good half-bred. So with fowls; to breed j good hdf-breds you must have ptue-breds I on each side, and then you get a rneaty I bird lit for export. The fancier studies ! ali this out- -he dreams about it—he spends i his money —and afte-. - he has use! his j brains and his purse in doing all he can j towards perfecting different breads lie finds ; that he is not supported. Remember, too, j that Hie fancier who aims at breeding ,\ ehampion will probably breed SCO fowi.s before he gets what ho wants, and the (surplus goes to the food supply. I could men- : tier, one man hero who recently bred 230 I it; the hope of getting six good show birds. , j Tho surplus always sell well. '• i Another practice that wants mending \r. , the way we toll. The rule so far is to sell !aL per pair, and this leads to light and j trashy birds going to tho market. It ; would be fairer ;i.r.d wiser to sell at per I lb. and let a breeder get value for value. ! ! (Je.neru.lly speaking, wo have been en- ; I cmrcigtug the breeding of tho white Leg- : hern lately, for it is the egg bird. As an I all-round breed the Wynndottes are run-,-popular. Orpingtons are also prized, also Plymouth Rocks,, and Lungshans are now coming into vogue again. All these me iirst-class table birds. " Our F<i.ncietM' Club do not wHi to en courage any good breed at the. expense of any othor good breed. If you look through i)n schedule of the show to be held in Siclev': Puddings next week you will see that. on. policy l-> rather to help the classes th.i. seem to he weakening in numbers. I e.\ pe't, therefore, to see a record in the niun ber of cages. The entries are 2CO me.jc than last year, for they have come ficiu Invercargill to Auckland, and we ha.ve arranged to have the judging done by outside men. The huiiuir.g ehosen is vety suitable, especially as to light. I may toll you. also, that the show of Persian cits will be quae out of tho < cni.mon. Mr .1. It. , llayne i.-. eoing to exhibit one, of the fiiit.it ' enpeetions of Persians in the woild. One "t these cat;- used to belong to Queen Alexandra, another i-. 1 the siro of the cat that wa.s champion in England last. year. .1 hese cats are ail 1o be shown in spec).:! cages on plush cushions. .Mr J. Kerr is also exhibiting some expensive Persians.