POULTRY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6411, 7 January 1908, Page 3

POULTRY.

WIT AT FAN*: II IPS HAVE DOME FOR Till: BREEDS. T l l f ( i nf rif-n for Iho Grand I niern.-i----fioiial Poultry Show a! the CrvGal I’abn-o in H’O; w,-n- 000 in advance of 1 Fo-o of FifiG, :>r more ilutu HUGO in r-,11. If U u sijrnriring fad that Urn Wyandotte. quite' a modern introduction iido tin* English poultry yard, is rcnrc-eiui'd hv twice the number of birds competing in any oilier Hass the Orpingtons excepted. lake the Leghorn and the Orpington, it- is shewn in many subv;i riel if.--. That it is a useful fowl can scarcely be denied, laying a large number of eggs of over average size and crossing well for table purposes. Yd, after nil, the preservation of purity of breed is not precisely what is needed. Economy in poultry means produeiion and preservation of those finalities which are of economical value. In poultry exhibitiouf; like the Internalioiml—umf me same may justly bo said of hundreds of others in tin* country—form and leather colour and other fancy points are all predominant, economy' being ignored altogether. In the past thirty years there have born many introductions. Omit-' ling these the numbers would indeed bo small. Since that time the new varieties which have boon introduced or manufactured have been the Leghorn, the Orpington, the Lnngshans, the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandott.es, tlio rosc-comb Miuorcas. Old English Game, Campincs, Sussex fowls, Faverolles, Indian runner ducks, and many of the modern bantams, and yet there are some of the more ancient breeds of poultry, at one time supported by large numbers of breeders, which find no’ place in the present programme. These include the Polish, the Spanish, and the Sultans, while the Old English Game, which is represented by' a short-logged largerbodied fowl with fuller tail, far exceeds in number the modern game, which for so ninny years were bred and sold at fever heat, a single specimen not infre- ; quonily realising £IOO. Modern game,, however, have reached their tether. The promoters of the variety set out to pro- , duce birds with long shaky heads, limbs of enormous length, and fine whip tails with shortness and brilliancy of feather, whereas the Old English Game is in many points exactly the reverse. THE OLDER BRITISH BREEDS.

Of the older British breeds exhibited, the Dorkings aro as fine as one can remember them, with massive bodies, good logs, and feet. Tho Brahmas, which reached England from the East nearly fifty years ago, have not improved in size or form, and yet the pencilling, so perfect and artistic on the hens of tho darker breed, has decidedly improved. The Cochin classes are neither so large nor so numerous as in some former years, but no class in tho show can compare with tho wince variety, some? specimens of which aro absolutely per-i feet. The Langshan, imported fronr China some thirty years ago by Major 1 Croad, are, unhappily, divided into two sections, the smaller being named theCroad Langshans owing to a split among tho fanciers of the breed, some prefer-! ring short and others long legged birds. All are, however, of useful table typp Among the Orpingtons, which originated; from the buff-coloured fowls of Lincolnshire, there are now several varieties inj colour, but I fail to observe a.ny marked, improvement in either group. In one case a hen, in addition to the first prize! in her class, wins two challenge cups" an 1 two special prizes, and yet the intrinsic value of the bird would not throe shillings. Such is the craze f fancy points which an outsider would find it difficult to discover. Tho Le« horns which arrived from America some thirty years ago are but improved Italian fowls, quite common in Italy and other parts of Southern Europe at the present time, and are famous as go* layers. The blue Andalusians, whic 1 have long been favourites in this country but which havo not been perfected by tho breeders, are few in number, while their first cousins the Minorcas nr* laiger in size than formerly, wild coarser ears and combs which no longer l stand orect. This breed, formerly a premier layer, has lost its economic pro- 1 perties owing to the action of ~tho modern fancier in striving to take prizes. The Plymouth Rocks, a. large and noble breed of American manufacture, numbered 277 lots. They have lost much of their table and egg-loying properties, but from tho point of view of beauty they are much to be admired., Tho size is larger, tho colour, more! perfect, and the delicate grey pencilling much more definite than in earlier years. Tho Wyandotte?, which have found their way so generally into the farmyards of tho country, were sent us from the United States some twenty years ago in two colours, the silver ancl golden laced. To-day, however, we have in addition the white, the partridge, the pencilled,, the black,, the blue-laced, and the Columbian. So long as this lorm of breeding' is continued it would seem impossible to' maintain the productive properties! which made the breed so famous. Newly manufactured breeds are the result of crossing two or more varieties, and, as is well known in breeding stock of more important types, crossing supplies stamina, precocity, and prolificacy, all .of which are gradually lost as breeders strive for points of feather, .SOME BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. Tho Columbian Wyandottes, now added to the number, resembles in feather the light Brahma of old times, although their combs are single and their feet devoid of feathers. ane Hamburg?, more famous in Lancashire and Yorkshire than elsewhere, if few in number aro more perfect than I remember to, have seen them, and if beauty alone, is sought in poultry there is nothing that can compare with this collection.’ The useful Ancona breed, long known in Cornwall, came suddenly to the front a few years ago, and they too are now. bred to feather. The Campine class is far more attractive than in its native land, and hero, if beauty is admissible the birds Improved by English breeders arc both, larger and more picturesque than tlm Belgian native breed. The Sussex birds, another recent introduction, are only on tho way to a standard type, while, rusty red in colour and provided with white feet, they have no form of beauty to recommend them. But while useful on the farm, if bred to an exhibition standard that usefulness will soon bo lost. TToudans havo made no improvement, while their fellow-countrv-meu, tho Faverolles, are larger than tbr-y were, and still useful for the table. But time alone is needed tv *uoll their good qualities. These birds are bearded and whiskered, with white and feathered teet. Little may bo said of the Indian Game, except that thev aro as beau ifnl as over; the black Sumatra?. ,Aseels, Yokohama?, Malays, and Selkies all have their admirers, but with one exception the Indian Game, none have any special use excepting in the fnpc.v ejo3. I may equally dismiss the Ha-, tams, although collectively the number; on exhibition are ■ very large. T breeder’s skill has brought down Filmed ■ to bantn,n size in imKnHon of the Chinese, who did the same some centuries ago. Here indeed ire see what can be done by skill and Perseverance Among the water fowl and turkevs ,i-o many specimens of size and beautv h-'-I must protest against the still prevailin K system of fattening ducks to weight, so large that they are useless for any purpose but that of takimr prize-' Among the most useful poultry in fh.v * bow *l° thirty pens exhibited hr the Yt>lity Society to display the met mutable type of fowl for fable n™ James Long in “Manchester Guardian ”