POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

Otago Witness, Issue 2398, 15 February 1900, Page 43

POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

-r— The report of my trip north will be reeumed next week. — Cleanliness in fowlhouses is essential to the general health of poultry. At. this season of the year especially the necessity of this rule is imperative. —If lice obtain a hold in the hen roost -the birds will neither thrive nor lay well. The removal of these vermin in better for the fowls than an extra meal a day. — Spraying the roosts with kerosene is an excellent way to kill lice. It is easier to u«e than limewash, and is quite as effective. — The value of gresn food during the summer months cannot be over-estimated, and poultry keepers should endeavour to have a regular supply for their stock. — A small plot of lucerne is one of the best methods for a regular supply of green food. The lucerne can be put through a chaffcutter "before being given to the fowls. With plenty of water available lucerne may be cut several times during the season, and the shoots are then soft and specially adapted for poultry. — The supply of eggs is, affected just as much by over-feeding your hens as it is by starving them. A healthful condition is essential to the full egg basket, and a happj' medium Is the proper condition for a laying hen. — Towards the end of " October tho Victorian Agricultural Department exported for • two firms in Zvlelbonrne 34,4-OOdoz eggs in the It.M.S. Himalaya, to London. They were gathered here in the season of plenty, and reached England shortly before Christmas, when eggs were scarce. Mr J. M. Sinclair, representative in London of the department, reports that tlie consignment, which was ] packed in 1701 boxes— the largest shipment which ever left Victoria — arrived in good condition, having been carried at a temperature of about 36dee. Most of the eggs were packed in pea husks,- but as sufficient of that packing material Gould "not be obtained at the time, a number of the boxes were filled with oat husks. Although all the eggs on reaching London had a fre3h appearance, those packed in the oat husks were found <±o have a peculiar flavour, which was attributed to the packing material, the eggs in the pea husks being all that could bo desired. It is stated by the department that the eggs realised 9s and 10s per "great hundred," or practically Is per dozen. They were purchased here at about 6d per dozen, to which, is to be added 3d for packing, freezing, freight , etc., so that there was a fair margin of profit. Next season, if there is any likelihood of etjgs being plentiful and shipments being made, care will be taken to provide a sufficient quantity of pea. husks for packing. The experience gained with this consignment will be serviceable to the department, in view of any future shipments. — Australasian. Mr L. Irvine, of South Dunedin, received by the lonic a quadreno of black Minorcas frqm one of the best j^ards in the "West of England. They come with a very high reputation as prize-winners, and have arrived in splendid condition.

EGGS CONSIDERED AS FOOD

The egg of a bird, says Le Poussin, contains in a small volume » larger quantity of nutritive substance than moat other articles of food, which, considering its abundance, the ease with which it is preserved, and the advantage it claims to be inaccessible to fraud, makes it one of the most precious resources for -alimentary purposes.

The egg of a hen, by its digestibility, its delicacy, and its eminently restoring properties, is the egg par excellence. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, has extolled its praises. Hens' eggs were in great veneration with the ancients. The Rpmans exhibited them were great reverence in their festivals of Cores. The Greeks equally honoured, them. The Japanese are very fond of egefs. They eat them at dessert like fruit and very often with oranges. The rich Japanese are very particular concerning them ; they will not eat those of fowls which have fulUiberly and feed on what they pick up ; they must be fed on rice, and they must lay their eggs in rooms prepared for that purpose. With us, "eggs of fowls fed on barley and other grain are most esteemed, and numbers of people find those of fowls fed on worms and insects detestable.

Next to fowls', pheasants' eggs are considered the best. The Romans thought a great deal about peahens' eggs, which were sold in Rome at about 4d apiece. They are certainly very delicate, as also are plovers' eggs. Make a. dish of '"ceufs brouilles " (jumbled egg ) or an " omelette " with them, and the epicure would show very bad taste if ho did not find them exquisite.

The turkey and guinea fowls' eggs are also very delicate, and are the nearest approach to liens' eggs. As to tho&e of the goose and duck, they are far from being so delicate. They are strong and indigestible, but the larger volume of yolk in them makes them eought after by confectioners. finally, the giant eggs of the ostrich, which are each equal to about three dozen of ordinary hens' eggs, do not deserve the eulogy given to them by certain travellers, ivho, when they wrote about them, were in all probability hard pressed by hunger. The substance of the egg is without consistence — so much so that if an omelette is made with ifc, it would fall to pieces. Under these circumstances, the natives and colonists only employ them for ordinary purposes. — " Live Slock Journal."

A son of Mr Angus Macdonald, of Gore, is at present serving with the Royal Horse Artillery, which is just now occupied " hammering