POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 17 April 1901, Page 48

POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

—Mr T. F. Leihy, Government poultry grader at the Dunedin depot, has supplied the following particulars in respect to his first full month's business: — Received from consignors 800 head, accepted and put through 520, the balance, 280, being rejects. The majority ot the birds passed on to the cool stores were ducklings and chickens, but a fair proportion of boiliitg fowls and old duqks were also handled. The grader insists upon consignors exercising more euro in the selection of their birds, the percentage of rejects being much too high. He also complains of the awkwardness amf dirtiness of many of the crates in which birds are sent. *' Any old box wired across the top is neither suitable nor economical. What is wanted is a perfectly clean crate made of light battens top and &ide«, and boarded close on the floor only. One sliding batten admits of rasy handling of the birds, and a little straw on the floor ensures comfort for the birds, and, holding the droppings, facilitates cleanliness. Mr Leihy is procuring fhe exact measurements of the crate now used >n Victoria — The Gore fanciers have decided to form a club, and are already applying to the South Island Poultry Association and the New Zealand Kennel Club foi affiliation. Messrs Anderson and Pope have been appointed secretaries for the fiist year. —It is a common = aying that the market is never overstocked with the best, and this is probably coirect. Whene\cr the market is overstocked it begins at the poorest quality to reject. If the market does not reject tho low quality, it at once reduces the price to a point below cost of production and marketing. Therefore the only people that stand a chanc3 of making money are those that send to market good products in good shape. In a way markets are always overstocked, except in times of special scai city. But the market is never overstocked with cho.ee fowls. Gieat loss to the producers ie<ults from the manner in which fowls are dressed and shipped to market. One man says thau the quantity of fowh daily dressed and sent to market 111 an unsaleable way is enormou'. — Fancier. — It is well known that fresh bone?, either from the table or from the butcher, are ■valuable Tood for poultry. The older writers maintained that they were apt to mature young birds too quickly, and "set them beiore they had time to attain their pioper eize ; and they lecommended dried and steamed bone.3 instead. This opinion has, however, entirely died out in America ot late years. Theie are some of the glow, methodical =ehool in England who still support tho old theory, but it is generally acknowledged that there is no better way of giving meat and bone than by tre^lilycrushed gieen bone^. Both in Amniia and England, and also in many of the principal pouitiy fauns in Sydney and Melbourne, is to be found a gieen bonecutter, which is rapidly incroa^ing in popi'larity. The original invented machine (Mann's) has proved durable, and oveiy improvement that experience could suggest, as regards the cutting capacity and strength of the machine, has been adopted. These bonecutters are di^ap, eomparathely speaking, and when oiice uped" the farmer or fancier will ne\er be without one. It slices the bones and gristle up so finely that it resembles in appearance some kind of chopped meat, and eveiy pait'clo is eagerly de\ouicd with a reh«h. The machines aie strong, and the cuttcis may be removed and ground at any time. From 151b to 251b an hour can be sliced by handpower. Fresh bones will inciease the ■ugour and egQ production of tho whole flock, and feeding them docs away with the propcn-ity to egg and feather eating.