POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2513, 14 May 1902, Page 49

POULTRY NOTES.

Bt Terrob.

ANSWER IO CORRESPONDENT.. Inqtjibeb.— For St. Jakes, or Golden Spangled Polish, " Inquirer " should apply to Mr Peter Aitken, of the Royal Arcade, Dunedin. Mr Bills thinks that the loss of quill feathers, in the way described, is due to feeding upon sop-bread, moistened in hot water and sweetened. Stopping the sweetening possibly only results in the bird getting sour sops of stalo bread. To improve the condition, and consequently stop the falling of quill, feed upon bread soaked in cold water I instead of hot, but soaked biscuits would do better. — The Dunedin Fanciers' Club's schedule for their next show is now being circulated, j and as usual ia noticeably superior to any j other New Zealand production of the same j order. No other fanciers' schedule in the < colony — most of them are merely posters. — is so explicit in the matter of information about the different classes. Now features are the export and incubator classes, and J there are slight alterations, chiefly by way j of additional classes in each section. , — The leading Langshan man this season in or about Dunedin is, so far as I have seen, Mr Henderson, of St. Kilda. He , has bred from Mr Roge-n's winning cock bird at last Dunedin show, and which he j bought at a tall figure, and has. us a result, some magnificent birds. Three ' cockerels (August birds) are particularly fine — quite up to the Bvansdale standard. They are now fully developed, barring, perhaps, a little extra weight, but if one of the trio improves iv this direction, and his frame suggests the possibility, ho will be a boomer. A younger flock of 12 -Jc^oher , birds, also of the pterner sex, ir full of • promise. Among the pullets Mr Henderson has also some to be proud of, bi.t his ', finest birds in this pen are two recently imported from Percy, of Yorkshier. The larger of these in now clucking, but the other, a portrait of which will appear in the Witness shortly, is a real dandy. Rer tightness of feather belies her weig.it, which is Gomething surprising to handle, and her eyes, carriage, and symmetry are al' that could be desired. Mr Henuerßon ha* bred Langshans fci mai'y years, though he has not shoivn recently. He bred the bird that Mr Bennet got first with as jj.yliet the year before kvsz, aud witli

which Mr Sharman, of KaiUngata. got £n\ in hens last year. The laet time !te showed in his own name he got tho prixe for most points iv Langshans. The cockerels of whioh 1 have spoken us bred from Mr Sogen's winning cock are from a hen thai got second the year before last in a class of 14- or 15, the first-prize bird at the time being of exceptional quality, as shown by the fact that she subsequently got first in Melbourne as a hen, and first for beet Jbh-d in the show. — Two other fanciers who have come tinder my notice of late, both of whom I imagine will be more prominent in tha future, are Mr-J.. Curie, of Lookout Point and Mr P. Carolin, of Mornington. The first-mentioned is. no new fancier, ,1 believe, though, a new discovery to me-. . I am' told (I have not yet met him personally.}. ,±hat he has in his time beeu.a successful bowman, and is an authority upon the breed-lie favours — viz., the Langshan. •On - a vi&fc of inspection I found a very fair show of birds, but nothing to frighten the presentday fancy. What struck me forcibly .was that Mr Curie should infuse a litti© fresh blood into his yards, so that the birds may compare with . their surroundings, A finer, site for the poultry farm or « more suitable range does not -exist around "Dunedin. ■_- > . — With regard to Mr darolin, who fa- 1 yours Minorcas and keeps about 40 c-f th«" breed, I fancy (and I hope) that I see In I»tel; an enthusiast- of the- near' future. -B& birds are well and handsomely housed oncK 'run, and hare every comfort that a trtie" sportsmanlike instinct can suggest. - So" far his stock is not quite np to *how quality — with the exception of one very fine cook", bird — but there is every guarantee Ant " stock and fixtures will coincide in crery respect next season, for I feel sure tiMiC Mr Carolin will not rest till he has vix&t which will stand criticism. Indeed, if they do not exel I shall be surprised. — When poultry-keeper* adhere to a rigid system of controlled nesting and dairy collection and marking . of eggs (writes ' the Agricultural Gazette), there is liSfcle or -no trouble about bad or stale eggs. But where dealers and shippers have to 'handle eggs from all quarters, a method oi testing, for freshness is indispensable. There are various ways of doing this, the holding of the egg to a. light being perhaps the most favoured. In Saxony a large poultry-breeders' association has had under consideration what is claimed to be a new method of determining the age of eggs, and have been so satisfied with it that they have awarded' the inventor a special medal. The apparatus is based on the physiological property that the air-bubble at the blunt end of the egg increases in size with the growth of the embryo. When the egg is placed in liquid it has consequently an increasing tendency to become vertical, with the blunt end uppermost. The apparatus itself consists of a glass vessel, bearing at. the back lines ; drawn at various angles, each line beinja' marked with the -age. Ttie vessel is filled?, with some harmless liquid, in which the> ! eggs to be tasted are laid. Each ess "i*"- 1 * take up a Certain position, and, nr- -' to its age, its- longer axis will Jbc less inclined to the horizon. The ducu'*.- - of this axis is' "-compared 'with the- lines ac the back of the vessel, and the 'age of. ihe» egg read off at the Jine" to whioh its axis' is uaraHel. A new-laid egg lies horizon-, tally at the bottom of the* vessel. ; An, egg three to five days old raises itself from tho horizontal so that its axis makes an angle of about 20deg. At eight days old this angle has increased to about 45deg; at I*days it is 60deg; at about three weeks it is 75deg; and after four weeks it stands upright on the pointed end. A bad egg; floats. With practice it is stated that the age can be told to a day. — Turkeys in the Bald Hill Flat district are affected with a strange disease, which shows itself in a tumorous swelling on the head} and a general debility and wasting away of the birds. A young turkey so affected was (says the Tuapeka Times) sent down to Lairrence at the beginning of the week for examination by Mr Wilkie, Government veterinary surgeon, who opened the head of the bird and set free a large quantity o£ matter of a very offensive nature. This contained a large number of microbes, which were taken away by Mr Wilkie for purposes of culture, with the view of investigating the nature of the disease and learning the treatment required for the cure or prevention of it. — The Westport Poultry Club have decided to affiliate with the South Island Association. — The Garden and Field states that in Sydney during the past egg season the coolstorage syatam has been tried by^ the Go-, vernment to test the efficacy of. this system, which, has turned out an unqualified success. The eggs from these storoK are sold as fresh eggs, which they really are, seeing that no real change has taken place, since all life has been arrested during the frozen state. Eggs are selling in Sydney at Is 6d per dozen, which would give a good profit ovei< I the plentiful season prices. The premises Tised J>y the New South Wales Government were those built for the frozen meat trade, which had been, let, but resumed for tha i purpose of the "egg test." ! — It is generally recognised that gal-vanised-iron drinking vessels are unhealthy for birds, especially when certain medicine* are used in the water. Tin vessels are not so detrimental, but the drawback ia that they wear through quickly. One of the best receptaoles is the earthenware bowl, which should be of hardened material and well glazed. If it is left porons the slime will get secreted in the little celUr, and form a menace to ' the birds. The earthenware keeps cool longer in the "hot weather, and, being rounded, is easier to wash out and keep clean than where square corners are present. The kerosene • tin also serves the purpose well if cut in two lengthways. It needa to be kept well scrubbed to prevent the green slime from setting and accumulating on the surface. Should the vessel become dirty, and a bad odour prevail, a. little carbonate of soda and hot water will soon remove this offence. A more simple and perhaps equally effective plan is to pour in hot water, then place in some coals from the fire, and «tir about well and rinse out. In fact, a coal direct from the fire put Into and left in the drinking water will do no harm to the fowls.-