POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 49

POULTRY NOTES.

Bt Terboe.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. Inqcibeb. — The coft food you give contains toa many fattening elements. To proportion it for egg-producing leave cut two of the three bulky foods mentioned — viz., potatoes, stvedea, and .sorre'. It you give potatoes, barley, and pollard inized dry, you will get eggs. Week aboct jou rai^ht give sorrel instead of potatoes The fwed-s you should cut in two. and leave one or two about the ground for the fowls to pick a.t when thsy wish. I have alway3 recommended feeding the soft food warm in the morning, though for the information of my readers, I have spoken of the alternative method. Having tried both systems I prcfei- the warm mornii>£f -fred-, and hard wheat or oa.t3 at night. The theory is that the birds need a fnll crop of hard feed when going to rcost, so that they may seep up the required temperature, parhcu'arly during the cod hours of early morning. Birds at liberty vrork hard jII day in order that they miv rotire with fall crops. The fact ti'iat the ground is a bit damp at times \\:'A rot matter, providing tlit-rc is dry ahcltvL «!\.a\= a'^^ltible if required.

Tn lnstins; ;ip I^'rrk Or].r-2t<"'i- fov thp brocdmg scasin, 't wii' he vr^l 1 to i. m. >ii-bc-c that *he sian'J.'crd re< : vi-^-. riosa featls^riag This- f'<v>s >:ot nT 1 tn th::t ()r;>ifisrto:.s aro to hv- tight feathc'-'J liko La;ig:-l)aii ,, Liv tli& ha.; ny mpfliini i.n = < b" -Uuck :.g !;e-tv\ec-n ti'o Lan-»s''jn aid t!i" ioosi" oi»en featlio-red bird* *o mm ii in pvic'r^tp at n cent shows. I quoted Air Rorkc. a rccos;ms»d authority in Melbourne, on this t»ubject, deprccatiug thiß fault, last week. Re-

ferring to the matter, "Hotspur," of ■ " 9 Leader, says: "We would like to see Mr Rocke 'whip up' the Buff Orpington breeders on tae question of 'type' in the buff variety. Where are the. deep, wide, well-rounded bodies «--g expect to see in the buff Orping' tons? Type is the foundation stone in any pure breed, and it is essential that buff Orpington breeders should wake up to thi» fact ere it is too late."

— A Tasmanian writer, referring to Me Rocke's contention, says: — "I agree with him that uniformity in the type is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately you can-not get two judges to agree on the subjsct. We have had several judges from your State judging *fc our- annual shows, and they differed so in their awards that breed-era are at a loss to know what is the correct type. It is .all very well to quote the standard, but then so many different standards are; set up by the judges. I admit that loose feathering is objectionable, but when you find birds with this fault sweeping the boards, what are breeders to tto?

— Thoso who keep a garden as well as a poultry run would perhaps do well to allow their birds a little more liberty -than they do. Whilst a. little watching would prevent mischief, their foraging would undoubtedly do much good, for birds are Nature's great check on the excess of insects, and keep the 1 balance betwesn plants and insect life. ~ Ten thousand caterpillars, it has been estimated, •could destroy ©very blade of grass on an aero of cultivated ground. In 30 days from the time it was hatched an ordinary caterpillar increases 10.000 times in bulk, and the food it lives and grows on is vegetable. The bird population in cultivated country districts has been, estimated from 700 to 1000 per eqaaxe mile. This is small compared with, the number oi insects, yet at each bird consumes some hundreds of insects every day, the latter are prevented from becoming the scourge they would be but for their feathered enemies. — The export of eggs from Batoum for tho United Kingdom and Germany iff steadily increasing, the quantity exported since October last having been 14,572,000 eggs in all, which fetched an average price of £1 14s per thousand. This official statement commends itself to the consideration of those who are concerned in poultry-farm-ing schemes. If eggs can be produced on th-a shores of the Black Sea and sold in millions in England at the rate of less than 3s 5d per hundred, there can. be but small inducement for the expenditure of thousands of pounds for the furtherance of what i» termed poultry organisation. — London Field. —Mr Warnngton, an English chemist oi note, tells us that the. white of an egg is rich in alkalies, potash, and soda, a part of the latter being present as common salt; that- the yolk is extraordinarily rich in phosphoric acid, and contains much more lima than the white-. The fundamental principles to be borne in mind, continues Mr Warrington, in arranging the diet of a hen are that the largest ingredients in eggs ace lim*, nitrogen, and phosphoric- acid. We are thus informed by one chemist of what- the egg is composed, whilst from another source- it has been ascertained that green bones, cut; up, are the best and cheapest egg-making material extant. The bones, when cut ujy fresh, contain a large proportion, of albumen, phosphate of lime, and* phosphor io acid, all of which go towards the formation of eggs. The result has been a marked improvement in egg production, especially during the winter months. —Mr Peterson, who advertises Orpington egg 3, is known as a successful breeder of birds of the finest show quality, ar.d his name haa been most prominent as a winner at several South Island shows this season.

— Mr George Aitcheson is advertising Andalusian, white Wyandotte. and Pekin ducks' eggs. As Mr Aitche3on infers, hia AndaJusians are of exceptional quality. The record he give* of his Wyandotto wins at the Lite Dunedm show gpeaks for itself. — The claim of the hen to b© regarded as ?m exemplary housewife was fully &ns> fcained by the aged fowl vecently sold and killed at Leed*. When it came to ha. "dressed," four bills for goods 'bought at Belfast in 169* were found in its stomach, fastened together by a pin. There is no statement as to whether the bills were re» ceipted, but that is a mer© matter of detail which does not detract from the merit of this fowl story, which surpasses the toa familiar fish tale. Some months ago a man secured a smalt tract of land in America and stocked the place with a few dozen, chickens. As he was compelled to be away from home during the day, he studied out a scheme for caring for bis chickens during: his absence. In each yard h» erected troughs to hold food for the bens, arid these troughs he connected by wire with hia house. Within the houae the wire was connected with an alarm . clock, with the usual battery attachment. When he leaves home in the morning he sets tne alarm clock aft the hour for feeding the chickens, and *y an ingenious arrangement, when the proper* time a-rrives, the s«larm go** off, the connecting wire releases "the troughs, and the chickans make a rush far their feed, which is spread before them as if the man did the job in person. __^_^___^