POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 50

POULTRY NOTES.

By Terror

— The second annual laying competition of the Hawkea-bury Agricultural College, Now fc-outh Wales, under the conduoiorship of Mr D. S. Thomson, Government poultry expert, started on April last, and the interest therein bids fair 'to be even greater than that, elicited last year. The excitement over the American competing pens is said to bo very great. These birds arrived in poor condition, but were laying on arrival, and have continued to date of report. For the 9th of April the total number of eggs laid wa« 1234, or an average of 18.3 ;>er pen, compared with 18.4 per pen laet year. Each pen is composed of six birds. So far white Wyandottes from W. B. Candee, America, and rose-combed brown Leghorns from Alts A. H. H&necl, America, top the poll, each pen scoring 103 eggs. Mr G. Howell's (Wentworthvilk) pen of silver Wyandottes, 96, comes next; W. K. Kay'n (America) white Wyandottes, 86, hold fourth place. Forty-two other pene are credited with scores of from 75 down to one egg for the month, and some, two dozen other entries have as yet not started laying. — Messis E. Hall and Son, Sussex street, Sydney, have the Australian rights of a new egg-preeerving process, invented by Messrs Evans and Co., of Shanghai and London. The prooe-ss, which conskte of a solution, in which the eggs are "pickled," i 3 the discovery of Dr D. Parr, an Australian chemist and bacteriologist, who has devoted the past 13 years to the study of egg-pressrving. Dr Parr k a member of the firm of Evans and Co., who have shipped millions of eggs from China to Australia, South Africa, England, America, and elsewhere during the last few years. All these egge were treated by the process, and itbe splendid condition in which they have arrived here in well known in the trade. Tho eggs keep quite as well as if placed in cold etorage, although those submitted to tho latter method have slightly the advantage in outward appearance. Against this, Dr Parr's process is incomparably cheaper, and eggs so treated can be (shipped anywhere as ordinary cargo. Dr Parr, who ie at present in Sydney, has made three tripe round the world during th© last 18 months, in connection with bis study of egg-preserving. In theee tours all the big centres of Europe and the United States were visited. He naturaily claims that it has been* left to an Australian to discover the beet method extant. What .will interest poultry keepers most is the object of Dr Parr's present visit to Sydney, which is to complete arrangements for a big export trade in eggs to England and Soutli Africa. He has ahead? demonstrated that this can be done with profit. At Messrs Hall and Son's stores, a laboratory and huge preisewimg plant have been fitted up. These have been in us© for the best part of a year, and eggrs are now being marketed in excellent condition that were put down last August. At present there are three preserving tanks, each with a capicity of 1,000,000 egg?. These were filled last spring, and it ie intended to largely increase tho storage accommodation at once. One thing that cenduoee to cheapness is that tho eggs are never handled. When taken from the cases they are placed on a testing and grading machine, the only one in Australia. The eggs are fed on an endless revolving table over a sheet of plate glass, under which are three 75 candle-power lights. By this means the operator can detect at a glance any egg that is cracked or the least degree bad. The machine is capable of putting through 150,000 eggs per day. From the tester the eggs are fed automatically on to the grader, which sorts them out on trays i» four different sizes. The eggs are then placed in the tanks of preservative by another ingenious machine. When required they are ladled out on to wire trays and rinsed in clear water, a trayful at a time. So satisfied aro Messrs Hall and Son with the process that they are determined to have these eggs sold on their merits, and every egg that gore out of the store is plainly stamped with the firm's trade mark and the words "dipped eggs." As to the export trade, Dr Parr says: — '"We caai pay up to 7^d per dozen for unlimited quantities in the cheap season, and successfully ship them to London." Speaking on the question of the importation of eggs from China, he remained confidently that tho 6d per dozen duty would not prevent them coming here. "In fact," he said, '"wo are determined to take 6iich large quantities of local eggs off the market in the •cheap season that Chinese eggs will b<* wanted here in the autumn and winter." — The South Island (New Zealand) Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary Afsccialion'e championships to be competed for at Timaru will be as follows : — Poultry : Leghorns, Wyandottes, Hamburg-, Minorcas, Orpingtons, game (modern), Langahans, and ducks ; pigeons: Owls, turbits, and oriental frills, long-faced tumblers, and fantails ; canaries : Norwich non-colour-fed and Norwich colourfed. Tho championships are of the value of £5 each, amd have to be won twice. —Mr J. Maud©, of Oakiey, .Melbourne, imported by the Moravian in March last 6ix fowls and 15 pigeonp. The fowls comprise a trio of Old English game, all muffed and white-legged ; cock, black-red ; one clay hen and one blue dun hen ; also a trio of blue dun muffed, yellow-legged Old Knglieh game bantams. The pigeous include 11 Tacobiais, white fantails, a fairy swallow hen, and white African owl cock. All the imported birds are of great merit, and winners at principal events in England. — A poultryman who is noted for success in producing vegetables states that he grows twioe as much on an acre as formerly. He keep* 100 fowls, and has two lots of ground, one being given up to the fowls while the other is used for a garden, the lots being about one acre and a-quarter each. The next yoar he turns fowls on the garden plot, and uses for a garden the plot that was vacated by the fowls. By thus giving up hk garden plot to poultry every

alternate year, he keens the soil very fertile. —Wo heard the other day of a poultry plant about to be abandoned, as such and all stock billed Q3 a result of an epidemic of roup last winter. Valuable fowls were put into a now house which was newly plastered just at the beginning of winter, and never had a ohauee to "dry out." About 150 birds died of various forms of roup; the remainder wore cured (?) anu used as breeders this s-e-a-xm. Recently roup has begun to ravage the young stock, and the proprietor is going to quit. The evident moral k>f the- story ought to be considered by everyono about to build. It dcos not pay to use a he-use that has not been at leact tolerably well dried out before winter. — Farm Poultry. — The Kentucky Poultry Journal says: — Ouo of ths best remedies we have ever iv=ed for colds is to give a one-gram quinine pilfl, a gcod cose of castor o : A, and grease the head with turpentine and lard. The sick bird should be kept in a dry place free from draughts, and in a day or two will be entirely well. — The New YoTk\lxporimen,t station Found that cockerels fed meat gained 56j> per cent, more weight aiwl jmllete laid eight weeks earlier than those \viW:ou-t meat, but otherwise on a similar ration. Meat-fed ducks were out of sight of those deprived of i-t. Again, the experiment wae tried with a move careful attention to a supply of mineral matter for those without me«t, and it -was found vegetable protein could largely take the place in case of chickens, but not with ducks. The ancient fi?h-ea.ting lhabits of the latter are still too near the surface. —To secure eggs in winter, when they aro more than double the- value of those- produced in summer, is the most important feature of utility poultry-kee.ping, and has been the subject of many inquiries during the past and previous winters, the majority of the breeders claiming for their stock youth, good health, generous food, but get none or but a. few e-ggs. Experience goes to prove that to secure winter egg® the usual cereal foods must be supplemented by a moderate quantity of m-es* in some- form. Several} of the American experimental stations have gone thoroughly in>lo the subject, one- test showing that of two pens of the same original! flock kept under equal conditions except in the food, those supplied with a balanced diet which included much meat laid in January, February, and March three times the number of eggp produced by the pen fed on grain. and vegetables. Other experiments show as largely in favour of the meat diet. — Professor J. Dryden, of {he Utah Experimental Station, in his report of the poultry industry, says: — "Our jxperiments jiav© shown that there is mere difference in individuals than in breeds, 6O far a-s egg production is concerned. We have found by keeping a record of each hen that there are deadheads in th© flock. There are robber he-ns — hens that would dio of starvation if they depended for their daily food upon the product of their own latoour. They make a pretence of labour. They scratch when their sirens scratch, they cat their own share, they arc as fat as any of the others, and no one has yet been ablo to pick out the winners at the beginning of the- race, or those that make it possible for the poultryman to have a iit-tle profit at tho end of the year in st>;lo of tho deadheads. By breeding from layers that have com© up to a certain standard, I believe it possible io increase, the egg yield from the averaga flock at least 50 per cent. Second, the- okl hen is not tho profitable hen. It has been demonstrated at the- experiment station that the hen in lier firit year of laying i.-* tho most profitable-. If a flock of hens aycrag&s 150 -eggs per hen the first year, it will average probably 100 eggs the second year, and 50 or 60 the third. There may bo a profit in keeping the- lions the second year, bn-t never the t'.iird. It is a mistaken notion that the old faithful hen is the profitable one.' 1 — The poultry kop.por vvLq makes egg production the principal source of profit from his fleck of i.ens must endeavour io increase tl>'> .'upply of eggs during the winter mont-hs by p'.a» supervision and strict attention to the diet of his stock. Sheltered runs and warm roosting houses will do their part towards increasing the egg supply. Unless these things are attended to we cannot exppct our heiw to be in proper condition for egg production. The cold weather has, cf course, a good deal to <.\o with the decrease of eggs during the winter month?. The body of the fowl requires more warmth to keep it in tho correct condition, and this oan be induced by the use of suitalvlo foods. Animal or meat food may be given to poultry more liberally during cold weather than in summer time, without producing any ill effects. This food will tend to produce extra warmth, aud contains the proper elements to induce egg production. Poultry enjoying unlimited liberty are ablo to obtain a fair supply of insects, worms, etc., during the spring and summer months, which answers the purpose of animal food. But these are not available to nuv extent in winter, and unless heading food is substituted . fowls are likely to lose condition. Meat should ahvavs be given in a cooked form, and it may be- boiled for two or three hourr. The water u>?od for cooking tho meat will contain a certain amount of meat prop-crtics, and it can be used with advantage in mixing the pollard or other m«d u.sed for soft food. (Jreen cut bone is also c-x<o!ler.t for poultry in winter. It supplies stimulating and heating elements, and will br> found a very suitable and serviesab-le adjunct 1.0 the poultry keeper's stock of food. ThA co-.i of this food is not high, pnd the bfttter plan i-s to purchase a bone cutter, go a.?, to provide a supply whenever it is required. The bencs may be purchased at a low rat-s from the local butcher, raid the whole cost will not amount to much, whilst the resiu't te aimost certain to be satisfactory. —On one or two occasion- reference lias bco.ii made to the large number of Enjrlitli titled ladiee who, within the past few year;, luivp. become prominent in the exhibition world, beginning with her Majesty Queen Alexandra, whose specially is bantams of various sorts. Lady Allington has also for many years been a regular winner at the principal shows. This lady's White Farm at Orichel (Wimborne) ie tho rubject of special article in a late iasue of the Lady** Realm, which gives splendid illustrations of the white poultry and pigeons en tho farm, these and every animal on tho place, including a mule, being pure white. The artic-lo pays: — "Turning round frcm tho dee-: pen one seer the prettiest sight im.^.gina'blt?. The attendant called out, and threw down a handful of grain, and from the sky and every imaginable quarter came hundreds of pure white pigeons, their wingo fluttering and their bodies poised, making quite a blot iv the blue sky above ; one would not have thought frhc-ro were so many white pigeons

in all England. All round will be seen innumerable white Leghorn poultry, beaut-i-firi'ly white in their plumage. Lady AJlington is extremely fond of poultry keeping and rearing, and lias won -many prizes at various shows ; but hhre r greatest reputation in this line has been with her wonderful 'bantams. Th?re is a large flock of white Sebastopol geeee, white turkey?, white geese, swans, sparrows, -magpies, parrots, pea and guinea fowl, snow-coloured jackdaws, and feathered albinos of eve-ry description. Everything on the farm is a pure white, there being no pretenders— even the donkey is spotless. Lady Allington is noted for her love cf animal© and birds, both she and the Lord of Criohel being extremely popular, braces of partridges and other game frequently gladdening the cottages of Wimborne. The White Farm is more than a novelty and a hobby, it and the park being open to all excursionists." — The fancy, like most other things, is d-e-veloping rapidly in South Africa. Fanciers are springing up all over the colony, and English poultry in largo numbers are arriving by every steamer. W. Cook lias established a large farm near Johannesburg, and it is stocked with "birds from his English establishment, while a company has been formed solely to import purebred fowls, pigeons, and dogs from England, -and dispose by auction on arrival. Particulars are to hand of the first s»l« of 70. fowls, many of them fetching three, four, aad fiv*e guineas each. Sir Gardener Williams, the manager of the De Beers Company, is the president of the Kintberley Poultry Ohib, and takes a deev> interest in aid sections of the feathered world. Several poultry societies have been formed during the past yeax, and' a few shows held, but largely of imported bircU, and to assist the fancy generally^ th«ro is now a. well-conducted sixpenny publication called the "United South African Poultry Journal." A late computation gives 2050 as the nunibor of prize- fcwls which have arrived at South African ports from London chming the past eight month.?, valued at £7000. SOUTH ISLAND POULTRY ASSOCIATION. A meet-ing of the South la'and Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary Association was held in the- Christchurch Poultry Club rooms. Mr A. B. Menzicß wa-s in the ehpir. The following societies were, represented : — Ohristehurch, Dunedin, Inveroargill, Timaru, Nelson, Greymouth, Taieri, Ash-burton, Blenheim, Hokiitika. The secretary reported that lie had been unable to arrange- show (tales for the Nelson Society. It waa resolved that they l>e requested to selec-t one of the following dates:— June 25, 26, and 27, July 3, 4, and 5, cr July 16. 17. and 18. Fulton's "Book of Pigeons," revised by the Roy. Lumley. lntest edition, was adopted as a standard for pigeons for the association. Mr Hampton's appeal against the Aehburton Society was upheld, and tho AshJburbon Society instructed' to award him tho trophy. It was resolved ■fcka-t all societies should instruct their judges to mark reserve birds for all trophies in future. A hearty" vote of thanks was passed to the Greymouih .Society in offering to forego their show date after their art union tickets had been printed and other matters arranged. A vote of thanks to the Chris^churoh Socic'ty for the use of their room closed the meeting. The next meeting of the association will be he-Id at Timaru diuhig the championship show.