SWAM EGGS

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1930, Page 3

SWAM EGGS

KNOWLEDGE OF POACHING. . . POSITION OF PASTRYCOOKS. The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society authorities are av/are that hundreds of swan eggs are poached from Lake Ellesmere each year and find their way into Christchurch and elsewhere, but pastrycooks deny that they come to them, as was stated by Mr. K. Campion at a meeting of the council of the society. • An official of the society said that some years ago it was the policy to collect some of the eggs on the lake and sell them to the pastrycooks at about 4s. Gd. a dozen. It was held that a swan egg was equal to four or five hen eggs in .weight. Last year, however, the society collected no eggs off the lake. A representative of the trade said it was well known that some pastrycooks bought swan eggs from the society some years ago. For some goods they were very suitable, and it was good practice to use them. However, he had not seen any for two or three years, and the price of hen eggs in recent years made their use hardly worth while. It was also common knowledge that, some years ago, the hawking of swan eggs by unauthorised persons was practised, but the pastrycooks had turned them down, and so far as he knew this had ceased. Mr. S. G. Thomson, a well-known pastrycook, said it was not the practice of his firm to use duck eggs, let alone swan eggs. It was foolish to believe that the trade would trouble to db business in them with unauthorised persons; for one thing, it would not be worth while, for five months ago they could,-buy all the hen eggs they wanted at lOd. per dozen and put them in the freezer. Then egg pulp was so cheap. He did not know of any of the more important pastrycooks in Christchurch who used swan eggs now. He thought, that the eggs were more valuable for thei” albumen content, which product brought 2s. 9d. per lb. on the London market.