THE Waikato Independent. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1907.

Waikato Independent, Volume VI, Issue 385, 15 June 1907, Page 4

THE Waikato Independent. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1907.

The initiation of the North Island Egg-laying Competition in Cambridge will doubtless give a great impetus to the poultry industry in this and the surrounding district, and we may confidently expect that many hundreds of birds will be bred this season in view of next year's laying competition. We are informed on good authority that several of our Waikato breeders have already imported layingstock from some of the best strains in the Australian colonies, and that shortly eggs from these importations will be available to those who wish to move with the times in poultry raising. It is a matter of congratulation that the present trend of development in the poultry industry is •in the direction of utility. Up to four or five years ago nearly all the interest centred in what is commonly known as " The Fancy " ; that is birds were bred almost exclusively for the show pens regardless of other and more valuable points. Now, while wo freely admit that poultry shows have done much to raise the quality o* the average stock of the colony, we repeat it is a matter for congratulation that public opinion now demands productiveness first and show points as an accessory if they can be obtained. This matter of productiveness in poultry is occupying the attention of some of the keenest and most thoughtful men in America and Australasia, and it has been demonstrated, beyond the shadow of doubt, that by careful selection of strains and individuals, flocks of hens and ducks can be got together which will produce at least twice as many eggs in a season as were formerly 'obtained from the same number of birds. As an illustration of our point, a gentleman who has a fairly largo poultry farm at Avondale informed us that he had gone into egg-production, some six or seven years ago as a business, but for the first three years his flock did not produce enough to pay the working expenses of the farm ; that by careful selection, trap-nesting and mating and by importing only males from the best laying strains obtainable, his birds are now bringing him in a handsome income, after paying all labor .and working expenses. This gentleman does not disclose his methods of working, except to say that he does not rear any cockerels; these are all destroyed as soon as the sex can be detected, pullets only being matured. What is being done in the instance quoted can be done by others; ife is all a matter of brains and ' stick-to-iteveness " in order to succeed. The pessimists fear overproduction for bur markets, but it is a well-known fact that in America, where egg and poultry production takes first place in the output of the States, the supply created the demand, and although the production has increased at an enormous rate the markets have never failed. With regard to the egg-laying competitions now being carried on in different parts of the colony, there is no doubt what-

ever that they are doing a great deal to increase the average egg production, and this will be increasingly so as the superior stock imported by enterprising poultry men filters into the yards of the colony. With a view to doing our modest part in promoting this increasingly important industry, we propose to publish from time to time some particulars regarding high-class poultry that has been imported into the Waikato ; especially with the idea of raising our standard of productions. By this means it is our hope to bring the owners of good stock and our readers into touch with one another. We are also making arrangements, in this connection, for publishing a few hints as to the best and most up-to-date methods to be adopted to secure the best laying results. Our first notice on the subject will appear next Saturday.