THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 975, 16 November 1910, Page 10

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

; NEW. ZEALAND ASSOCIATION FORMED. CONFERENCE SITTING IN WELLINGTON. , j A number of poultry-breeders from various parts of tho Dominion met at tho Town Hall yesterday in response f , *0 an invitation, to discuss, among other 1 matters, a proposal that ail association of New Zealand, poultry-breeders ;. ■ should be formed. . The delegates present were:—Mes\rlames D. D. Hyde (Paraparaumu), Danicll (Wellington), Gaintrill (Wel- ' lington), and J. D. Martin-(Welling-' ■.. ton), Miss Frethey (Martinborough), Messrs. J. Hodgson (Cheviot), H. L. : Pearson (Canterbury)., E. 0. Reilly: i ' (Dunedin), J. Halliday (Christchurch), ; . j. B.: Merrett (Christchurch), J. W. ■ Brayshaw (Stratford), J. F. Redwood (Ormondrille), S. Brittain Bull (Auck-' land), W. Stretton (Feilding), W. 11. ' - Ross (Feilding), W. C. Marshall (Martinborough), 11. Borrow (Cheltenham), F. E. Gordon (Napier), L. Frethey (Martinborough), W. H. C. Glasson :■ . {Auckland). W. S. Scott (Onehunga), I). Inman Tod (Upper Hutt), N. HepWorth "(Wellington), W. S. Mumby <811-. .verstream), G. Finn (Wellington), N. ■Leger .(Levin), H. M. Baddington (Masterton), and T.'H. Rutherford (Masterton). : , ; Mr. F. Brown, State Expert, was prel, ' : -sent. "• Mr. .>E. 0. Reilly, of Dunedin, was Appointed'chairman. ' . Mr..'J. B. Merret't (Christchurch), the convener of the conference, stated that the object of the, gathering was to mispress the. Itaportanco of the poultry industry; on tho breeders, and to amalga- ;. mate for the purpose of marketing to the benefit of the. producers. . Messrs. Rutherford, ;W. Wright, and-the'speak- : er, had been the organising committee. "A Wildcat Scheme." ! : The'first question before the meeting was whether or not an association should be formed. . Mr. Inman Tod (Tipper Hutt) said that he did. not think half of those " present knew what it was proposed ,'. should be done. When he had read the ' proposals-in the "Poultry Journal" he had btien staggered. He declared that egg circles were no good' to tho big man; they were going to lower prices. The- breeders did not need assistance in the matter'of machinery; the Government rendered Wiat. The distribu- .. - tion of literature by-the association was not necessarythe the [ . .-. ;; newspapers provided that. And-who was going t-opay for all thoso suggested ■. . : .things ? This wonderful. association. '.'I reckon," lie continued, with great emi . phasis, "we are about tetf years, ahead f ~of our.time. I call this, tho prospectus ' . iof a wild-cat scheme. I movo that an .association shall not bo formed qn the [present lines, and that the matter shall Ibo postponed indefinitely." i" .'Mr. ;P. E.A. Gordon moved that an : , association, to be chlled "The New Zea- . land Utility Poultry Association," should - - be formed. - ■>. Mr. Brayshaw (Stratford) suggested i itliat tho narne should be; "The New iZealaiid -Poultry.A; Association.";' ;Mt. ■Gordon; acceptM ...the-suggestion; '' '■!; Mr.. :J. B. Merrett (Christchurch)' said that "he did not wish to see tho formed for his personal bene- . fit, but he. would like to see others . get thfeir due. had more money, ju-v vested ''in the indiistry than any other - delegate. " ■ Mr.-Tod: Question!. Mr. Merrett: Well, I lave a large Amount. ' Air. Tod: That's better! . : Mr. Merrett went. on to say that he toad £3000 invested. Poultrymeri who Javoured amalgamating were not "ten ijears before their time"; they needed • ito stop tho ' import'~-"of eggs at once, ■and expand their export industry right •away. Mr. Tod:-Now I know that thero are no preconceived ideas and that you merely want to form an association. I /; am - with you. But I will not say I: am going to bo a member till I hear ■IVJ]at your ideas are. - ■ The chairman thought that egg circles •would not, as Mr. Tod said, bringdown . the price of but increase the, 'price. .In Dunedin they were receiving more for stamped and guaranteed ;eggs> ,than, for other, eggs. • They. could'not; (get enough guaranteed eggs to supply! their customers. • ■ /. ' . Th'e motion to form an association,'to Ibe known as '.'The New Zealand Poul-. ttry Association,'-' was carried. The Officers., Her Excellency Lady Islington - was elected president. There are thirty' , .vice-presidents-, including the Minister "" for' Agriculture. The executive committee is:—Messrs. Hodgson (Cheviot) ■ Mumbv (Wellington'), Gordon (Napier), F|nn (Wellington),' Ross (Feilding , 0 Reilly (Dunedin), Bull (Auckland) Scott (Onehunga), Boddington (Mas■fctfrton), Rutherford (Masterto'n),' Bray-' filiaw (Taraiiaki), . [Marshall (Martinborough), H. Leger (Levin). Mr. J. B. Merrett was appointed' secretary and treasurer, and Mr. J. H. • Webb, of Christchurch, is to be the auditor. 'Other Business. In the • afternoon, the members wero welcomed by the Mayor, who said that lie was pleased to place at their disposal tho room vin < v kbh they were , ' meeting. • ■ Mr. Brayshaw (Stratford) moved . (that the committee should take a direction from, tho meeting and proceed ... with tho steps necessary to have tho association, registered under the Friendly Societies Act. Tlio proposal was . carried. ■ When schemes of operation wcre.imder .consideration, Mr. Qoddington (Masterton) suggested that tho execu- • tive should arrange a timo of meeting and draw out a programme of the aims and objects of the association and submit it to a later, meeting of the: associations. He subsequently • moved •to ithat effect. The motion was carried.

It is seldom he will find three really good animals of one type considered in relation to the whole entry. "The judgo knows that where so many factors enter into a problem it takes a diversity of type to maintain the breed. A bull may be of a very good kind' to breed heifers and quite unsuited to carrying on the male line. Without even going into the. matter so far as this ho will have to judgo between animals of a very strong type and those in which refinement has been carried so far that loss of size and robustness are evident. Take the Jersey cow at ouo end and an extrcino type of beef cow at the other and all' other cattle in between may bo said to represent those where a balance lias been struck between two extremes, whore there is no actual stable point that maintains a standard, but a fluctuating need to emphasise one side or the' other—refinement or scale, milk or beef, as the end'of all things bovine is the block. "Judges are of course elected by ringside, opinion, but they must not allow themselves to be bound by fallacious standards. They had better stay at home and- wait to be called out when the breeders, having overcomo the fanciers, insist on a truer standard for differentiating merit than to put a poor animal in the prize money just because it happens to be of the same kind as the first prize-winner though inferior to other animals of a different type in the class."