THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1144, 3 June 1911, Page 14

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

(ByChantecler.) '118116'

A DISTURBER OF THE PEA.CEj

To say that one man's pleasure is another man's banc is to utter the veriest commonplace, but the truth is sometimes illustrated in a curious and amusing way. A London paper records a case of a London suburban dweller being prosecuted for keeping poultry that were too noisy in tho early morning. One •neighbour complained that the crowing of defendant's birds awakened his family at halfpast five, another neighbour put the time of the reveille at three, and a third said that the noise aroused her children and made them cry. Defendant was told by the Bench that he must get rid of his birds, or be fined. Yet the same batch of papers contains particulars of a cock-crowing competition that is to bo hold this summer at Dunmow, the old Essex town famous for its flitch of bacon. Tho birds are to be arranged in rows facing each other, with a judge in front of each bird, and the winner will be the bird that does the most crowing in half an hour. • A foreign prize crower has been known to "give tongue" 250 times in that time. There aro to bo prizes for deeptoned crowers like Orpingtons, and shrill erowers like Leghorns, and a championship for the longest crow of all. It reads like a bit of mild insanity, but it seems there is method in the madness. Young cockerels.that crow' the most aro said to develop into the most vigorous birds, and tho idea in the competition is to find out which are the strongest youngsters. This, however, is not tho onlv object. "Sport" also enters into tho motives of the promoters. There is to be "good fun without tho slightest cruelty to tho birds." Dunmow is now busy coaching chickens to crow long,' loudly, and often. The chief organiser admits that cock-crowing, fully developed, will not add to the charm of rural places selected for a quiet weekend by people'with shaken nerves, but apparently he does not realise the heinousness of his offence in encouragiii" these nocturnal disturbers to make night still more hideous. So far from cockcrowing competitions being desirable what is wantetl is a bird that could not crow if it wanted to.

SECOND DUCK EGG-LAYING COMPETITION.

(ALL INDIAN -RUNNERS.) Official report for Hio eighth week ending -May 21:— Last Total Week's to Total. Date. Heretnunga Poultry Co. (Silverstream) 30 221 W. Knight (Hutt) 25 21+ I'. J. Keller (Eolleston) 32 153 A. R. Browne (Greenrueadows) 20 142 T. Dowthwaito (Avondale) 2K 131 T. R. Hall (Wercroa) 32 119 8. H. Scott (Onehunga) 16 73 W. Knight (Hutt) 3 3t T. Strong (Doyleston) 7 27 W. Hodgson (Cheviot) 1 22 C. Hammond (Ruakura) 7 21 S. H. Scott (Onehunga) 0 d B. A. O'Brien (Waihi) :.. 0 0 !F. Webb (Levin) 0 0 Totals 208 1,157 Notes of Interest. The writer has received several acknowledgments for tho articles on tireless brooders which appeared last week. In this issue is published an illustrated article by Mr. C. Davis, of Napier. It will bo valuable to those making a study of the subject. At Christchuroh, the Gordon Hall's Club has formed a poultry club of their own. Tho boys take a special interest in poultry, and have arranged lectures to be given in the Gordon Hall during the winter.