THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1210, 19 August 1911, Page 15

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

I* (By Cliantecler.) '■' '?

England's Demand. The Chrislehureh "Press" of Wednesday last lias the follouini; paragraph:— By the English mail yesterday Mr. J. B. Merretj; received n communication from Mr. E: Hrown, secretary of the National Poultry Organisation of England, in which he says: "If what yoii say as to the possibilities of greater poultry production in New Ze.ilnml and Australia is correct, why is not more done!' Prices nover were so good, as they are now, and [ toll you frankly wn do not. want them higher. They ought to ha abundantly profitable. Our colonics and British possessions make a very poor show in this business. The Empire semis us only one-thou.viiidtli per cent, of our extraneous supply of eggs, and 0.7 per cent, of poultry. London consumes more eggs every eight hours than all (ho colonies send in a whole year. We want millions where you send units." .Air. Brawn also informs Mr. Merrott fhat he hopes to hold a World's Poultry Congress in England at an early date, and will request New Zealand to be represented. Promise of Export Trade. Whatever may be the opinion of poultrymen, it is evident the export trade must, sooner or later, arouse attention. Already eggs arc down to tenpenee a dozen at Napier, and that market is becoming glutted. «Vs soon as the big producers have finished incubating there will bo a largo supply for the market. One hopes that the prices will not drop below those of last year. Should they do so, poultrymen will need to combine with a view to finding an outside market. Private enterprise has done some experimenting, and the Government Agricultural Department has sent trial shipments of poultry with encouraging results. One firm has already received an offer for 17,000 dozen eggs for shipment to London, but has not accepted owing to tho uncertainty of supplies. The export trade will require egp-j of tho highest possible grade, and, ■ unless the best quality is sent, the experiments will end in failure. The World's Poultry Congress. A world's poultry congress would be an educational event. Strangely enough, the suggestion came from the "New Zealand I'otiltry Journal." Mr. Campbell, secretary of the American Poultry Association, promptly expressed his approval, and. desires it to be held in America, while Mr. Brown is devoting his attention to the holding of it in England or Prance. The Vancouver Test. Tt is to bo regretted that Mr. Browne of Napier, has had to withdraw his pen from competing at the Vancouver test. Threo of the pullets have commenced to lay, and, as the test does not start till October 1, this" would mean a heavy handicap. Tho vacant pen was offered to Australia, and accepted, and so two pens will represent Australia and three pons New Zealand. One of (ho psns from N"o\v Zealand will compete for tho heavyweight breed prize. The test is creating interest, oa it will prove to ponltrymen iu the other side of the world what our poultry cau do. Table Breeds. Tho winter test at. Papanui has been tvon by black Orpingtons. On the last day they boat a p?n of white leghorns by ono egg. This may syvo to show tho farmer that a good layer and tablo bird can bo obtained in tho one breed. Several ot the heavier bre=ds ar making a good showing this year, and the performances will do much to encourage farmers to go in for theso varieties. Kecks, orpington?, and wynndutlos havo proved themselves of. great value, and are ideal birds for tho farm. Duck Breeding. Duck breeding is not so popular as it has been during tho past two seasons. Duck management is not so easy as it looks. Tho runners are very sensitive, and, when not understood, will defy their owner, and not produce eggs. For this sensitiveness scores of peonle have gone out of duck breeding, and. this season, prices are going to be high. Even now the market is bare, and the supply is quite inadequate for tho demand. ' " . Internal Consumption of Eggs, The following article by Mr. T. E. Ruthcrfurd is worthy the study of all poultry producers. There is no- doubt that a much greater demand would set in for eggs if more attention was given to Hie methods of marketing. Mr. Ruther-' furd states-.— Modern economists no longer look to other countries for the relieving of socalled over-congested markets; at least, to nothing liko the same extent they did. Exporting of any produce is of great value, but the stability of that value depends on economic conditions which arise from time to time. We have only to note what vast changes h.ivo taken place in the industrial world within the last twenty years. England; once the exporter to the rest cf the world, now takes but a share, for other countries hnvp, in their turn, taken from the Motherland many of her lending men, who havo taught tlisin the latest methods of jetting up machinery, the newest development in coal-extraction, the manufacture cf textiles, which has eventuated in these countries becoming also exporters to compete with Great Britain. This is going on, generally spenking, all over (ho world, and is augmenting, year by year, so that to relieve these so-called over-congested markets, some other outlet will need to be found, sooner or later, for the enterprise created by the. general diffusion of knowledge. These writers point out the remedy is simple, why export at all? There are in every civilised country some of those who actually make the exported gcods, and yet, through poverty, are unable to participate in the uses thereof. Improve the internal home economic conditions sufficiently, and a market is found for all that can be produced in that country. To go into the question or how this will bo brought about would be out of place in :i journal of this description, but that it is only a matter of a few years when we tihall all hnye to be our own consumers is, in my opinion, a foregone conclusion. Therefore, while we- in the immediate future should bring our energies to bear on the exporting of eggs, it would be as well to al«> itssrve- some energy to inquire, into the practicability of increasiilK the. demand within our own domains. Further, protection from imported eggs wouM k-ive. some value in this direction, but it is not the only means to inerpaw the price of our' goods. Quality, this is paramount. : Kgss ne?-:l to be carefully sot up, Eα strictly graded and so attractive-looking that the public will eat f.cgs as readily, if not more so, than meat. In many homes meat appears on the table three times a day, but one dies nnt. see «?t;s served up in this liberal .manner. Why not? Wo may sum it up, in many instances, with one little word, "HAD." ■Yes, the public are had with stale eggs, dirty eggs, deceived by rotten ones, or preserved esgs disguised as new laid; led astray by littls ones thrown in amongst tho large, and a general, air nf "Nircheve" (whnt docs it matter), "an ege's an egg," which is what has very materially assisted in cheeking the demand for that most delicate article—a new-laid c.?g. Let us. then, endaavnur to enciurago internal consumption, the best way wb know. 1 nin informed Ilio Wanganui Circle enoourag? their eu-loincrs in a very liberal spirit: Ihoir iiHho.d is to ljciarante? to 'every purchaser a ibwn more eggs, free, for evrry one i-As Hint is returned ::s bad. This is an cxcclU'iit idea, and should go far lo\v;inU n:i ii>crc-i-ed demand. Other tinle- could well follf.w suit. Tho circle asent.-i require b be pa<nfaslus in the art cf canva--iii!,'. The word "Cii'.'t" >■■:■]l the quickly must !>!• r'.iininatid from their vocabulary, a determined insistence that the public shall ilro 1 with their produce is a factor they nerd to develop. A'dverfisiiiK circle eggs, as extensively a; means will permit, should jiot be lost cjght of. Tho value, of judicious advertising is too well known for need of comment here, enough to say that hugh fortunes have been built up by these means, especially when the goods, so pushed, are of the highest' quality. When circles pull together more, that is, working as far as

possible, witli (he least number of fragments in any ono (own, the cost of advertising would be materially reduced per individual member. Always bearing in mind, that increased consumption must bi our inolto, a uniform price is most important.

1 do not kuow whether at present, owing tn the abnurmal ris-e in price of butler, the public are curtailing their consumption (the farmers are not getting the benefit of this rise), but it is certainly a fact that: when On a former occasion butter rose to a very high figure, the pubHj did so much reduce thiir purchases of that article Hint the middlemen were only too glad to sell at the old level. Some misconception would appear lo exi>t concerning (his uniformity of price, some thinking that eggs are to be sold at one shilling per dozen in tho summer and one and sixpence in the winter..- I dn not think the original promoters of ciicles ever had these prices in their minds. If eggs were only one- and t-ix-peneo jn the winter, a shilling in the summer would not be sufficient. Somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen-ponce all the year round would bo nearer the mark, the price ,to vary somewhat, according to the cost of production. Eggs are not, and never were, sold in this country according to what they cost to produce. However, to fix on tho price that eggs should realise, at this stage, would bo premature, but wo may rest assured that those who are endeavouring to bring about a uniformity in price will not forget to watch tho cost of produciion.

Wo shall be told that farmers will never have a say in the regulating of the sale of their produce. At present they do not, but that is no reason why they should not, and il will be a promt day wlien tho trampled-under-foot tiller of the soil- does make his voice heard and insists on his jn=t dues. As we further evolve in poultry culture, there may arise someone who will discover, not only that onions and certain other foods impart a distinctively unpleasant flavour to eggs, but who will be able to ascertain whnt, foods, or combination of, will give eggs such an appetising taste that the public will bo tumbling over each other in their eagerness to obtain the newest delicacy. Perhaps we may yet see the day come when fowls will be fed cither to produce a class of egg for the masses, or eggs for the epicure, or eprgs for tho invalid, each having its own distinctive peculiarity of flavour and richness. To conclude, let us guard against risking our reputations for the sake of a doubtful egg, at any time, and devoto some of our leisure moments to devising ways and means towards encouraging internal consumption.