POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 146, 9 March 1918, Page 13

POULTRY NOTES

(By Chanticleer.)

the Price of Eggs. _ In'the marketing of bees good business judgment Wi.a:ii ece a t y.^ t ill -any other'- , industry. For jcurs poultry produtera: wore content to allow, grocers, to assess-tho value ot then- eggs, but matters have ?2? , < SHH d - ,*."* . throu eli organisation and control of their own '."products tho salesman on behalf of -tho producer a". "scssos the pneo that eggs should be. There- > is no one hcter able to judge the cost.' of the raw materials than the poultryman himself, and, it is he who knows at ;. what price the finished article should Hell ; to enable him to have a profit. Any indußtrx.that does not yield an equitable profit oon goes to the -all, a*d lacks development... The.poultryman works long hours.; takes great risks. , s a. slave to detail, and ha«. to pay high j;rico a f or hiß , ood is only just that he should be romiahSS ated. for his work. Still, he is So t!,V victim of the law of suppy an( i demnn*' Now.tho war is or, thod?n, a y n d ° 8 ce Sy not .so greats it.otierwi™ would "have i been. The suspension of shipping traffic . the loss of tourists, and thousand?' of' young men being out of the country must I necessary-to-lessen tho concnm.pt on! It s: Sfe*?, *SS™-7 au , price of. eggs in order to make Sm • «i« r,rnf,t A'%i£M& i lie is subject to tho: demand nt ilia ~m*v keis: Occas on.aljy. we' see fpstancee wS of the-temporary shortage or the intsrtea^n"^^*6 Syer. prices are -■' i " Baller - An exceptionally., ??^ ' I * m ! >tß the a ß«nt to raise nis price. m pi caße thj producers, but It nas. a effect by lessening the S°-^ u^»pti°n> ' »ntt the market in a: few; ■Wy has necessarily to fall back again; in -conversation with a Wellington agent a '.- few- days ago,, we were given, an''in--stance of this injustice to the public.' \- I producer was offered by an outside buyer 2s. 6d. per dozen-for his oggs. He went, to his agent and Hated that unless the price was "put jp" to this, he would not' supply him. The agent, taking this as. I an indication of the value of eggs, raisofl!the price to. 25.. 6d., which was a most absurd price at a, period so early in the year. Several of hia own customers had been holding on to their eggs, giving- a false impression that tho-supply-was. shorU out as soon..as the price- was raised,-in ■ came the eggs by thousands', of dozen's, and the market was glutted. The result was that the prices had ..dropped, back again, by 4d, per dozen. Instances of' this kindgo to show.the incompetency of. men who have the power to regulate-the prices, and the injustice that,-.is-done'to the public. Poultrymen are gaining and' they should see to; it- that the nrices charged are octuitable compared with the supply and demand. At the present juncture the demand is nothing to warrant a rapid increase in price, as the supply is ample. ' Weather" conditions are favourable for egg -(.-production,, and each; year sees the hens laying further into the autumn. Pullets'also come on to lay and'the supply is kept up. • In the course of a few weeks this supply must lessen considerably, and then the prices must., justifiably advance. ■ Each week should 6eo a slight rise in:the ..market, but there is not the slightest, justification , for a prompt rise of 3d. or 6d. per dozen at the present time. iCan She Do It? All eyes are... centred on the Papanui egg-laying, test, where, a, single, bird, bred by Green' Bros., is daily adding to the. number required for the world's 1 record. This game little bird, up to Tuesday last, II .had produced 291 eggs. Sho has now five weeks to go to complete her year. The [ record for tho world is 315 eggß, so that ! the bird will need to lay five eggs per week to beat this record. After this week, every egg that the bird lays will lie a worth 105.,,aa.6hc in sold for £30, subject I to her. beating tho world's record, and £20 j providing Bhe touches tho .300 egg. mark. In Australia there are one or two black j orpingtons that are giving tho local bird ( a good run, and it is expected that unless J they break into the moult a new record will bo established. The Conference. i The executive of the New Zealand PoulI :lry Association met on Monday last to draft a, .programme for the coming conference. A. largo number of remits wore considered, and will be circulated amorag the societies-in 1 the course of a few- days. The conference promises to be most successful, as several new societies have. affiliated, and a large number of active- n/.einbers have. signified their intention to ,be pre- ' sent.. The 1 conference Will be held; in the Beehive Hall, Courtenay Place- ,The association has done remarkably good work during 'the past year in getting several remits attended to by the Government. It •now represents societies of close on 5000 members, and is gaining in influence each year.