POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES

4 — (By "Ohautieleer.") Tho Confaronoo. The ninth annual conference held at I oiii'istchurcli last week was a ureal, m- ' cess. In addition to. the many decisions and useful discussions, the delegates wuc i eel ted royally by the southerners. Iho outstanding feature of the conference was the excellent opening ceremonj. lue Countess of Liverpool gave a very line address. The meiiibers ot Parliament and the Mayor extended a very .sincere welcome to the delegates, and expressed themselves as ansious to assist the poultij industry with all their power. The president's address was an able one, ami Mr. Childs showed considerable ability m dealinn with tho policy and future prospect* of the association. Mr. Boddington fa fid* dress on -Commercial Unity';- was welll receivrd and* provoked trood discussion, inc remits will tend to place the industry on n better footing:, and ra ai <° for tnt general projjredß of- all poultry won. Address by Iho Countess of Liverpool. iter Excellency, who was received with continued applause, said that, Bhe had ueen asked to say a few. words auout women and poultry. She di<l 'So uitli sorao ditudence, because Bhe could not help being struck, when she came to the .Dominion, with tho amount of work indoors ana outdoors accomplished by the nomen ol New Zealand in comparison with the women of the Old Country. Since the war things had greatly chnnccd at Home, and the women of England had none on-to tho land and had done wofldcrful work. (Applause.) But in New Zealand tho women ill tho country districts hud beei; also working on the land in unite an uuobtruiSvo fashion and without display, doing all sorts of things-without the etemoar and limelight which had surrounded the womenfolk in tho Old Country. (Ap* nlauac.) Now that the mon were coming, back, the women of the Dominion would be relieved of outdoor work, and might miss it, and devote .tlutir attention to poultry "with advantage to the industry, tier Excellency -expressed the opinion that poultry-keeping could bo profitably combined with t'ruit-srowintr. She had not hud- ranch time to study poultry-keeping in New Zealand, but she kepi a few birds, and had found them n source of great interest as well as a. valuable asset, wie had always felt that New Zealand was wonderfully endowed with facilities for poultry raising. Of course, the. lack of n-ood grain and the high prices asked for even poor stuff had during tho past few year? interfered with the industry. Her Excellency,, in declaring the conferenre open, expressed the hope that the »delegates' deliberations -would be most, beneficial in furthering the interests of the industry in New Zealand. (Applause.) The President's Address.

Mr. Olitlds, after expressing gratitude for ■the victory of the Allies aiid the. coming of peace, pointed out that the poultry industry of New Zealand was not. one of the Industries which had flourished during the ivar. On the outbreak.of war, New Zealand was producing an ample supply of eggs for its own needs. • But with a constantly contracting market, and a. conJtantly 'increasing cost of production, producers suffered. Although the °uinniir prico'of eggs had advanced during the past two seasons,' • the advance had not been consistent, nor had it been equal with the increase in the cost of production. It had-only been secured as a roßult of producers being squeezed out of tho industry, and by a general lowering of production. Mr. Ohilds regretted to state-aud the statement was particularly applicable to Cantcrbury-tliat the unrestricted importation of Asiatic yolks, pulp, and dessicated -whites largely aggravated tho difficulties under which the industry was labouriijfr. These importations worn a curse to The country, and its poultry industry, and must be stopped. The Price of Eggs. Tho speaker warned the public that the price of fresh eggs in the coining winter, probably, would, bo abnormally high. But to adopt a policy of importations to make ( up a temporary shortage wab tp promote arid intensify a future shortage. Tho people of New Zealand had their business instincts far too well developed to allow a money-making proposition, such as the production of high-priced winter eggs was aliened to be, to slip through their lingers. Producers were to be congratulated upon the manner in which tlioy had hung 011 to the industry in the face of adverse conditions, and on tho manner in -which they wero now bestirring themselves to mako up lost ground, knowing full -well that all would bo'welt with the return to normal condition!, and convinced that the industry only needed a sporting chance xor its future development.

The president then touched upon the work of the association. Amongst its deeds and activities were the promotion of the egg-circle movements, and its work in securing tho stamping of injportcd egga, the restrictions 011 -wheat, the fixing of tho prices ot pollard, and 'bran—which largely contributed to saving the poultry industry—and tho issuq of the Government standard. Other important work was 111 progress. The .ardour-of the association had noTer been greater than it was to-day, and tho association was stronger now than it hart ever been before. This was largely owing to tho. fact that the fanciers had united their strength with that of tho .utility men. It was a cause of mutual congratulations that the North Island and South Island Poultry Associations had affiliated -with this association. The gathering'in of tho fanciers was tho beginning of the consummation of the unity of the industry.

Jfr. Ohilds also touched -upon the question of poultry farming for returned pol-' diers, and ha emphasised tho necessity for "the New Zealand market for tho New Zealand producer" being the battle-cry of the association. He added that tho industry was on tho eve of a tremendous revival—there was a great future awaiting it if tho producers would only "bo true to themselves. Every producer should erivo hearty support to t.hu association. A perusal of tho membership roll for the past few years showed that thousands of poultry-keepers throughout the Dominion were benefiting from the efforts of the few.