The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1905. THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7837, 1 June 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1905. THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Persistent advoeacy of the benefits to be derived from developing the poultry industry is at length bear ing fruit, but though the initial apathy has been overcome there is slil. a need for constantly keeping before our settlers the fact that there is money in this business when it is properly taken in hand. The Government has done excellent work in fostering this -industry, and the success achieved must be very gratifying, al 'though it has resulted ia a greater demand on the. State farms than could be met. With a view to furth-) er encourage the industry the Department of Agriculture has rendered a u.'eful sen-ice to small farmers by issuing a handbook on "Poultry and Eggs for the Market and Export," which has been prepared by the chief

poultry expert, Mr I). D. Hyde. This valuable document should be read with interest by every settler in Tais anaki, for it is full of hints and instructions which should prove of value to all engaged or intending to engage in poultry raising. It is a wcll-wndcrstood axiom that poultry farming goes well hand-in-hand with dairying, and alxo with fruit-growing and bee-keeping ; and Mr Hyde holds, as experts in all countries do, that "no other class of stock will give the same profit—pound for pound invested—as poultry will." The importance of poultry products can hardly be over estimated, but as compared -with the value of such products for the whole of Australasia, £2,850,000, New Zealand's contribution of £471,000 is a trifling amount. It is true that during the last few years the industry has received a great impetus in this colony, and eggs and fowls for the market are now turned out in much larger numbers than formerly, still tile demand outruns the supply, and there is room for further remunerative enterprise on the part of settlers. In addition to enterprise close application is needed to make poultry-raising a success ; but, without knowledge, both enterprise and application may go astray. It is to diffuse this knowledge that the. book now under notice has been published; and the presqit being a fourth edition of 15,000 copies, it is pretty evident that the work i:s being sought after. With such an excellent market as South Africa to rely upon for remunerative prices should be a great incentive, to dairy farmers especially, to add to their profits from the land. All that is required is the rearing oi suitable birds, and bringing them into a At con*tton for export. Apart from tho export trade there is an ever growing local demand af, prices that make it well worth the settlers' attention. With a view to catering for the demand which exists in South Africa for fowls below thu. weight hitherto adopted by tho Department, it has been decided to establish four different grades for fowls and chickens and two for ducks. This should be of great benefit to those who have not yet been able to produce birds of i the first grade, and will make the tusk for beginners less arduous, although every effort should be made to attain perfection. E,ve<n s'houHl tjho South 1 African market fail, or our supply exceed the deinand, the djfturpnee between the seasons in New Zealand and England will, in Mr Hyde's opinion, u|wa,vu oni\l>lf our producers to find a" Rood market for poultry at Home. The English market for poultry and eggs is at present largely supplied from foreign sources, a large proportion com ng from Russia, from whence a|so |he South African market is partly fed, though w-jth a lowgrade article. Mr Hyde also draws at ten! lon to the necessity for adopting suitable methods of killing and papk'.ng, and his vigilance in attending to thpse and similar matters connected with pou|try-ralsing and marketing ought to have the effect of stimulating what is doubtless dostineJ to be a very large and lucrative industry in Wn country,