POULTRY NOTES

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10598, 2 April 1912, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

(By Utilitarian.)

I. have been frequently requested t» state exactly what anyone gains by becoming'a member of an Egg Circle, aucl I now take this opportunity c.f replying. In the first place, '.ve m.u:.,i; not expeeit, from such a nor,- movement as this, much pecuniary gain at fiirst. " The ultimate objects will be acliieved in/ time, according to the fcjpeed cf increased membership and loyalty demonstrated .in the cause. iN'cventheleiSS, we have already accomplished more than one advantage. To . commence with, as far as the Utility Circle is concerned, the eggs are collected, free cf charge, up to within a certain' radians; the old method wa,s (for the poultry-keeper to take them in a basket to a local grocer and generally take it- out of groceries, but now with fortnightly cash payments, 'the poultryiman is a comparatively free agent, and can spend bis wherewithal as he fancies, although lie is expected to give a reasonable amount of support to the firm, that collects 1 v.n eggs, and no one should object to Ithat. Secondly, those who i-ormeriy railed, their eggs to Wellington had, owing to ismall lots, to 'pay high rates for freight, and now this item is de- J cidedly easier. Another advantage is , the fact that ea; J h member has a l ibody of other members behind him to I support him in the event of any n.n- j justifiable action oil the part of the j Ibuyer; not that this is, by any means, | a common occurrence,' but belonging ' to a society of this sort, to a great ex- . tent modifies such contingencies arming. Ate'o the members, individually, ' are not put to the .trouble of conunI unicating with their dealer, thus savI ing in postage, worry, exchange on, cheques, etc. Another fa.ctor not to be overlooked Iby producers is the higher value for eggs in our local'market since the in'anguration of the Gircle, bringing prices more on a level with city quotations. Considering the exorbitant {prices 1 for foodstuffs of late, ennrj timers can hardly grumble if they do pay a penny or more per dozen, especially when they are getting an absolutely guaranteed 'article. In fact, I maintain (Circle eggs are, owing to their uniform quality of freshness, icheaper than those generally dumped on the market, when it is well, known I that it is bv no a novel affwir j to find, on rrrdving home, two, three, I or even sometimes more, bad in a do- , zen. Hitherto .the market quotations ' have been based on the ordinary eggs, J ■and one can hardly blame purchasers , for this caution, but now it is time j the markets based on the true! quality, and the inferior article sev- j ci'dy left .alone. ' I vSome Circles have been able to obtain ywcessions on poultry feed, and j 'itoulrfL; li? Circle will come; .to the front quickly enough in ljj.,, respect-, when there are a few more j members. 1

| Dropping boards for .fowl-houses tflioii'id be as wide as can be obtained, eighteen incJie® to. each perch being (not, a bet too mudi, as a number of narrow boards onl.V harbour dirt and ;<«uiks extra, tt/Qrk in cleaning. W'hen, there are P. li U'riiiben' of perches parallei to eadli otliel', it is. more convenient for cleaning purposes if.tlva dropping boards axe arranged oil a tsligdit slope, having the highest /part at the Iba-ck. The perches,' vrjiich should al-iw-aysi' be swung and nevfr fixtures, «re irest suspended about eight ilichos iiibove the boards, in order to leave .plenty of iroomi tio Scrape tliem doyii." The 'excel'lent qualities of the ftpff •Orpington fowl or the Buff Opinion duck .caamot be,too well known. The eiionnous la'yang capabilities of the latter, cbmlbined witih.-i.tis quick mat-' uring propensities for the table, make •this breed stand >out on its own, and it almost seemis that .with fchis-.cliuris of bird we have obtained a breed for dual purposes, without sacrificing any (one particular poinifc, though like the ißlack Orpington fowl', I should be inclined to think that to obtain a heavy specimen of t-lte Buff' duckis -its ikying qualities will be, at any rate, ■somewhat discounted, though not necessarily sufficient to impair it from ■being a still very profitable bird. The flesii cf the Boiff Orpington ffowL'S- !>s -noted for its extreme whiteness, its (M-'icioiiis flavour, and the carcase is in -the class of cut-and-come-again ; in other words, tihere is plenty of meat, and that of a quality not to Ibe equalled by the games. . This 'breed lay most of -theiir eggs in the autumn and winter months, wihiicfh tends, from a commercial point of view, to make up for a comparatively small yield of eggis, for tliey have not ever been known to put up anything Ike -the modern records of late achieved by Wyaiidottes ,Legfliorns and B'llack Orpingtons. The poultry industry -is still in its swaddling clothes, and it is very difficult to forecast wihat may ultimately 'be .the relative value of the various {breeds; tihere are so many factors to ibe taken into consideration. For install ce, the Buff -Orpingtons may yet be in more demiand on account of rtheir laying brown-shelled eggs, which .makes them better for export, as brown-shelled eggs are harder than white, and mudi in demand on the London market.