POULTRY NOTES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 14 December 1912, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES.

Pott'itry S'ltmiM ->i>t-\> ijat tiio Ui.i.:.y Egji vJircie muk-.'.s- i!>* ',.:ayuieuts ready i-.a' iiiMnlx'rs witv.ii/ ji couple of days of receiving the ck«qu« for nr.Jo of o.g^a. ll i ; ; gratifying to note that the Zoalaiul 'j. .'mes adv*ViU<\s L/vt- wisdom of Organisation airwng poultry-

Keepers.- ! ' The Levitt Egg Circle fcas gone 'j through its fn-.-t moult, and leathered j again in ihuvsi'jsfe. It now dctvf.fi with " j Mr Jotisen, who in .successfully *uuid- ! ling so many <ytli'er Circle's egg;?. A > , change in the secretaryship hits been' made, and Mr J. fie!! now reigns iiv Htend of Mr Hall'. The early monitors will soon he • making their a ppea ranee, and it is j generally a wise policy to discard all ! tho<'n foinc into the moult before the ■. . . (end of January. Th" latest monitor, I as a. rule, is the most prolific layer, j First-year layers will often take a spell off about this time, but if of 1 rn-ad quality will get koine; I before a.nd into next winter, while the older birds will lay more oonsi'Stj ently through the autumn months j than, the pullets, . ;l nd will consrviuent- j I ly he later to re-commence than the j j latter. | i "What is if one wonders, th.it makes , poultry-keepers such experimenters? ' How often one finds a beginner who ; though not denying the wisdom of a j more experienced man's advice, per- j sists in going through variant' do- j vices which have been shown, over and over again, to be quite useless! j for instance, it is not uncommon to i some across some who keep hutching ■, all through the summer months. .' Now these late hatched stock will not . lay till the following spring when j eggs are at low ehh, in the. sparrov,- , reason, and they perhaps will lay somewhat later into the autumn than those hatched in the usual season, hut will moult later and, probably in most cases, behave like the ohksf liens and refuse, to lay through the. coining winter, thus loosing two v.in- ! t,er,s. after which they would be too ; did to keep in any case. On the other hand, if hatched about February or March, they will lay just about as soon as those hatched any time after the end of November, but whether they will turn out to he profitable birds is a doubtful proposition. The main idea appears' to be with thc;-',c who advocate, hatching all through the Summer, to have eggs coming, in all the ,\car round, for there is a right time for everything. l)o the farmers have their cows calving, or tho ewes lambing, or the mares foaliiijr any month in the year? No, onTv in'very exce])tional case-. They know the earlv lamb or cult. :'-'" tlw ease may be, is the one that thnvo, the host, The late lamb is in the ma joint v of eases a runt. Farmers in the country who .havea, likino- for poultry-keeping and who happen to have any cocksfoot grass thev intend cutting for seed will find the' Mfcraw is well worth savine: for putting i« the pens for the birds to .scratch amongst. It being much harder than other grasses, is just aVut as good as grain sitraw, and . certainly far superior to ordinary i hav wh.ich has. in previous notes, ; boon advocated, not as good material for scratching, hut better than notli- ,

mg. It, :■■! not known as 'wiclo.lv as it 'ought to 1)0 that anyone having birch' ■suffering from any cnmnlaint which the owner is miable to dia.goni.se may ( ~s o nd them to the Government Lnborat- ' ory at AVallncovillo, where they will be examined and reported on free of cost. Postage of the specimen.is the only cost. When shall we be advanced enough to recognise that mankind iy more valuable than any other animal?, and to have public laboratories foV free inspection, and when possible, free remedies, for the people, as well as fowls, pigs and cows? Information is to hand that a poultry man thif.» season had a complaint amongst his chickens with every indication of it I)c,ing mumps. Fort urn ately, there was not much less in fb flock the owner treating them, if J remember right, with warm watci •strengthened, with lysol. i