April, 1914 



Poultry Notes. 



For many j cars past Mr. D. Laii - 

 a.>n has been putting out large num- 

 bers of his well-known "Simplex" in- 

 cubators, which have had such a big 

 say in increasing the poultry popu- 

 lation of the State, but this year he 

 has certainly beaten his previous 

 best; at all events in the matter of 

 size. His incubator built to the 

 order of the Government for the 

 Parafield Station, and which was on 

 view at the show last month, was of 

 interest to all poultry breeders. Not 

 many of us, of course, want to hatch 

 our chickens in five thousand k'ts, but 

 we all like to know how simply it may 

 be done. There are many interesting 

 features about this mammoth chicken 

 hatcher. To begin with it is the big- 

 gest thing of its class, in the State, 

 probably in the Commonwealth — and 

 •perhaps in the southern hemisphere. 

 It may be run as one concern, or on 

 the instalment plan, by separate com- 

 partments at different temperatures, 

 and as far as we could judge, it can 

 be used, as a street barracade, a foot- 

 bridge, or a fire escape. As it was 

 constructed by the poultry experts 

 own plans and specifications, there is 

 no doubt, that the most will be made 

 of it, but we venture to hope that it 

 will be allowed a fair trial as an in- 

 cubator first of all. It is at all events 

 sufficiently like one to iiuiicate its 

 primary purpose in life. Considering 

 its size and contingent possibilities, 

 it seems to have been an unusually 

 economical deal for something under 

 a couple of hundred pounds. One 

 could not reasonably expect to hatch 

 5,000 chicks and escape from the 

 burning incubator house on the same 

 machine upended for less than that. 

 Possibly neither the 5,000 chicks or 

 the fire will come off; in which case 

 of course the financial aspect of the 

 question would have to be re-con- 

 sidcrcd. 



WHAT ABOUT IT? 



A correspondent writing on other 

 matters, refers to the "Pearl" theory 

 of the influence of the male bird in 

 the egg production, of which we 

 wrote some months ago, and asks 

 whether "Pearl or the roosters are 

 dead." On the contrary as far as v;c 

 arc aware they are both very much 

 alive. Since that time we have read 

 what Mr. Pearl himself had to say on 

 the subject to the American Poultry 

 Association, and also the technical 

 bulletin published, and after doing so. 



we should say that the theory is more 

 interesting and more complicated in 

 its working and detail than we had 

 previously supposed, that there are 

 more practical difficulties to be over- 

 come or allowed for, but that the im- 

 portance of the male bird stands out 

 just as clearly as ever, both in theory 

 and judged by experimental result. 

 It was a little unfortunate perhaps 

 from some points of view, that the 

 scientific paper on the scientific side 

 of the question published first was 

 the basis of what afterwards appeared 

 in various agricultural papers, for it 

 is certainly true, that anyone reading 

 that paper or the Bulletin of the 

 Maine Station would be excused for 

 thinking that the breeding of layers 

 on Mr. Pearl's showing and the mul- 

 titude of results of actual breeding 

 tests was as comparatively simple as 

 falling off a log, or two logs for that 

 matter, yet reduced to actual proctice. 

 there are more difficulties than are at 

 first apparent. These practical diffi- 

 culties don't affect the question from 

 the scientists point of view; from the 

 poultryman's tliey undoubtedly do. 

 Elsewhere we print what Doctor 

 Pearl himself had to say on the sub- 

 ject to the American poultry world. 

 Hfe can certainly put the matter more 

 clearly than we can hope to dij. 



THE SAME IDEA. 



In connection with this subject we 

 have received a" interesting letter 

 from one who has been, and still is, 

 one of the most consistent and suc- 

 cessful breeders. One of the select 

 circle of fifteen hundred pen men and 

 a keen and careful observer, he 

 wrote: "To keep up my strain I look 

 to the roosters which, provided the 

 hens are healthy and vigorous and of 

 a decent egg strain, will give me 

 good laying pullets. I have no par- 

 ticular use for the champion hen as 

 a breeder, though I have owned many 

 of them, for her class have gone back 

 on me too often for me to have much 

 faith in her." Another man wrote: 

 "Trap nests are no good to me except 

 — and this is the crux of the whole 

 question — that they show me the 

 father of my good layers. He is the 

 bird to keep, and breed from till he 

 dies, or till by trapping the pullets, I 

 find a better." Mr. Haddington, the 

 New South Wales expert, in an 

 article on utility breeding published 

 in the Gazette a few weeks ago, 

 wrote: "The best layer does not 

 necessarily produce the most prolific 

 progeny. In fact, it is of more im- 



portance that the male bird be bred 

 from a good layer, because fecundity 

 is more likely to be transmitted, 

 through the male bird than the female, 

 and better results will be obtained by 

 using males bred from prolific fe- 

 males, mated to hens of good flock 

 average than vice versa. It has also 

 this in its favor, that stamina is more 

 likely to be maintained." 



THE COMPETITIONS. 



The interest in this round of com- 

 petitions is centered in Victoria, 

 where the leading pen, Gill's, has al- 

 ready put up a big total, and which 

 if all goes well, promises before May 

 14th. to put up new figures on the 

 world's record slate. Just what the 

 real record is, is not quite clear, it 

 all depends on how you look at it. 

 Nixon in N.Z. put up 1632. Some 

 people object to that, because the 

 birds had warm houses, though a 

 climate cold. The Hawkebury ducks 

 put up 1601 or 1623 taking the full 

 twelve months from the first egg laid. 

 They had no housing, and a warm 

 climate, for that and other reasons 

 they seem to be out of it. At this 

 present moment Walch (Victoria) at 

 Rosewortiiy, 1589, seems to be offi- 

 cially credited with it, but as they did 

 not end up with the same full term, 

 there is a fault in that claim also, but 

 technically they hold it — unless 

 Nixon does. Rules and conditions 

 which permit replacement of defunct 

 members of a team cannot be said to 

 be ideal at this late stage of the game 

 of competition winning. Failing 

 Walch the belt seems to belong to 

 Pope (Vic.) whose original pen at 

 Burnley put up a few eggs less, but 

 lived to the finish. A few days hence 

 Gill will liave settled the 1589 record, 

 the ducks will certainly go, and it 

 seems at least probable that Nixon's 

 1632 will have to give place to the 

 conqftering Victoria"- If the original 

 team is now in the pen, the matter 

 vvill be settled beyond question; if 

 not prabably most people, remember- 

 ing the tremendous importance of 

 vatility, will hold that Pope's was and 

 still is the better performance. As a 

 matter of fact, a'l had done so ex- 

 traordinarily well, that it is perhaps 

 only justice that they should sort of 

 share the honor. If Gill comes home 

 with 1633 and the original team, then 

 of course it will be hats oflf to Mr. 

 Gill and his famous six. Everyone 

 wishes him, and them, the best of 

 good luck for the remaiiider of the 

 run, for in any case it is surely a great 

 performance. 



