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Profitable Egg Farming. 



[Aug., 



PROFITABLE EGG FARMING IN THE 

 BASINGSTOKE DISTRICT. 



Major C. H. Eden, 

 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. 



Within the last eleven years there has been, in the Basingstoke 

 district of Hampshire, a remarkable development of commercial 

 egg farming which started when Mr. S. G-. Hanson settled there 

 in 1911. 



Mr. Hanson had previously been poultry farming in Van- 

 couver, and when he returned to this country he purchased a 

 farm-house, buildings and 10 acres of land, at Kempshott, some 

 3 miles from Basingstoke, which formed part of a 120-acre 

 farm. The soil is light and on chalk, and although well suited 

 to poultry it had previously given poor returns when worked as 

 a general farm. 



At the start Mr. Hanson was watched by many who had had 

 previous experience of poultry and they were doubtful as to 

 what success he would have, but these doubts have long since 

 passed away, his farm soon proving successful. 



On the 120 acres which comprised the land belonging to the 

 old farm, many poultry farms of various sizes have now sprung 

 up with land from an acre or less up to 7 acres, supporting from 

 25 to 30 families. In some cases additional labour is employed 

 so that some 100 people are now provided for on the same 

 acreage which previously only supported 5 or 6 people. 



The ideas introduced by Mr. Hanson* differed widely from 

 the methods hitherto in force for poultry keeping in this coun- 

 try. Poultry had not received the same attention as other 

 stock, and although, no doubt, in some cases a profit was 

 made, there was too often a lack of system attended by a great 

 deal of unnecessary labour. 



Secrets of Success. — Perhaps one of the chief secrets of the 

 success of the Hanson system is that the main object of the 

 farm is the production of eggs for table purposes, and every 

 attention is given to that end. No attempt is made to produce 

 table birds, in fact in many instances the young cockerels are 

 disposed of as soon as the sex can be detected. Neither is 

 pedigree breeding carried out, the egg farmer relying on the 

 "breeder" farmer to supply him with sittings of eggs, or 



* See' " Commercial Egg Farming," by S. G. Hanson, published by 

 Constable & Co., which gives a detailed account of the system. 



