1920.] Education and Kesearch in Poultry Keeping. 



847 



EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN 

 POULTI^Y KEEPING. 



The following is a summary of the papers read at the Fourth 

 Annual Poultry Conference, held at the Harper Adams Agricul- 

 tural College from the 10th to the 12th August last. The 

 subjects on the first day were Breeds and Laying Trials, on 

 the second Education and Kesearch, and on the third the 

 Commercial Aspect of the Poultry Industry. 



The proceedings on the second day were opened by 

 Mr. P. A. Francis, Technical Head of the Small Live Stock 

 Branch of the Ministry, who read a paper on " Education in 

 Poultry Keeping." A report of this paper was published in 

 the issue of this Journal for last month, p. 753. 



The Training of Ex-Service Men. — A paper on this subject 

 was read by Mr. F. W. Ehodes, D.S.O., Lecturer in Poultry 

 Husbandry at the Harper Adams Agricultural College. He 

 said that the selection of ex-service men for instruction was no 

 easy matter. In most cases the men had been recommended 

 to take up poultry keeping as a livelihood, and possessed no 

 previous experience. Alen late on in years had to begin an 

 entirely new life by learning a business absolutely strange to 

 them, without capital and severely handicapped in health and 

 body.' This called for a tremendous amount of pluck and 

 determination, which had not been found wanting. The men 

 were hard-working, willing and keen. Mr. Bhodes suggested 

 that a course of instruction might be arranged as folio w^s: — 



(1) There must be thorough practical instruction and con- 

 tinued practice in all the everyday work of the poultry man. 

 Whenever possible, responsibility should be placed on the 

 shoulders of the individual, as this encourages the person to 

 take an interest in the birds and unconsciously develops one 

 of the most important faculties to success, namely, the power 

 of observation. It is the small things that the experienced eye 

 notices which matter in poultry keeping. 



(2) Instruction in hatching and rearing should be as exten- 

 sive as possible. For the ex-service man the necessity is for 

 instruction and practice in natural hatching and rearing, as he 

 would be unable to bear the expense of incubators and brooders. 



(3) The selection of breeding stock and culling by means of 

 external characters form an important part of the training. 

 Whenever possible demonstrations should be given in preference 

 to lectures pure and simple. 



(4) Training in rough carpentry on economical lines is 



