Live Stock. 



36 



* 



[July, 1910. 



absolutely discounted by this year's 

 figures. Practically as good results 

 have been obtained this year from twbe 

 as many birds as there were in the last 

 year's test. The season has not been 

 propitious, and I do not hesitate to say 

 that included in the test were a number 

 of birds that no experienced breeder 

 would expect large numbers of eggs 

 from ; these causes contributed to lower 

 results. 



The Value op Competitions. 

 Without entering into the disputed 

 question of the relative values of com- 

 petitions conducted by the State as 

 against those under private supervision, 

 I content myself with noting the popu- 

 larity throughout Australia of our State 

 directed competitions, and also the 

 great advertisement gained by widely 

 publishing the results in various parts 

 of the world. To the Press, in all 

 branches, thanks are due for the publi- 

 cation of the weekly and monthly totals. 

 These are eagerly looked for not only 

 by the competitors actually concerned, 

 but by their friends, all breeders, 

 and a very large section of the public. 

 Poultry-breeding has always had what 

 may be termed a universal fascination, 

 and for English-speaking races in parti- 

 cular. We read of the craze which took 

 place in England and America about the 

 middle of last century. Although the 

 commercial aspect, as now in vogue, was 

 not then very well understood, we may 

 date our progress from that period. The 

 publication of our excellent records, and 

 the numerous comments in the English 

 press are attracting general attention to 

 the potentialities of poultry-breeding. 

 Although practically every writer on 

 poultry for the last 50 years has accen- 

 tuated the fact that laying is more a 

 matter of strain and careful breeding, 

 there can be no doubt the results of the 

 laying competitions have brought the 

 matter before breeders and the public 

 in a convincing manner. Further, the 

 names of competitors make a list of 

 breeders whose stock is more or less 

 judged by results. This forms a guide 

 to purchasers of eggs and stock. The 

 wise breeder enters his stock for this 

 reason, among others. 



Light Versus Heavy Breeds. 

 As regards egg production, the results 

 show the undoubted superiority of 

 White Leghorns, Among the other 

 light breeds only a pen of birds. 

 Brown Leghorns, have shown them- 

 selves capable of passing the 200 average. 

 It remains for breeders of light breeds 

 other than White Leghorns to look to 

 their laurels. The South Australian 



laying strain of White Leghorns are 

 splendid egg-producing machines, but 

 they are not all-round birds. Those who 

 are breeding and selecting their Orping- 

 tons and other heavy breeds to compete 

 as layers with White Leghorns are ill 

 advised. Our splendid modern Orping- 

 tons and Wyandottes are all-round 

 utility birds. If egg production alone 

 is bred for, the table qualities must 

 suffer. This can be seen in many of the 

 pens in the competition. In future, to 

 encourage breeders of this class of birds, 

 there will be heavy-breed sections, with 

 perhaps certain special conditions. 



Selection and its Consequences. 



It has been stated that one of the 

 results of breeding for high egg produc- 

 tion must inevitably be sterility ; this is 

 practically race suicide of the strains in 

 questiou. Speculative theories are not 

 without attractions, even if they be 

 somewhat wild, and lacking either em- 

 pirical or scientific basis. As a rule 

 these statements are made with the 

 mistaken notion that South Australian 

 breeders, at any rate, feed for etrg pro- 

 duction on forcing foods. This idea, as 

 regards the layiug competition, will, on 

 reference to the remarks on feeding, be 

 dispelled. The majority of our breeders 

 here follow very closely the competition 

 feed as carried out at the Roseworthy 

 Poultry Station. Over-stimulation of 

 the organs of reproduction, if due to 

 irritants, would undoubtedly have a 

 prejudicial effect. The feeding to a hen 

 of high-laying potentialities sufficient 

 food containing the constituents neces- 

 sary for the production of large numbers 

 of eggs can have but little serious effect 

 if all matters are attended to judiciously. 

 There is of course a physical shock cou- 

 sequent on the extrusion of each egg, 

 but that need not be serious in its effects. 

 It has been stated that the laying of 

 large quantities of eggs causes abnormal 

 conditions iu the oviduct. 1 know of 

 champion layers now in their fourth 

 year ; the eggs they lay are not only 

 normal, but distinguished by extra 

 strong shells, aud, as a rule, the per- 

 centage of fertility is high. To come 

 nearer the truth is to acknowledge the 

 principles of heredity. There are, I am 

 sure, scores of fowls suffering from 

 hereditary taints or predispositions due 

 to many causes which originated gener- 

 ations ago. No amount of care, short of 

 forced cessation of egg production, will 

 make a hen with oviduct troubles lay 

 normal shelled eggs. Cystic ovarian 

 disease, of which we have heard so much 

 of late, is distinctly hereditary in its 

 character, and 1 have reason to believe 

 conforms to Mendel's law in the matter 



