1 May, 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 353 
The fowls were only kept in the yard atnight. All day they roamed about 
wherever they pleased, but in winter and summer they roosted in the open air 
regardless of weather. hey laid, as a rule, in the yard, not being allowed out 
till that duty was performed. As for the sitting hens, they were never looked 
after; food and water were always there when they chose to come off the 
nest, and they invariably hatched a good proportion of chickens. In short, 
the poultry yard soon became a regular source of weekly income. Hggs at 
that time were sold at 2s. 6d. per‘dozen, or on contract at 2s. all the year round. 
Table fowls were worth from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per pair, but even at the prices 
obtainable to-day, these fowls would have paid well. Very little feed was 
required for them during the latter part of the winter and early spring, for, 
_ they picked up all they wanted during the months succeeding the first ripening 
of the corn and panicum Buckwheat was sown in patches here and there, 
and they carefully harvested the grain. Then there was the lucerne field and 
the potato ground, which provided them with the necessary animal food in the 
shape of caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails, and insects. I have not mentioned 
the turkeys, of which there were several. These not only kept down injurious 
caterpillars on the crops, but they used to wander about the standing scrub, 
where they found abundance of land shells (otherwise snails). They absolutely 
cost nothing to keep, and the gobblers fetched £1 each at Christmas time. 
The moral to be drawn from this, for the farmer or landholder in the country 
or suburbs, is—Do away with the fowl fowlhouses; let the birds alone; feed 
them when food is scarce outside; give them plenty of crushed bones and 
oyster shells; and as for the sitting hens, “ Let them be.” 
Treated in this manner, each fowl should lay at least 150 eggs a year— 
many would lay 180 eggs.’ 
Take the lesser number, and with eggs at an average of 9d. per dozen, 
each hen is worth, for eggsalone, 10s 6d. per annum. Hggs often bring Is. 6d. 
per dozen in the Brisbane market, and the farmer frequently has to sell at 
from 4d. to 6d. per dozen, so that an average of 9d. all the year round is not 
out of the way. Of course, it is necessary to keep a good laying strain to 
obtain good results. Minoreas and Brown Leghorns are good stock to keep 
for eggs, whilst for large table fowl, the Plymouth Rock is as good as any. 
Fancy breeds are all very well for show purposes, but they may be left to 
townspeople with a fad, and with plenty of money to expend on yaluable show- 
birds. It would be a good thing for breeders of useful fowls if substantial 
prizes were awarded at some of our shows for a “ laying competition.” The 
duration of the competition might extend to a week, fortnight, or month. The 
competing fowls should be placed under the care of a thoroughly practical, 
utterly disinterested caretaker, and the competition should not commence until 
the birds become somewhat familiar with their new surroundings. Careful 
notes should be taken of the feed, as to kind, quantity, &c., and generally the 
whole behaviour of the fowls should be noted day by day. Each owner s egg 
should be marked with the date and hour of laying and be kept ina separate locked 
box. At the conclusion of the trial, the prizes should be awarded according to the 
conditions primarily laid down, and the decision of the judge (one good judge 
is preferable to half-a-dozen) should be final. In framing regulations for such 
a competition, which would be far more interesting and valuable than one in 
which the colour or position of a feather or hackle, or the exact number of 
serrations ina comb, are the objects aimed at. It does not necessarily follow that 
the first prize be given only to the bird laying the greatest number of eggs. 
A first prize should be awarded to the bird laying the greatest weight of eggs 
ina given time. A hen which lays five large eggs in a week 1s more profitable 
than one which lays six small ones. Perhaps, however, it 1s wrong to say ts 
more profitable, because eggs are bought by the dozen instead of by the 
pound. Why this should be so I cannot understand. It has often been 
pointed out that a produce merchant will not give the same price for small 
potatoes, English or sweet, that he would give for a fine medium-sized tuber. The 
miller will not buy small pinched grain at any price. The fishmonger will not 
Sansa aaa arian 
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