The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-14
EGG LAYING RACE
 LED BY AMERICA
OUR HENS TO FRONT OF COM
 PETITION IN AUSTRALIA.
Test is to Last Year--Picked. Fowls to the Number of 42Q Fight for
 Honors Under Odd
 Circumstances. @

II Hon0fS under Ouu
 Circumstances. Sydney, Australia, Correspondence of Chicago Tribune. & whooper Ter up for the Great Little American Hen. She's racing down here in Australia, eighteen of her, against 4oz Australian hens in an international. inter state, worlds first egg laying competition, and she's been ahead from the first, and at last accounts she was still leading. But the race is one for a year--a whole year--and of course, since the race IS not always to the swift, the great little | American hen may continue the fight or she may be bested by next Aprils when the race will end.
 For some time previous to April, lsoz, two New South welshmen-A, E. Henry of Ryde and H. E. Kelly of Campbell ltown--had been hotly' debating with each other in the columns of one of the ayd- ney newspapers the respective merits of silver wyandottes and bun Orpingtons. Poultry breeders and poultry journal read CTS in many other parts of New South Wales Joined in the wordy fray. and finally Henry challenged Kelly to an ege laying contest. each with his fayorite fowl.
 Competition Open to World.
 Out of this proposition grew an open competition, backed by . newspaper, which donated the sum of sloS. as prize money. The Hon. John Kidd. the min ister of mines and agriculture. was waited upon, and he granted permission that the race be held upon the grounds of the lHawkesbury Agrieultural College. one of the best institutions of its kind in the world Mir. Kidd presides to certain ex- tent. It should be explained. over the hens of the State, since it's poultry interests are intrusted to him; of course. also he directs the policy of the agricultural col Ilege.
 These are the conditions determined upon for the competition. The pens for the competing fowls were to be 67x17 feet. lconstructed of iron bark posts and six feet wire netting. The houses leach divided to answer as two pens) were to be l1x16 feet, 1-2 feet high in front, and { 1-2 feet at the back. The fronts were to be open wire netting with a northeasteriy aspect.
 The competition was to begin April l. The competitors were bound to pen their birds during March, each pen to consists of six outlets or hens of any age: no male bird to be excluded All birds were to be bred by the competitor. All birds were to be examined by the pultry ex- pert of the college, D s. Thompson, upon their arrival at the college. If bird died during the competition it was to be replaced.
 Many Points to Be Counted.
 The competition was to be decided by the grdatest total number of eggs laid by the birds in each pen, eggs under l l-2 ounces were not to count. The market value of the eggs laid was to be recorded, also the weight of eggs from each pen; also the total quantities of the various foods consumed by the competing birds; also the cost of maintaining the birds per head; and finally the prizes were to | be awarded according to the aggregate weight of eggs. pen against pen.
 The American competitors in this great race are: w. B.. Candee. Fayetteville. IN.~Y.; white Wyandottes; Mrs. A. H. HanseIA Loup City, Neb., brown leg horns; nd w. K. Hays, Henleyville, Cal, wnsAe wyandottes. The birds ar- rived in Sydney on March 14 last in a sad plight. They had had a rough pas sage, indeed, but had survived and were thirsting for a chance to distinguish them- selves, their breeders. and their country. Mir. Thompson tenderly took them in hand and ere long they began to lay at a furious rate.
 The year long race began on April 1, and those modest Nebraska brown leg. | egg line on the first day and has done 1t every day since.
 | Expert Tells of odd Race.
 Expert Thompson. in response to ques- tons regarding the competition, said:
 Fifty breeds are represented. The students at the college eat the eggs. The fowls are all doing splendidly, and the number of eggs from the competition is 1S0 per day,
 ''Tha American brown leghorns are ahead just now, and they have been from the first- The last time took the num- Der they were ahead of the best Austra- Hans by five eggs. The best Australians are silved laced Wyandottes owned by lG. Howell of Wentworthville. N. 8. w..
 'I was disappointed that there were 1.-two sets of white Wyandottes in the I American lot. wanted the selection to
 be three different breeds, so we could
 have an even better idea of what the
 Americans can do.
 If things go on with this competition
 the way they have I'll have to hire sec retary surely. I'm now getting about five letters a day, but what will they be when the competition is closing next March? Do you know, toward the end of our last competition-that was the Slst of March-I had to answer fifty letters a day, and had to do that in addition to s,l my other work.
 Was there much work connected with this competition? Yes: wouldn't you
 think so when we had to put aluminium rings around one of the legs of every one of the 20 hens and get them all in their pens in good condition for the eompeti- ton?
 '"The rings are to identify the birds in the competition, if they should get astray. The students at the college take a great interest in the competition, and they do l all the work-the manual work-copnected with 1t, under charge of a poultryman. Am I getting any letters from the Uni ted States about this? O, yes. a few al- ready, but I expect to get more before 1t is over"
 Enthusiast Over Poultry.
 This keen faced little enthusiast upon poultry, the only poultry expert who teaches the poultry keeping as a liveli- hood upon altogether scientific principles, is a Scotchman and halls from hard headed Aberdeen. Even in boyhood he was a poultry enthusiast and used to go to poultry shows in preference to cricket games. He came to Australia fifteen years ago and has spent most of that time in Victoria and New South Wales. He first made a reputation in Australia as Van expert judge of poultry at poultry shows. He hopes, some day, to be able to visit the United States to pick large number of American fowls of the best strains to be imported by the New South Wales government in the interest of its