The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-01-04
TEACHES 4 BEE TO LAY.
Eearly Five Times as Many Yggs as
She Usually Lays.

She Usually Lays.
TIE average hen In the United
States lays only sixty eggs year, or
little over twice her weight, but
now comes the scientific hen who
without dosing or stimulating, lays
seven and one third times her weight
in eggs, or 25l eggs each year, and
this is by no mea1S the limit. Toe
New York American says: Fyr the
past six years Professor George NJ
Gowell, agricultural expert and roul-
try specialist at the experiment sta
tion OF the University Of Maine, at
Orono, has been conducting expert
msnts with the view Of producing
breed OF hens that can and will lay
more eggs than the ordinary hen,
whose laziness or lack OF capacity is
responsible for the high price OF eggs
in the American markets today. Pro
lessor Gaweil has made wonderful
pr, g.ess in his experiments, having
thus far developed more than forty
hers that exceeded 100 eggs in a year
and one whose record is 25l.
People who understand omelettes
better than they Go hen history and
who have a b:tter appetite for et 5
than they have for statistics do not
realize the in nportaDce OF this effort
for poultry improvement. Some idea
Of the benefits to fow from even par.
tial success OF Professor Gowsll's work
may be gained firm few figures. Ia
1900, according to the United States
census, there were on the farm Of the
United States: including Alaska and
Hawaii, 253 59S,05 chickens and
hens over three moaths ole, and the
egg production in the prev Gus year
was l, 293.519, 1856 d2zsrs, va ued, Oh
the average st LIZ cents Fer dozen. a
total OF sl44 2Ss, l5S Each chicken
laid, on an average, 5 05 dozens OF
eggs in the year 1899, o. about cne
egg il six days. Now, this shows
that the chicks were either very lasy
or ese that they lacked capacity 1or
egg laying. ProfessjT Dwell says it
was all lack OF capacity, and to rene.
dy that condition he has set about
his experiments for the production OF
better, breed OF more prolific lay.
erS.
Even if the experiments nov in
PROCESS at Otono shall accom- plich nc
more than to produce a breed OF
chickens that shall surpasS the pres
ent breed in egg laying by oce dozen
per chicken a year. then for the whole
United States, with its nearly 1884,.
900: 600 chickens; the Increase in val
ue OF the egg product would be about
S25, 900, 900 year.
Professor Gowell's experiments are
conducted for tie purposo, simply, Of
ascertaining which individual hens
are the best egg prod ucers, and to use
chem for the breeding OF more Of tteil
Kind.
AS means OF S curing the needed
information, fft7-two trap nests" o.
Professor Gowell's own Lewiston ano
construction we're placed in the thir.
teen pens OF tie breeding house. The
trap nest is simple, inexpensive, Ger.
tain IN its action and requires little
at:ention. II is box like structure
without fronU or cover, 25 inches lone
l3 inches wide and l6 inches deep, in
side measure. a division board with
circular opening i inches in diam
eter is placed across the box, IL In.
ches from the rear and Is inches frou
the front end. The rear section thus
foymed is the ret proper. Instead
OF close made door at The entrance
light frame Of lxl! inch stuff is
covered with wire netting OF l incl
mesh. The door is l0xlO inches, anc
does not I'LL the entire space, a mar
gin OF 2 inches being left a. the bot.
tom, and iDcl az the top and sidss,
to secure free action. TIE door is
hinged at the top and cpers up into
the box. Wbea the nest is ready fol
the entrance Of the hen the wire door
is held up, OF open, By means OF a wire
rod so bent that one section Of it rests
directly &C oss the circular opening OF
the nest section When the hen en-.
ters the nest section, her back strikes
and lifts this rod, thus releasing and
dropping the door, making her pris.
oner until she has laid her egg and an
attendant Canes 10 set her free, the
dor when it drops, being caught by a
spring and titus held firmly in place.
Each hen in the experimental class
carries upon either leg broad metal
tic band bearing her number. When
the hen is released from toe trap the
attendant tak,s her number, and then
upon board fastened on the wall
over the;nest, wheEeon the records are
Systematically kept, she is credited
with the egg laid. At the end OF the
year TIE results are figured up, and
the good performers are known by
their records and separated from the
rest. All that have laid less than
100 eggs in the year are disposed Of.
The others are congregated in differ.
ent pens, according to their eproduc.
tive capacity, ard the experiments
continued, both as to the laying capa-
city Of tee selected performers and as
to the productiveness Ct their eggs, ali
duly Labelled with the number CT the
her laying them, in the incubation OF
chickens
The experim ents began in Noven-
Der, 1898: ffty-two trap nets beirg
used. When the data from the first
years testing wera secured the birds
that yielded 200 or more eggs Of good
shape. size and ior were selected for
foundation stociss,' upon which,
with additions made to them In sue.
ceetiing years Of birds Of similar quail
ity, the breeding operations were
based. Il is known that tee laws OF