The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-25
Paulfrx Experiments.

A connrehensiye publication on this subject is bulletin number 92 or the Utah Experiment Station, by James Dryden. The bulletin is well iliustrat- ed many of the illustrations deailng with the assumed differences Tn form between a hen laying well and one lay ing poorly. The experiments seem to indicate no connection between the hen's shape and appearance and her egg laying capacity Some pouitrymen have assumed that long Dody anu wedge shape are characteristic Of good layers, an assumption whicn tnese eA- periments do not support.
 Great variation was found m the ssg laying capacities of different indi- viduals within the same breed For sxample. the poorest Leghorn record was nine eggs during the year ana the hest PAP, Pullets in their first year or laying as a rule produced more eggs than in their second year. The biro laying many eggs as a bullet usuaIIy also laid many during her secoho anu subsequent years
 Ry selecting eggs for matching from hens making large records an increase in the number of eggs was noted, ana 1t is believed that this increase Will continue when selection is pursued TOT several years. Great differences Tn the color of eggs from hens of the same breed were noted. ESpSCidAiy variability marked in the eggs or wy sndottes and Plymouth Rocks.
 With Leghorn hens exercise, made necessary by feeding the grain among straw on the floor of the house, seem ed slightly to increase the egg yield Tn the bullets first year and to decrease it the second year; in other words 10 force the bird to lay eggs during inc first year that under nor nal conditions she would lay during subseouent years. "On the whole the importance of making the hen scratch for every kernel of grain is not borne out by these experiments. However enforced idleness in very small hen- house with no straw on the floor ana no yard. greatly decreased the yieln of eggs With Plymouth Rocks there was ir one years test some advantage in favor of throwing the grain on the straw, necessitatinR scratching.
 The author of the bulletin states clearly that no series of tests can deter mine absolutely the relative values or different breeds. His experiments indi- cate that in egg production individu- ality plays a more important part than does breed. However, comparisons were made between bullets of the Bar red Plymouth Rock, White Wyandotte and Rose Comb Brown Leghorn- In the number of eggs laid, Leghorn and Wyan- dottes were practically equal, l47 and 149 per fowl per annum. The Barred Ply mouth Rocks averaged 125 eggs per year. In weight of eggs the Wyan- dottes were decidedly ahead of the Brown Leghorns. The profit from egg laying averaged per year with Leghorns SLIP per fowl with Wy andottes, SS cents, and the Bar red Rocks 51 cents. The per cent profit on the cost of food consumed while laying was ITO per cent with Brown Leghorns, S9 per cent with White Wyandottes and 51 per cent with the Barred Plymouth. Rocks. These differences in profit are largely due to the extra amount of food consumed by the larger breeds as compared with Leghorns. As a partial or complete offset to this is the assumption that the wyandotte coekerel weigh about twice as much as the Leghorns and are worth more when marketable, and that the Wyandotte hens when their period of egg laying is past are worth more than Leghorn hens.
 Wyandotte eggs were thirteen to fourteen per cent heavier than those of Leghorns Individual differences in sizes of eggs were noted. The pro- duct of the Leghorn hens varied less in size than the eggs from different hens of either of the other breeds
 Records extending over several years and for a number of fowls indicate that the first year Is the most profit able for egg production. There were forty per cent more of eggs laid dur