Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-10

ton
The importance of increasing the egg
supply has been recognized for some
time. and if definite methods of i'm
proving the average egg production Of
fowls can be discovered it will be of
great economic value to farmers and
poultry keepers throughout the coun-
try.
Such consideration as this was the
reason for institutinl. the work at the
Maine station in 1898. Bulletin Nc
1872, recently issued is somewhat
long and technical summary of these
Investigations
In the general summary, the first
conclusion deduced is that mass Sc
lection for high egg production on the
basis of the tlspnest record of the in
dividuaI alone did not result in a steady
continuous Improvement in average
flock production, even though it was
continued FOR a period of ten years"
To the casual reader such conctu-
sion would seem to preclude the posi-
biiity of increasing the egg production
Of focks of poultry by systematic
breeding
The conditions. however are quite
different in these cases and When right
ly understood the results are by no
means So discouraging as they at first
seem to be.
Statistics show that the average an
nuaI production of a fowl on farms in
the United States is from - to "a eggs.
All thoroughly practical experiments
must aim to show that this average
can be greatly increased.
The Maine station experiments be
gan with fowls which annually laid
more than double this number of eggs
The practice in breeding was to use
as mothers of the stock bred in any
year only the hens that laid between
November l of the year in which they
were Matched and November l of the
following year $50 or more eggs After
the first year all male birds used in the
breeding were the sons of mothers
whose production in their fl st laying
year was 200 eggs or more. Since the
normal average annual production of
these birds may be taken to have been
about 125 eggs, it will be seen that the
selection praCtiCed was fairly stringent,
1t is no matter of surprise, therefore,
ia learn that not only was there no
Improvement in average flock produc-
ton but that there was actually
slight decline in production during the
selection period.
Yet. the results show conclusively
that the average egg production pc
11F. he II
creased. If the Maine station can raisr
and maintain poultry fiocks capable Of
laying annually an average of 125 eggs
per fowl with individuals having a
LAYING capacity ranging from $50 to
more than 200 eggs a year, and do 1t
without the introduction of new blood
surely the farmer and practical poultry
keeper can do the same thing with sys-
tematic Matching, care and feeding Of
their 1ocks This is the practical les
son from these experiments which
should not be lost to view. notwith-
standing the stations failure to in
crease still further the egg production
of the fiocks by breeding from its best
layers.
In the earlier tests which sought
particularly to deal With the practical
side of poultry keeping, it had been
noted that the daughters of hens that
had produced 200 or more eggs each in
the pulet year did not usually make
high egg records and were in fact no
better LAYERS on the average than birds
from the general flock. and when new
plan Of breeding was adopted in the
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