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 a consideration as this was the
reason for insttutinE the work at the
Maine station in 1898 Bulletin Nc.
1872, recently issued is "A somewhat
. long and technical summary Of these
investigations.
In the general summary, the first
I. conclusion deduced is that mass Sc
lection for high egg production on the
basis of the trapnest record of the in
dividual 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 a conclu-
sion would seem to preclude the posi-
bility of increasing the egg production
of locks of poultry by systematic
breeding.
The conditions, however, are quite
different in these cases and when right
Iy understood the results are by no
means so discouraging as they at first
seem TO be. r..-
Statistics show that the average an
nual production of a fowl on farms In
the United States is from y to "a eggs.
Ali 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 / 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 first laying
year was 200 eggs or more, Since the
normal average annual production Of
these birds may be taken to have been
about 1875 eggs, it will be seen that the
selection practiced was fairly stringent
1t is no matter of surprise, therefore,
TO learn that not only was there no
Improvement in average flock produc-
ton. but that there was actually a
slight decline In production during the
selection period.
Yet. the results show conclusively
that the average egg production pee
fowl in the country at large can be in
creased. II the Maine station can raise
and maintain poultry tlOCks 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 year, and do 1t
without the introduction Of new blood,
surely the farmer and practical poultry
keeper can do the same thing with sys
temattc Matching. care and feeding Of
their tiocks 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 focks 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
vear 19O7-OS one Of the factors of its
CT
hv means of pedigree analysis thosy
individuals of the general flock which
possess high fecundity in Unbeatable
form
One other practical feature Of the
Maine station poultry experiments re-
Iates to the subject of inbreeding- thai
is the maintenance of the hocks for
thirteen years without the introduction
Of new blood. on this point the con-
clusion is reached. after a summary Of
the first ten wears breeding work, that
there is no evidence that the amount
Of inbreeding practiced during the mass
selection experiment had any unfavor-
able influence on either the egg pro-
duction or the general vitality of the
stock"
1t would probably be risky. however,
for the owners Of small fiOCks to adopt
this conclusion as a working hypoth
esis The Maine station hocks always
contained more than 300 fowls and
usually nearer / 900. and this gave OPP
portunity for avoiding close inbreeding
which could not be practiced by the
average poultry keeper. But in tests -
determine whether the Introduction of