El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-28
REPRODUCTION Is Increased
Efforts are Made to Secure 200 Eggs
From Each Hen and Experiment
is Proving Profitable.
By L rcd eric ]. HastSin -
4 SHINGTON d q

/ w Egg laying contests are the
" latest innovation in the pouI-
! try world The first one, which has
been in progress at the state agricuI-
tural experiment station at Mountain
| Grove, Missouri, has recently closed
! its records and a second is tc open in
a few weeks. Hens from al parts of
! the country took part in this contest
and one pen of fowls was shipped
! from England for the purpose. Some
! of the records seem incredible but
| they are vouched for by scientific rec
7 ords.
Buff WyandOtte Winner.
The champion hen of the nation for
unremitting egg laying, is buff
! Wyandotte who produced an egg day
! for 80 consecutive days. A pen of
l buff WyandOtteS, containing ten hens,
produced 240 eggs a month, an average
of "A eggs to each hen. Three hun
dred and sixty hens, inspired by the
contest into special activity, made
record of over 20 eggs each for
period of 80 days. One particular rec
ord was kept for five and a half
months. The honOrs in this were won
by an English white Leghorn hen,
laid 141 eggs. A buff Wyandotte
from Vermont laid 1876. \ Missouri
hen of the same breed laid 135 eggs
to her credit, while black Leghorn
OF Missouri came next with 155 eggs
a white hen of purest Plymouth line
age established a record of 26S eggs
throughout the entire year.
These records show that Dame Part
let is much more valuable and pro-
dUctiVe creature than men have recOg-
nized. They prove that the number
of hens capable of 200 egg annual
average is much larger than had been
supposed Some comment was ex-
cited because the pen of English hens
made better records for certain OBJ
jects than the American birds. This
&c M ri ia tn No af hi hlafr
owner had them in better condition to
begin laying Immediately after their
admission to the contest than were
most of the hens from this country.
Those who were in charge of the
contest do not admit any superiority
to the English breed, although they
acknowledge that most English poultry
ralSerS know better how to care for
their hens than do the Americans. The
contest also indicated that no par
ticular breed can be relied upon to
excel in egg production 1t is the in
dividual hens and their condition which
make the records
Egg Production Encouraged.
The annual increase in egg pro-
duction in the United States has been
much fOStered by the department of
agriculture within the last decade and
the results have justified the effort.
Especial attention is continually be-
ing given to the care of laying hens,
the handling of eggs and the methods
OF preserving them for the market
At present studies in feeding hens are
in progress at the experiment farm
of the department near Washington,
D c. The object of these studies is
to find out what food win produce
the greatest number of eggs, and also
what food will produce the cheapest
eggs 1t has been indicated that
some of the foods producing the high
est number of eggs are so expensive
that cheaper foods, producing fewer
eggs. will be more economical
industry n rT-y~ NJ
amounts to fully hale a billion dollars
OF annual value While for centuries
past close study has been given TO
the breeding OF cattle and horses, the
breeding of hens has been notably
neglected. Now the commercial value
OF the hen has been so demonstrated
breed hens with reference to their
laying qualities The 200 egg hen has
become the slogan for all breeders.
1t has been demonstrated lately that
the 200 egg hen is not herself a good
breeder The average egg yield from
pullets Matched from hens having a
record exceeding 200 eggs annually
has been found TO be considerably less
than from pullets Matched from eggs
OF hens whose records ranged from
$50 to Us.
Excess Laying Not Profitable.
While the 200 egg hen is the one
most popular for commercial purposes,
egg raisers do not find that such
heavy production is necessary to max
ing poultry raising profitable. Az
average of $50 eggs having a value
OF from 81 to So, may, If properly dis
tributed throughout the year, be made
as profitable as an average of 200
eggs from some hens even if that
yield can be depended upon.
The enormous value of the egg prod
ucts of the country has recently Gre
ated additional interest in conserving
them 1t is claimed by the department
OF agriculture that the loss to the
farmer from bad methods of producing
and handling eggs amounts to over
S45,OOO,O00 annually. Much Of this
loss could be avoided by thorough
system OF conservation for this Valu-
able food product Egg conservation
requires greater care of the hens while
laying OF the nests in which the eggs
place in which the eggs are stored be-
fore taking them to market and also
a proper system of handling them
for the market
Heat SpoiIs Eggs.
The temperature at which eggs are
kept after being gathered has much
to do with their keeping qualities.
They should be kept where it is cool
not Kitchen or a damp cellar will
hasten egg deterioration. The farm
ers wives of Kansas, for a number Of
years, have been keeping their eggs
IN the cyclone caves, of which there
are thousands scattered. over the state
These are lower in temperature than
tne mouse and nave been pronounced
next best to an ice plant for keeping
eggs in good condition Experiments
conducted by the department of agri-
culture published a few weeks ago
commend the cyclone for storing eggs.
Much of the egg loss sustained each
year is due to cracking and breaking
IN handling. 1t is claimed that in New
ork city alone last year 37,SO476S
eggs, over a million and a half dozen.
were lost in this way. This enormous
breakage naturally tends to keep the
price OF eggs higher than would other
wise be necessary. A number of or
CARNATIONS are now cooperating in ex-
periments in shipping eggs with a view
10 securing some means of lessening
the loss from breakage. The railroads
claim that their damage losses are so !
heavy that the carrying of eggs is an
Improbable proposition.
Using Cracked Eggs.
The utilization of these cracked
eggs is also receiving increased atten-
ton. i laboratory has been estab- /
lished by the department of agricuI- |
ture at. Sedalia, No, to study methods !
OF such utilization The method most /
IN use at present consists of canning 4
the contents of the eggs and preserv- |
ing them by freezing The excess ]
supply of eggs of summer and spring.
as well as of the eggs with soft or
damaged shells can be conserved for
food purposes by this means
Several egg canning places are now /