The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-10

made by hen in any of the official lay ing competitions conducted in America IS 2S2 eggs. When the report was made that a hen had actually ageraged nearly five and a half eggs per week for a whole year, poultrymen by thousands began to inquire how she was produced.
 Professor Stoneburn has secured the estimated facts for the benefit or our readers, and these are presented below.
 By PROF. F. H. STONEBURN
 It is probably true that in every flock of laying hens there are one or more in- dividuals which are remarkably prolific; but this can only be determined by the use of the trap nest. Tn ordinary practice these great performers are overlooked. are merely units in the flock. and they are just as likely to be sold or dressed for table use as their sisters which are poor layers
 Occasionally we find a flock which is made up largely of consistent performers, year after year showing a high average egg yield Under such conditions we may reasonably conclude that this stock has been produced by an intelligent, pro- gressive breeder who closely studies his birds and their characters and knows exactly the value of the different lines of blood, using the good and discharging the undesirable. It is obvious that sympa- thetic breeding of this kind involves great deal of detail work. It is also plain that such work pays.
 The various laying competitions con ducted in America during the last three years have attracted much attention, and have done a great deal in the way of in ducing producers of market eggs to pay more attention to individual perform ances and breeding for increased egg pro- duction.
 A Remarkable Record
 Considering the contests as whole, the most consistent performance is that of the birds entered by a foreign breeder Tom Barron, of England In the first North American competition his pen finished fourth, inspite of the loss of one bird in midseason. The average produc- tion--on the basis of full pen of five birds-was nearly 200 eggs In the second Missouri contest his birds won, with the average production of POT eggs. They duplicated this feat in the second North American event with an average of 23S eggs. the individual scores of the five birds being 206. 210, 230, 262 and 2S2 The latter is the highest score made by any individual in the history of Amer ican laying competitions.
 At this writing. MT. Barron's entries are leading in the three competitions now in progress at Thorndale. Pa.; Mountain Grove Mo-, and Storrs, Conn.
 This record, coupled with his winnings in many laying contets in England, is ample proof that this breeder has de- veloped strains of fowls which have the
 
 that he knows how to develop and condi- tion them in such a manner as to enable them to do their best work. A discussion of his methods cannot fail to interest and possibly inspire and help the poultry breeders of America.
 This gentleman recently visited this country, and, in the course of several conversations with the writer. talked freely regarding his work. in this way and through other sources, the following information was secured:
 MT. Barton began poultry keeping just 20 years ago. He had no working capital, so started on a small scale with 20 birds. For a. time he devoted himself to the poultry fancy. the breeding of exhibition birds. But England is a hotbed of fan ciers competition in this line very keen, and he made but slow progress. After time. he came to the conclusion that he could do better by devoting him. SCH to Ine SlrlctlN utlllty Slde or the ln- dustry so he made the change. The need of birds with better than average laying ability was apparent to him. so he turned his skill as a breeder of show fowls to goud account in the production of heavy layers Space for bids the presentation of an account of his early experiences Some were dis heartening; others most encouraging. But he persisted, and he earned success both in accomplishing what ke aimed at and in a financial way as well. From a modest beginning with a bare score of birds he has steadily built up his plant from the profits of the busi- ness, until today he owns completely equipped establishment of large size, ac- commodating thousands of fowls and em- ploying several men the year round.
 The Trap Nest Necessary
 According to MT. Barton. the basis of his success is the trap nest. This appli- ance is used in all pens, and the individ- ual records of all his birds are system atically recorded F months in the year. He believes that the tendency toward heavy laying Is directly inherited and that 1t is brought out by proper feeding and management. In short, that the three things which determine a bullets value as layer are her ancestry, her growth and development and her environment during her productive life. A chick of good breeding may be spoiled during the first six months of her life, and we'll grown bullets will not lay heavily unless properly housed and fed In the matter of breeding he uses good laying blood entirely. The hens must be good performers, and shown by trap nest records. and the males the sons of heavy layers. He pedigrees his chicks carefully and preserves and intensifies the blood lines which prove most satis- factory. Virtually all chicks are matched in i'm cubators. Lamp heated machines are used, both American and English makes. These have total capacity of 36O0 eggs.
 Growing the Chicks From the incubators. the chicks go to the brooder house. which can accommo- date about 5000 at one time. At first they are placed in nursery hovers. heated by hot-water pipes, but later they are trans ferred to secondary breeders, which are fitted with lamps. | About 80 chicks are placed in each