Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-12-03
FEEDING POULTRY
FOR HIGH LAYERS
The Laws of Inheritance Were
Found in an Experiment Ex-
tending Over About Thirtesn
Vnara


tending Over About Thirteea
Years.
Orono, Me-, Dec. 1.-The following
was issued today from the ONCE or
Charles d. Woods, director Of the
Maine agricultural experiment sta
ton at Orono:
Back in 1898 when the saying was
prevalent that there was mo SCRUB
like q thoroughbred scrub" the
Maine Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton undertook breeding experiment
to determine the laws of inheri-
lance Of egg production. BY
knowledge Of these laws once deter
mined the biologists Of the. Station
connected with the work meant to
put the scrub where it belonged. and
make it SO that in fact there should
be no such thing as a thorough
bred" scrub in poultry.
The success Of this experiment Is
today common knowledge to many
who will read this. There are, how
ever, few who realize the amount OF
labor extended to discover those
simple facts. The object of the i'm
vestigation stated concretely is con-
tanned in the opening sentence OF
the first report on this subject, For
several years the Station has been
breeding with the hope Of establish
ing families or strains of hens that
shall excel as egg producers. 1t Is
known that the Jaws of inheritance
and transmission are as true with
birds as with other animals and
when we consider the wonderful ad-
vance in egg production that the hen
has made since domestication, there
is ample reason for assuming that
a higher average production than the
present can be secured. 1t was
found in practice that with the most
careful selection (the selection on
the basis of shank color and con-
formation were then known to our
biologistl we were including in our
breeding pens birds that were not
great producers" To remedy this
difficulty the trap nest was invented.
The first of its kind. it has since
been copied in principle by many
manufacturers and poultrymen.
At this time work of this kind was
unheard of. it was subject to ridicule
and embarrassment of many kinds.
1t was the pioneer Of the highest ord
er and like the pioneer "the hand
writing appeared on the walr' some
times before it was recognized.
In 1911. thirteen years after. the
study was begun, the problem was
solved. The facts determined may
be boiled down to the following terse
conclusions. ~ The record of egg
production of a hen. taken by itself
alone. gives no definite. reliable in
dication from which the probable
egg production of her daughters may
be predicted. Furthermore, mass Sc
lection on the basis of egg laying
records of females alone. even
though long continued and stringent
in character, completely failed to
produce any steady change in type in
the direction Of selection.
{2) Differences in egg producing
ability are, in spite Of the above re-
suits. certainly inherited. CD The
number of visible oocytes (protential
egss) on the ovary bears no definite
or constant relation to the actually
realized egg production. - This
can only mean that observed differ.
ences (variations) in actual egg pro-
duction depend upon differences In
the complex physiological mechanism
concerned with the development of
oocytes. and the separation Of them
from the ovary and the body (lay-
ing). go 1t is found to be the case
that birds fall into three rather we'll
defined classes in respect to winter
egg production. These include (a)
birds with high winter records, (b)
birds with low winter records. and
(c) birds which do not lay at all in
the winter period. The division point
between a and b for the Barred Ply
mouth Rock used in these experi-
ments falls at a production of about
80 eggs. 80 High productiveness
may be inherited by daughters from
their sire. Independent of the dam
60 High laying ability is not
directly inherited by daurhters
from their dam. 90 Mediocre or
poor laying ability may be inherited,
by the daughters from either sire or
dam. or both. (S) Constitutions,
visor and Matching ability are in
her1ted in the same manner as fhe
character egg production.
from these results a mode Of nro-
cedure can be devised to increase
the egg production of the poultry
mans flock. (a) The first ana no.
maps as important as any point Is to
select only birds for breeding which
nave constitutional vigor. Let tho
scales determine the growth. the
deaths In shell. chick mortality and
any sickness be charged against the
parents in determining their vitality
(o) The use as breeders of snch 70
males only as have shown Themselves
oy trap-nest records to be high nro-
ducers, since it is only from such 70.
males that there can be anv hon. ~
getting males capable Of TRANSMIT
ting high laying qualities. (cl Th.
use as breeders Of such males on,,,
as are known to be the sons of high
producing dams, since only fror,
such males can We expect tn ~.t
hisn producing daughters. (d) resn
some adequate pedigree svs,er,
whereby it is possible to tel, what
Individual male bird was the sire ~