Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-12-05

Sherlock Holmes used high-power
microscopes, chemicals. finger-print
records and rogues' gallery photos in
rounding up offenders against JUS
tice. The poultry owner must rely
chiefly on the past production rec
ords of the fowl, as well as on their
external appearance, condition and his
general information. in his task OF
separating the chaff from the wheat.
1t is essential that he go through the
flock between August Is and Septem-
Der Is and make a thorough culling,
ldiscarding all the Improbable pro
ducers so they may not be parasitic
on the profits of the flock during the
season when range is not available
and the expenses of feeding the birds
are CORRESPONDENCE increased.
AS rule the hens which have
stopped laying by the middle of
August or September are the poorest
producers in the flock and conse-
uuently will be the lowest yielders in
successive seasons. Hence. it is nee.
essary to rid the flock of such lazy
drones in order that the better pro-
ducers may be favored in care, feed,
and general poultry management.
When Test Is Best.
| Specialists of the United States De.
partment of Agriculture say that the
best and most easily applied test to
ascertain the best-laying fowl is the
date when the hens begin to mott,
stop laying. or nearly cease egg pro-
duction. Furthermore. it is easy to
examine the plumage of each hen in
'order to ascertain whether any pin
feathers or partially grown feathers
are shown. In case the hen Is
through molting. the poultryman can
convince himself of that condition by
the presence of clean. unworn plum
age.
! In the case of the yellow-legged
birds. the color of the legs is some
indication of good producing capacity
and persistency, IS the hens tend to
lose their bright yellow color as the
laying season progresses. Good pro-
ducers usually have white or pale
yellow legs during the late summer
and early fall, while poor producers
will show straw-colored or medium
yellowish legs. If the flock has access
to good grass range, the birds, as a
rule, will maintain their leg color
longer than where there is little
grass or where only bare yards are
provided Accordingly, on the grass
range not as much Importance is
given to leg color
Comb is an Indicator
The color of the beak applies along
similar lines. except that it disap-
pears and reappears more rapidly
than the pigment in the legs. Furth-
ermore, the appearance of the COMB
! is an indication of whether or not
the hen is laying. The bird with the
red comb. which is full of blood and
Thoroughly expanded, usually is lay
ing, while the fowl having a comb
which is smaller, shrunken, and dull
red in color, harder, and covered
with whittier scales, is ordinarily not
laying. Generally speaking, laying
hen usually shows greater distance
between the pelvic bones, two bones
which are felt as points on either side
of the back In the case of hens
which are laying, the pelvic bones
feel thinner and more flexible, while
there is spread of two fingers or
more between them. A smaller spread
usually indicates that the hen is not
laying.
Usually the laying hen shows a
greater extension of the abdomen,
which may be measured by placing
the fingers between the pelvic bones
and the end of the keel. In this case
of the smaller birds, such as the
White Leghorns, the spread of aldo
| MON L.. ,,annllu til roc fin pnrs Or more.