1906.] DISCUSSION. 145 



ment station bulletin, and the statement has the weight of being 

 an official report. It says : 



" The number of hens lost during the winter has been less 

 than ever before, even when they were kept in the same style 

 of houses. We can ascribe this to no other cause than that 

 the birds did not overload with food at any time. We have 

 never had so many eggs laid during the winter months by a 

 like number of hens, but that may be due to better breeding, or 

 to the open-front houses which the birds occupied. 



" The average yield of the 550 hens during March was 

 20.4 eggs per bird. The whole number of eggs laid by them 

 during the six months from November ist to April 30th inclu- 

 sive, was 42,126, an average of 76 eggs per bird. It must be 

 borne in mind that these birds were not selected, but were 

 the whole number of pullets reared last year." 



Doesn't that have a triumphant ring to it? Isn't that a 

 most convincing proof of the great gain of dry-feeding? That 

 *' we have never had so many eggs laid during the winter 

 months by a like number of birds," and " the number of hens 

 lost during the winter has been less than ever before," covers 

 the whole range of profitable work in egg production ; when we 

 get more eggs during the winter months and fewer birds die, 

 we may feel reasonably certain we are upon the right road, 

 that we are making the best of success with our poultry work. 

 Outside of the question of saving in labor and there is a de- 

 cidedly great gain there, stated to be as much as a third to a 

 half — the better growth of the youngsters, and the better 

 health and greater egg yield of the laying stock, is ample 

 ground for adopting the dry-feeding method of keeping poul- 

 try. 



DISCUSSION. 



The President. This is an exceedingly interesting paper 

 on the same line as the one we have already had. Are there 

 any further questions? 



Mr. Blakeman. Mr. Chairman, I have noticed that this 

 gentleman in speaking of food which should be given to poul- 

 try says nothing about the addition of shells. Most poultrymen 

 think that the addition of broken shells is indispensable. I want 

 Agr. — 10 



