262 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



7-8 EDWARD VII., A. 1908 

 Arguments for and against the Hopper System of Feeding. 



Much is said for and against the Hopper system. Briefly summed up, some of 

 these objections may be given as follows : — 



Favourable. — Because labour saving; preventing waste or fouling of food; allow- 

 ing each bird opportunity to obtain what food it desires; convenient and economical 

 in use. 



Against. — For the reason that birds of the heavy breeds are apt to eat too much 

 and as a result are disinclined to exercise; not economical; fowls are not likely to 

 go to roost with their crops as full as desirable; fowls scratch or pick out the grain 

 from the hoppers; when fed out-doors prevents foraging, &c. 



But there seems to be little objection from either side to this method when applied 

 to the feeding of young chicks, hatched either by hens or incubator, and which are 

 able to run abroad and forage for themselves. 



The system is really a continuation of the old practice of ' leaving the food before 

 the hens and chickens all the time.' 



The feeding of dry ground grains in an open trough, in one of our department 

 houses, during the past winter, was considered satisfactory. From what has been seen 

 of the hopper system of feeding — at home and abroad — there is every reason to con- 

 clude that it has come to stay. Its proper operation depends very much upon the style 

 of hopper and manner in which it is used. 



Methods other than the Trap Nest for Distinguishing Good from Bad Layers. 



Another instance of poultry development may be noted in the advertising of 

 methods of detecting the good and bad layers other than by the older trap nest 

 system. These miCthods or systems are sold at prices ranging from one to ten dollars 

 each and they are, more or less, successful according to the ability of the student to 

 understand the system which is taught by printed instructions and sent to the pur- 

 chaser. That these systems are in vogue is shown by the appearance, in agricultural 

 journals, of advertisements which ofFer ' eggs for hatching from egg-laying fowls 

 selected by our system.' The name of the inventor of the system is then given. 



Meanwhile improvements which tend to simplify and make more effective the' 

 operation of trap nests are being made. A strong point in favour of the trap nests 

 method is its mechanically correct determinations. The drawbacks to its use in a 

 large establishment, on the ground of expense, have been noted in a previous report. 

 Its value in arriving at correct conclusions, in experimental work, is shown in the 

 Tables which are a part of the following report. 



EXPERIMENTAL WORK OF THE PAST YEAR. 



The experimental work of the past year — with the exception of an unfinished 

 part in connection with the selection of future breeding stock by the trap nest system 

 — will be found in the following pages. The obtaining of data — calculated to show 

 the worth of each individual hen — by means of the trap nest system usually begun on 

 November 1, and extended to October 31 of the following year. In so doing the 

 winter and spring periods of highest prices and best egg production were fully covered. 

 To depart from this practice would be to interfere with the continuity of the records 

 and impair their usefulness. For these reasons the different tables which appear in 

 the following report are, as heretofore, dated from the beginning of the winter season 

 of one year to the end of the fall season of the next. 



The spring work of 1906 commenced with the artificial hatching of chickens by 

 incubators. At a later date some hens were used. One strong point in favour of the 

 incubator is that it is always ready. Opportunity is so afforded to those who are not 



