588 



Bulletin 318 



Plymouth Rocks. Although the mortality among the chickens from 

 pen 76 (strong) was much heavier than among the chickens from pen 75 

 (weak), the pullets in pen 76 were much heavier, their average weight 

 being 3.07 pounds while that of the pullets in pen 75 was 2.45 pounds. 



Owing to the different combinations of weak and strong fowls used, 

 records were kept of the sex of the progeny. There were a^ good 

 many deaths of young chicks whose sex was not recorded. Neither 

 was the sex recorded of the chicks that failed to hatch. In Table 10, 

 however, is shown the percentage of cockerels and pullets of all the 

 chicks recorded. All the strong pens, which had strong females and strong 

 males, produced about an even percentage of cockerels and pullets. There 

 were natural fluctuations, the difference in pen 76 being as great as ten 

 per cent more pullets, and in pen 21, six per cent more cockerels. Among 

 the weak pens the pullets averaged seven per cent greater in number 

 than the cockerels. However, in pen 75 (weak females and weak males) 

 the cockerels outnumbered the pullets by nearly three per cent. In the 

 other two weak pens (strong males with weak females) the pullets out- 

 numbered the cockerels. This was especially true with the Plymouth 

 Rock pen 23. 



It would seem from these more or less contradictory results that the 

 strength of the breeding stock does not greatly influence the sex of the 

 offspring. 



Financial statement 



The financial statement for the year means the difference between 

 the value of eggs laid plus the value of the gain in weight of the fowls, 

 and the cost of food plus the cost of loss of stock by death. The interest 

 on the investment is not included. The cost of Utter for the pens is 



TABLE II. Financial Statement per Hen 

 (December 10, 1907, to December 7, 1908) 



