No. 6. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUr/TURE. 



289 



YEARLY RECORDS FROM DATE FIRST EGG WAS LAID OF SOME OF 

 THE HIGH PRODUCING HENS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



Name. 



Dec. 

 Nov. 

 Not. 

 Dec. 

 Dec. 

 Dec. 

 Dec. 



"Lady Cotnell," 



"Miidain Coinell," .. 

 '■t'ornoll rrolilip," .. 

 "Cornell I.aywfll," 

 "Cornoll Suiironio," 

 "Cornell Suprise," . 

 "Cornell Persistent,' 



t772 

 1622 

 670 

 663 

 •7S9 

 t562 

 5567 



•Fourth year Incomplete. Died July 3. iai3. 

 tFour years complete. Died in fiftli year. 

 JThree years complete. Died fourth year. 

 IThree-year record. 



Table II. A list of the first, second, third and fourth year records 

 of seven high producing hens at Cornell University. 



We now come to the question of breeding our birds with regard 

 to discovering their ability to live long and produce well, — which 

 may be called their longevity. Here are the records of a good sized 

 group of birds that have now completed, in this instance, their four 

 year records, but we have their fifth, in which, it is seen that this 

 particular bird laid 772 eggs in the four years' time, laying 258 eggs 

 the first year, 200 the second, 191 the third and 123 in the fourth year. 

 The best bird in the lot, laid 242 the first year, 198 the second, 225 

 the third and 124 in the fourth, or a total of 789 eggs in tlie four 

 years' time. Here is a bird that is exceedingly surprising and she 

 was named Cornell's Surprise on that account because she laid ISO 

 eggs the first year, 186 the second and 196 the third, increasing her 

 production each year. This bird we still have with us and we are 

 hoping for great things because of her persistency in production, 

 laying such a high average each year, 192 the first, 178 the third, or 

 a total of 567 eggs in the three years' time. 



A Member: I note all these hens began to lay very late in the 

 Fall. Do you intend that that should be so? 



PROF. RICE: No sir. Ordinarily it would not have been true, 

 but the birds were hatched late and therefore began to lay late. If 

 these birds had been hatched early they unquestionably would have be- 

 gun early to medium early in the Fall to lay. 



A Member: How late? 



PROF. RICE: Frequently when they are around five or six 

 months old. Some of our high producing birds, however, do not 

 begin to lay until they are six or seven or eight months old. The 

 birds that do not begin to lay until they are nine or ten months old, 

 almost always are medium to low producers. In order that we may 



19—6—1915 



