298 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Off. Dot. 



in October and November, they never get over it, never catch up the 

 lost time. Here is the third year (Fig. 16), the same birds, and you 

 will notice that each year there is less and less production in the fall 

 of all three groups, but they hold to their heavy production in these 

 early months, as shown by the previous slide. 



Before we can make very much progress in breeding for egg pro- 

 duction, we must decide on the meaning of some terms. I have taken 

 occasion a good many times to talk with people about their ideas as to 

 what constitutes good egg production. A' man will say, "Oh I think a 

 hundred egg hen, or a hen that is laying 125 eggs per year is 

 doing pretty well." Another man will say, "A hen is no good 

 unless she can lay 150 eggs or 200 eggs." If we are to decide what 

 is a high egg yield, we must decide whether we mean the first, 

 second or third year records or the total one, or three year pro»- 

 duction, so I took a test one day of 13 persons who had a good 

 deal of experience in the poultry business and asked them to give 

 an estimate of what they considered an egg yield should be to fit the 

 following terms, phenomenally low, exceptionally low, very low, fair, 

 medium, high, very high, exceptionally high, phenomenally high. There 

 are some good terms to express yields of what would be considered 

 a good flock of birds given good care on a poultry farm. What would 

 they be expected to do to fit these terms? Here is the result based 

 on the average of all replies : 



A SYMPOSIUM OF GUESSES AS TO A GOOD AVERAGE FLOOK EGG PRO- 

 DUCTION PER HEN PER YEAR TO PIT DESCRIPTIVE TERMS INDI- 

 CATING VARIOUS GRADES OF PRODUCTION. 



Phenomenally 



low, 



Exceptionally 



low, 



Very low, . 



Low 



Fair 



Medium, — 



Good 



High 



Very high, .. 

 Bxceptionally 



high 



Phenomenally 



high 



Totals, . 



50 



60 



70 

 100 

 125 

 150 

 175 

 200 

 230 



250 



2^75 



1685 



2g 



40 



50 

 95 

 115 

 125 

 135 

 150 

 160 



180 



20 



40 



60 

 80 

 100 

 120 

 140 

 160 

 180 



aoo 



225 J 240 ' 20O I 220 



1375 I 1550 1275 1320 



30 20 



40 



50 



70 



85 

 100 

 130 

 160 

 180 



190 



2001 



30 



40 



50 



60 



75 



100 



125 



160 



20O 



225 



20 



40 



40 60 



60 ; 75 



80 ' 90 



95 ! 110 



110 , 125 



125 ' 140 



1235 ! 1085 



145 

 165 



180 



200 



160 

 180 



200 



225 



1220 ! 1405 



10 



25 



40 

 60 

 80 

 105 

 125 

 130 

 140 



11 



70 



75 

 SO 

 90 

 100 

 110 

 125 

 140 



160 150 

 170 156 



180 I 160 



12 



20 



30 



40 

 60 

 100 

 115 

 150 

 180 

 200 



13 



50 



eo 



75 

 100 

 115 

 125 

 140 

 150 

 160 



215 175 



23o! 200 



1215 I 1255 'I 1340 1350 



Total 



420 



625 



815 

 1095 

 1350 

 1555 

 1790 

 2040 

 2300 



2S40 



2780 

 17310 



At. 



S2.3 



4S. 



62.7 

 84.2 

 103.8 

 119.6 

 137.7 

 156.9 

 176. f 



195.4 



213.8 



Table IV. A table giving the result of estimates of the egg yield 

 that would fit descriptive terms to indicate the productive power of 

 fowls. 



Phenomenally low, 32 ; exceptionally low, 48 ; very low, 62 ; low, 84 ; 

 fair, 103; medium, 119; good, 137; high, 156; very high, 176; excep- 

 tionally high, 195; phenomenally high, 213. For a flock of 100 birds 

 laying 213 eggs per hen per year I think if you search the United 

 States from one end to the other you would not find them. You can 

 see by these figures what some poultrymen of the country think about 

 ■^'^hat constitutes high, medium, low or average production. 



