1907.] DISCUSSION. 79 



— lime. Now how about the eggs of this pen. But there 

 was something more about the bones. The bones of the birds 

 in the first pen would support eight pounds more weight than 

 the bones of the birds in the corresponding pen, — in the pen 

 that had had no oyster shell but had grit. Of course, the 

 other two would not support anything. They suspended those 

 little bones between two supports and hung weights upon them. 

 Those hens that were so fat that they could hardly waddle, were 

 simply covered with layers of fat, were perfectly gorgeous lay- 

 ers, and the second pen laid a few eggs. They did not lay very 

 many, and as fast as they did lay them they ate them up, seek- 

 ing after lime. The eggs that they ate did not give them what 

 they wanted. It was lime they wanted. 



Question. Did those birds have any clover or anything 

 of that kind? 



Mrs. Monroe. They had everything that a hen could want. 

 Everything that the most unreasonable hen could call for or 

 ask for. They kept those hens the best they could in every 

 particular. Water, grain, green stuff, everything. I guess 

 they had everything. That was the experiment. 



Question. How about the eggs from the third and fourth 

 pens? 



Mrs. Monroe. They didn't lay any. Some of the eggs 

 from the second pen were photographed, and the egg de- 

 veloped in the second pen, the very best one, was not equal to 

 the poorest development of the first pen. Those hens would 

 not have laid in months, in the third and fourth pens. How 

 they lived was a marvel to me. It only illustrates one thing, 

 and that is, that a hen is going to take care of her body first, 

 and if she has enough surplus she is going to make that sur- 

 plus into eggs. At the same time, the development of the 

 various other flocks of birds in these pens was in exact propor- 

 tion to the development of fat. That is the way it looked. I 

 call that a very interesting experiment. 



I have some pictures here. Here is one of a hen they call 

 " Black Beauty." I want to tell you about her. This hen was 



