82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



had carefully selected their stock, and had picked up those that 

 moulted early, and still they did not lay. Professor Rice said 

 that they had about concluded, but that he was not prepared 

 to let it go out, that a hen that took all summer to moult and 

 all the fall to get into condition was not a profitable hen to 

 keep because when cold weather came on, which had a natural 

 tendency to stop laying, the number of months in the year when 

 that hen would do good work was very small compared to 

 what it ought to be, and he recommended that farmers should 

 kill off that kind of fowls. Still at the same time, it does not 

 do to kill off every hen that has a ragged appearance for a con- 

 siderable time for some of those hens may have a very fine egg 

 record. It is not a good principle to go on to kill the ragged 

 hens and keep the sleek-looking ones, the handsome ones, be- 

 cause in so doing you may get rid of some that are making a 

 fine egg record. I do not know whether that is your experi- 

 ence or not. I have not had enough experience in that line to 

 know. 



Mr. Graham. Do you think you can make a hen moult at 

 will? 



Mrs. Monroe. I think that the care that a hen receives 

 has a good deal to do with it. What you want is to get results 

 in the poultry house, and if the method of feeding has a bearing 

 upon the question that is something. we want to know. I 

 should be very interested to get that experience. 



Mr. Graham. Do you not manage your flock so as to have 

 them moult at a certain time, and be in a good condition for 

 exhibition purposes ? 



Mrs. Monroe. Of course, I take particular care of the 

 birds I want to show. It is very largely condition that counts 

 in a show-room. There is sometimes more in the condition 

 of a bird than there is in the bird itself. Generally, the finer 

 appearance a bird has the better. Of course, the appearance 

 of a bird largely depends on its condition. A good bird in 

 poor condition will not appear well in the show-room, but a 



