TiiF. ^roLTixc OF Fowls. 387 



of the tail feathers would show about an inch beyond the cushion in 

 twenty-one days, and some have taken twenty-seven days to grow 

 an equal length. Cochin Bantams will grow their main tail feathers 

 so as to protrude beyond the cushion feathers in three weeks. Mr. 

 Wm. McNeail of Canada, told me that it took a Hamburg over six 

 weeks to grow decent length sickles, but of this I cannot absolutely 

 say." — T. F.McGrew. 



"About three months, as I recall, beforehand, I chanced to take a 

 bird with a tail so badly broken that I pulled every main and covert 

 as well as the sickle feathers. They came in nicely and at the time of 

 the show were two-thirds mature." — Mrs. Geo. E. Monroe. 



The quantity of food consumed increases during egg-production. 

 That the number of eggs produced bears a close relationship to the 

 amount of food consumed, is strikingly shown in Fig. 16, A and B, 

 where it will be seen that the hens which laid the largest number of eggs 

 consumed the most food. Periods of large egg-production always 

 appear to be periods of increased food consumption and vice versa. 



An increase in food consumption slightly precedes and over-laps the period 



of egg-production. 



It will be noticed that the increase in the amount of food consumed 

 precedes, by a few weeks, the increase in production, showing that the 

 fowl fortifies her body by storing up the nourishment from which to pro- 

 duce eggs (Fig. 16, A, B and C). 



Weight of hen is greatest preceding heaviest egg-production. 



A glance at the plotted curves, Fig. 16, comparing (B), the weight of 

 the fowls during each period, and (C) the per cent egg-production for 

 each period will indicate how uniformly the curve showing increase 

 and decrease in production follows the curve of increase and decrease 

 in weight. 



The youngest fowls ate the most food and laid the most eggs. 



A comparison of the amount of food consumed, the eggs laid, and the 

 weight of flocks of different ages (Fig. 16, A, B and C) shows that the 

 youngest fowls ate the most food and produced the largest number 

 of eggs. 



The per cent egg-production varies each month, according to tJte seasons, 



with remarkable regularity. 



This is strikingly illustrated in the plotted curves of production dur- 

 ing the 1 6 periods of 28 days each, for the six flocks of fowls of different 



