1917] ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 71 



second lots of 12 capons, fed until spring, made a total gain of 8 lbs. at a cost 

 of 25 cts. per pound of gain, and bringing a profit of $19.42. The fall cockerels 

 sold for 20 cts. per pound and the fall capons for 25 cts., while the capons in 

 the spring brought 35 cts. ; but the capons sold in the spring had cost $7.98 

 for feed to carry them over the winter. The capons grew in weight better 

 than the cockerels before going into the crates, but did not do so well during 

 the three weeks crate feeding, and the cost in the crates was more per pound. 

 The higher sum received for the fall capons was just equivalent to what the 

 5 cts. higher price amounted to. The advisability of keeping capons until 

 spring depends upon the amount of the greater price received for them. 



Tests to determine the fertility of eggs after removal of the male indicate 

 that there ai-e traces of fertility even to the eighteenth day after removal. 



Two lots of 12 hens each were fed 21 days as follows : Lot 1, a grain mixture 

 made up of ground oats, corn meal, middlings, and beef scrap, 2:2:2:1, and 

 moistened with water for feeding; and lot 2, ground oats moistened with skim 

 milk. Both lots were fed 1 lb. three times per day for the first week, and 2 

 lbs. twice a day for the following two weeks. Water was given twice a day. 

 These hens made average gains of 14.48 and 16.1 oz., and the food cost was 

 13.58 and 14.75 cts., per hen for the period. 



Temperature records were kept of colony houses at Brandon, Manitoba, con- 

 structed as follows : Numbers 1 and 3, tar paper and one ply of boards with an 

 extra ply of boards on the back ; number 2, double boarded outside of studs all 

 over ; number 4, tar paper and one ply of boards ; number 5, one ply of boards 

 on the outside of studs and one ply on the inside of studs; and number 6, 

 tar paper and one ply of boards on the outside of studs and boarded up on the 

 inside of studs just around the roosts. Number 6 was always the coldest, 

 but it had fewer hens and was the most exposed. Number 4 was the next 

 coldest, but it had also few hens and was just enough warmer to allow for its 

 extra shelter. Number 1 was the third coldest. It was well sheltered by bush 

 and had plenty of birds, but was somewhat damp inside and some of the 

 birds had their feet frozen. Number 2 gave much the same results as number 

 1, except that it was drier and did not have quite so much variation in tem- 

 perature. Number 5 gave the best results of all. It was no warmer than 

 number 3, but it had a much more uniform temperature than any of the other 

 houses and was a great deal drier. Although number 3 was the same in con- 

 struction as number 1, it was much warmer and drier. This may be explained 

 by the fact that it had the greatest number of birds and was the center of 

 the row. 



The temperatures were also take on the roosts with the curtains down 

 around the roosts, and the difference between the temperature of the house 

 outside the curtain and that of the roost noted. In every case the roost was 

 warmer than the rest of the house, varying from a few degrees up to as high 

 as 20° F. These results show that it is preferable to have a curtain to drop 

 in front of the roost on really cold nights, as it adds considerably to the com- 

 fort of the birds. No influence on egg production can be traced to the effect 

 of the houses, as differences in strain and age of the birds were more effective 

 factors in determining the number of eggs laid. 



Beginning on November 1, records of the eggs laid by the pullets and hens of 

 each breed were kept. The Wyandotte pullets commenced to lay on November 

 13 and the Plymouth Rock pullets on November 19. From this time on during 

 the entire winter the pullets gradually increased their egg production and the 

 hens fell off in theirs till about the end of January. This shows that the 

 pullet is essentially the winter egg producer. The White Wyandottes were 

 72628°— 17 6 



