382 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



In the summer test the fowls fed a mash in the morning laid 583 eggs in 5 months; 

 those fed a mash in the evening, 570 eggs. The weights of the poultry at the begin- 

 ning and end of the test are reported. 



"It will be seen that neither in the winter nor summer experiment was there any- 

 very considerable difference in the number of eggs produced. It is, however, possi- 

 bly significant, and this fact is made evident by the tables showing monthly egg 

 yields, that during the period of shortest days the fowls receiving the evening mash 

 laid less eggs than the others. 



"The most striking result of the experiments is the great difference in the relative 

 amounts of droppings voided during the night by the fowls under the two systems of 

 feeding. It was noticed from the beginning, and the same remained true throughout 

 the entir^ period, that the amount of droppings voided during the night by the fowls 

 receiving the evening mash was very much greater than the amount voided by the 

 other lot of fowls. . . . 



"[This] furnishes conclusive evidence that the digestive process in the case of a 

 soft food like a mash is very rapid. The fact that digestion among birds is relatively 

 much more rapid than with most classes of animals has been already many times 

 pointed out. . . . 



" Our experiments indicate that the ordinary domestic fowl, as might have been 

 supposed would be the case, is also able to digest soft foods with a degree of rapidity 

 which seems astonishing. There has long been a general impression, and the usual 

 practice in feeding fowls is evidence of this, that it is better to give the more solid 

 food at night, especially during the winter, since it will 'stay by' the fowls l>etter. 

 Our experiments indicate that this im})ression is well founded and that the usual 

 practice is correct, although they can not be considered to prove it, because, of course,^ 

 it may be that a period of comparative rest for the digestive organs during the night 

 is better than the condition of more continuous work for these organs which would 

 follow the use of solid food at night. 



"We have not obtained a sufficient difference in egg-production to be considered 

 significant, but it is believed that the experiment, so far as it goes, indicates that it 

 is better that the mash should ])e fed in the morning." 



Report of the manager of the poultry department, W. R. Graham {Ontario 

 Agr. Col. and E.ipt. Farm Rpt. 1900, pp. 126-135, fig. 1). — The rations fed and eggs 

 produced by the station poultry during the year are discussed, as well as the jiropor- 

 tion of eggs hatched by incubators and by hens. Brief statements are also made 

 concerning raising broilers and ducks, and 3 feeding experiments are rejwrted in 

 detail. 



In the first test rations consisting of ground barley, corn, oats, and buckwheat 

 meal, alone and in combination, were compared on 8 lots of 12 chickens each, the 

 grain in some cases being finely ground and in others coarsely ground. In 3 weeks 

 the greatest gain, 12 lbs., was made by lot -4 on a ration of finely ground oats, corn 

 meal, and pea meal (2:1 : 1), the cost of food per pound of gain being 5.15 cts. The 

 smallest gain, 5 lbs., was made by lots 5 and 8, the rations consisting, respectively, of 

 finely ground corn and ordinary ground oats. In these cases the cost of food per 

 pound of gain was 8.2 and 8.3 cts., respectively. 



In the second test the comparative merits of pure-bred and scrub stock were 

 studied with 8 lots, each consisting of 6 pure-bred chickens and 6 scrubs. For 

 2 weeks they were fed a ration made up of barley, oats, corn, and buckwheat, alone 

 and in combination, and coarsely and finely ground. In every case milk was fed, and 

 in one case, lot 8, potatoes were fed in addition. For the remainder of the test they 

 were fed, by means of a cramming machine, a ration of finely ground oats and ground 

 buckwheat (2:1), mixed with twice their weight of skim milk. In each instance the 

 greater gains were made by the pure-bred stock, the differences in their favor rang- 

 ing from 5 to 8.8 lbs. Furthermore, the gain was more cheaply made by the pure- 



