ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 669 



amount as that following pituitary feeding, as above noted. Neither pituitary 

 substance (anterior lobe) nor corpus luteum substance when fed to laying 

 pullets causes any retardation in the attsjinnient of sexual maturity as indi- 

 cated by the laying of eggs. The birds so fed begin to lay eggs at the same age, 

 but at a smaller body weight than the normal controls." 



Some of the essential safeguards for the critical conduct of organ substance 

 experiments with poultry are discussed. 



Range v. confinement for laying hens, W. J. Buss (Jour. Amer. Assoc. 

 Insfr. and Invest. Poultry Hush., .2 {1915), No. 3, pp. 23, 27/). — In an experi- 

 ment- at the Ohio Experiment Station it was found that hens on range produced 

 15.5 per cent more eggs and consumed 0.9 per cent less feed (aside from grass) 

 than did the lot in confinement. Percentage mortality was about 50 per cent 

 higher with the lot in confinement. 



In a second experiment the lot on range produced 30.9 per cent more eggs 

 and consumed 2.3 per cent more feed (aside from grass) than did the lot in 

 confinement. Mortality was slightly higher in the lot on range during the 

 period covered by these figures. However, this experiment has been continued, 

 and, up to the present time, seven hens have died in the confined lot and five 

 in the range lot. While these figures show rather conclusively that better results 

 will be secured by allowing laying hens to have range, yet the results indicate 

 that where it is not possible to secure range, hens can be kept at a profit in 

 rather close confinement. 



Comparison of methods of managing pullets, Mbs. G. R. Shotjp (Washing- 

 toih Sta., West. Wash. Sta., Mo. Bui. 3 {1916), No. 10, pp. 13-20, figs. 2).— A 

 test beginning in November was made of two flocks of 100 hens each, one under 

 good farm conditions, the other under special management. This included a 

 somewhat more varied ration and the use of artificial light (gasoline lantern) 

 in the houses early in the morning and late at night, thus lengthening the 

 period of light by several hours. The total cost of feed for the 5-week period 

 for lot 1 was $16.77 and for lot 2, $19.97, but the number of eggs laid by lot 

 1 was 652 as compared with 1,592 by lot 2. The profit of lot 1 was but $7.04 

 and that of lot 2, $38.05, thus indicating the effectiveness of the system of 

 special management adopted. 



The experiment is being continued. 



Seasonable variation in the quality of farm eggs, W. S. Young (Jour. 

 Amer. Assoc. Insfr. and Invest. Poultry Hush., 2 (1916), No. 4> PP- 27-30). — 

 From data obtained from the Poultry Producers Association of Ithaca, N. Y., 

 " there seems to be a decided tendency to have the highest quality eggs in the 

 months of January and February. As production increases there are more blood 

 spots, check, and browns, and the quality gradually drops until in the last of 

 May, when the weather gets warm, there is a decided drop which under normal 

 conditions would continue undoubtedly throughout the summer, gradually im- 

 proving in early fall as the weather becomes cooler and the percentage of blood 

 spots drops off. In October and November the quality improves considerably 

 and then takes a slump in early December, due to the selling of held eggs and 

 the large number of pullets' eggs. Then after prices reach their height the 

 eggs are not held, there are fewer pullets' eggs and more hens' eggs, and we get 

 the highest quality of the year." 



Poultry on the farm, H. Atwood (West Virginia Sta. Circ. 22 (1915), pp. 8, 

 fig. 1). — General directions for feeding, care, and management are outlined. 



Some facts from a country village survey, R. S. Moseley (Jour. Amer. 

 Assoc. Instr. and fnvest. Poultry Hush., 2 {1916), No. 4, PP- 30-32). — Data from 

 a poultry survey of a country village, made by the New York Cornell Experiment 

 Station, are given. 



