870 EXPERIMENT STATION KECOED. 



Contrary to popular belief, the heaviest layers were the lightest eaters, and 

 the hen laying the greatest number of eggs consumed the smallest amount of 

 feed. It seems to be the hen's ability to utilize the feed she eats as much as 

 the quantity eaten. The balancing of the ration also evidently has much to 

 do with egg production. 



It has been found that the color of a fowl does not influence egg production. 

 One Buff Leghorn pullet laid more than 200 eggs in one year— more than all 

 others in her class. The week before the contests began she was entered in a 

 poultry show and was the highest-scoring bird in her class. One reason for 

 the belief that high-producing hens are rough and ugly is that they usually 

 are viewed and pictured after the year's work is done. At the beginning of the 

 the contest many of the high producers were high-scoring. 



It is stated that the popular theory that the larger birds lay large eggs is 

 incorrect. AVhere all the eggs were weighed it showed that the Ancona, which 

 is smaller than the Leghorn, laid the largest egg of all the breetls tested. An- 

 other theory is that the medium-sized or all-purpose breeds do not lay as many 

 eggs as the egg breeds, like the Mediterraneans. One reason given is that the 

 all-purpose breeds lose time brooding, but the records show that the Wyan- 

 dottes laid the greatest number of eggs and also went broody the greatest 

 number of times. 



Can selection cause genetic change? W. E. Castle {Amcr. Nat., 50 (1916), 

 No. 592, pp. 248-256). — This is a continuation of the discussion previously re- 

 ferred to (E. S. R., 34, p. 564) on fecundity in the domestic fowl and the 

 selection problem. 



A feminized cockerel, II. D. Goodale {.Jour. Expt. ZooL, 20 {1916), No. 3, pp. 

 421-428, figs. 7). — A Brown Leghorn chick was castrated by making an incision 

 on each side and carefully removing the testes. Particular care was taken to 

 see that all testicular matter was removed. Just previous to the operation on 

 this bird the ovaries had been removefl from two pullets of the same strain 

 belonging to the same brood and placed in moist cotton. They were cut in 

 several pieces and dropped into the abdominal cavity of the cockerel on each 

 side. No attempt was made to suture the pieces in place. 



The bird develope<l a general feminine appearance except that it grew some- 

 what long-legged and rangj-, as a cockerel would do. The spurs remained unde- 

 veloped a long time. When the adult plumage came in it lost some of its non- 

 descript character and in most sections was clearly that of the normal female. 

 The chief difference lay in the feathers of the dorsal region.s, which were 

 black with relatively few minute brown spots instead of the uniform mixtures 

 of minute dull black and brown spots characteristic of the Brown Leghorn 

 female. 



Later the bird was killed and the autopsy showetl the following findings: 

 Weight, 3 lbs. 7 oz. ; oviduct not found, nor were vasa deferent ia; spleen 

 hypertrophied ; very little body fat; bursa fabricii not found. Ovarian tissue 

 was found in the following positions : On the left side one piece was attache<l 

 to the body wall, ribs, and transverse septum and inclosed in a serum-filled 

 sack. The ova were very small, not more than a millimeter in diameter. A 

 second mass lay on the surface of the kidney just lateral to the junction of the 

 iliac with the vena cava. Four of the pieces placed on the right side were 

 found to have become attached, throe of them in the form of elongated masses, 

 one attached to the ribs, another to the transverse septum and liver, while the 

 third was attached to the mid-dorsal mesentery at the level of the adrenal. 

 The fourth had adliered to the outer body wall. Some of the ova on this side 

 reached 3 mm. in diameter. There were no evidences of empty follicles. The 

 blood supply of the pieces of ovum on this side was well developed. 



