FOODS ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 585 



Report of the poultry manager, A, G, Gilbert {Canada Expt. 

 Farms Jipts. 189D, pp. 205-2'2:J, pL 7).— The work of the poultry 

 department during- the year i.s briefly reported. General!}' speaking, 

 pullets laid more eggs than year-old hens or those 3 or -i 3-ears old. 

 The eggs of older liens were larger and if sold by weight would be 

 more valuable. The weight of a dozen eggs ranged from 1 lb. and 11 

 oz. in the case of the Barred Plymouth Rock, White Brahma, Black 

 Minorca and Andalusian hens, to 1 lb. and 4 oz. in the case of Brown 

 Leghorn pullets. Brief statements are made on the poultry hatched, 

 the rations fed to old hens and pullets. In a test comparing whole 

 ground grains with poultry having limited runs the following results 

 were obtained: Five Barred Plymouth Rock cockerels fed whole grain 

 gained in 14 weeks 18 lbs. 12f oz.; 5 White Plymouth Rock cock- 

 erels fed ground grain gained in the same time 20 lbs., 3i oz. ; and 5 

 Silver Laced Wyandottes fed a mixture of whole and ground grains 

 gained 15 lbs., 14i oz. In every case the chickens were fed per head 

 daily 12 oz. of grain (wheat, barley and corn, 2:1:1). Crossbred 

 cockerels, when confined in small coops and fed an ordinary ration, 

 gained in 4 weeks from 12f oz. to 1 lb. 5 oz. The 3 best birds at the 

 end of 5 months weighed on an average of 5 lbs. 1 oz. each. 



Brief statements are made concerning the breeding pens, the feed- 

 ing of chickens and pullets, and other points usually touched upon in 

 these reports. 



Feeding chickens for growth, G. M. Gowell {Maine Sta. Bui. 

 6J^,p)2). 89-96). — A numl)er of tests with chickens are I'eported. In the 

 first, the effect of small coops v. houses with small yards, on rapidity of 

 growth, was studied. Forty Barred Plymouth Rocks, White Wyan 

 dottes, and light Brahmas (Eaton strain), were confined in small coops 

 such as are used liy English and French chicken and poultry f atteners, 

 4 chickens being placed in each coop. All were fed porridge made of 

 skim milk and mixed meal containing corn meal, wheat middlings, 

 ground oats and animal meal, 10:8:5:4. Twenty chickens of the same 

 breeds were confined in houses with small yards and fed the same 

 ration. All the chickens were 130 days old at the beginning of the trial, 

 which covered 35 da3's. The average gain of the chickens confined in 

 coops was 2.23 lbs., and of those in houses with yards 2.47 lbs., the 

 amount of dry meal required per pound of gain being 5. 94 and 6.52 lbs-., 

 respectively. The author calculates that the value of the chickens was 

 increased $19.39 b}^ fattening. "" In these tests greater total and indi- 

 vidual gains and cheaper flesh production were secured from birds with 

 partial liberty than from those in close confinement. The labor was 

 less in caring for the yarded l)irds. The cooped birds were very quiet 

 and did not appear to suffer from confinement." 



To determine the effects of age on gains in weight, 45 Plymouth 

 Rock chickens, 177 da3's old at the beginning of the trial, were fed 

 under the same conditions as above, 20 chickens being confined in coops 



