Io6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I909. 



1. Is there any definite correlation, and if so of what degree, 

 between the fertiHty of eggs on the one hand and the hatching 

 quality of fertile eggs on the other hand? In other words, is 

 it in general the case that if a particular hen's eggs ^re above 

 the average in regard to percentage fertility, they will also be 

 likely to be above the average in regard to percentage of fertile 

 eggs hatched? 



2. To j^recisely what extent does the female bird (as com- 

 pared with the male) determine the fertility and hatching 

 quality of her eggs? Bad housing conditions are known, for 

 example, to affect adversely the percentage fertility of eggs. 

 To what extent is this due to the bad effect of the environment 

 on the female as contrasted with the male bird? 



3. Is there any correlation, and if so of what degree, between 

 the winter egg production preceding the breeding season 

 and the percentage fertility of eggs ? Is the bird that has- pro- 

 duced more than the average number of eggs during the wdnter, 

 likely to have her eggs during the breeding season more or less 

 fertile than the average? 



4. What relation exists between winter egg production and 

 the hatching qualities of fertile eggs? Will the relatively high 

 winter producer lay eggs during the breeding season likely to 

 show a percentage of fertile eggs hatched higher or lower than 

 the average? 



5. To what extent are the fertility and hatching quality of 

 her eggs innate, unchangeable characteristics of a bird? If a 

 pullet produces eggs above the average for pullets in either 

 fertility or hatching quality, will the same bird's eggs in the 

 second year of life be above the average for yearling hens in 

 these respects? 



6. Are the characters "percentage fertility" and "percentage 

 of fertile eggs hatched" inherited in any appreciable degree? 

 In other words, arc these fundamental characters, "bred in the 

 bone," or arc they tilings which arc entirely influenced and 

 determined by external, environmental influences? 



It will be seen that no one of these problems is primarily a 

 problem of incubation. It is only essential that while these 

 problems are being studied all eggs be incubated in a uniform 

 way. These problems can in no way be regarded as secondary 

 in importance to those of incubation. Indeed some knowledge 



