419 



been normal. The laying of the "soft-shelled" egg and the triple-yolked 

 egg on successive days indicates that the whole reproductive mechanism 

 was not functioning in a normal, orderly and regular manner at that 

 time. The egg record at the time of laying of the triple-yolked egg 

 indicates the reason of its formation. From the 24th to the 27th in- 

 clusive the bird laid an egg each day. The egg of the 27 th had three 

 yolks. On the 28 th and 29 th no eggs were laid, but one was on the 30 th. 

 There would appear to be little doubt that one of the extra yolks in the 

 triple yolked egg should normally have been laid in an egg of the 28 th, 

 and the other in an egg of the 29 th. Instead of this, however, the three 

 yolks which normally should have been laid on the 27th, 28 th, and 

 29th were all discharged from the ovary at so nearly the same time as 



JFig. 2. Diagram showing the increase in the total weight of the egg, associated with 



an increase in the number of yolks contained. The zigzag line gives the observations 



and the smooth curve a parabola fitted to the data by the method of least squares. 



in pass down the oviduct in one group. The case simply indicates that 

 perfect regularity in rate of ovulation had not become firmly estab- 

 lished at this time. 



Bird No. 318 belongs to a family of relatively high fecundity. Her 

 mother laid 177 eggs between November 16 and July 31 inclusive, of 

 her pullet year. This is a record well above the average for the general 

 flock of that year (1908— 09). The records show no abnormal egg as 

 having been produced by either the mother or the grandmother or sisters 

 of bird No. 318, except for an occasional "soft-shelled" specimen. There 



27* 



