STUDIES ON THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 

 IN THE DOMESTIC FOWL 



I. REGULATION IN THE MORPHOGENETIC ACTIVITY OF THE 



OVIDUCT^ 



RAYMOND PEARL 

 INTRODUCTION 



This paper forms the first in a series in course of preparation 

 in this laboratory, all dealing with various phases of one broad, 

 general problem. It is desirable that at the beginning of such a 

 series a statement should be made outlining the problem under 

 investigation and, in a general v^ay, the standpoint from v^hich 

 it is to be attacked. It is the purpose of this introduction to give 

 such a statement. 



When the vv^ork of this laboratory was organized one general 

 line of investigation which suggested itself as of first-class impor- 

 tance, both from the theoretical and practical standpoint, was the 

 study of egg production in the domestic fowl. A high average 

 yield of large eggs uniform in size and color is a matter of enor- 

 mous importance to the poultry industry. How can it be obtained ^ 

 Can high egg producing capacity be bred into a strain ^ Can 

 feeding produce it ^ These are the questions which practical 

 poultrymen in the experiment stations, agricultural colleges, and 

 elsewhere are trying to answer. The zeal for inquiry in these 

 directions is greatly stimulated by the obvious fact that at some 

 time or other during the history of poultry under domestication 

 there has been a very great increase in egg production over what 

 obtains in the wild representatives of the genus Gallus. If the 

 thing can be done once, why not again .^ 



^Papers from the Biological Laboratory of the Maine Experiment Station, No. 7. 

 The Journal of Experimental Zoology, vol. vi, no. 3. 



