138 



The Journal of Heredity 



ensilage. Next, it is our largest yielding 

 forage crop, producing fully two and 

 one-half times as much forage as will 

 com in our high valleys, and more than 

 twice as much as clover for the season. 

 It is, moreover, a crop that can be culti- 

 vated and later so thoroughly shades the 

 ground that weeds get a very poor 

 chance to grow. It has one drawback 

 in that it must be run through an 

 ensilage cutter before it can be used to 

 advantage as forage for cattle, and can 

 only be cured in the silo for winter 

 use. 



We have }'et many points to study as 



to the best method of growing the crop 

 and with what other forage it is going 

 to combine to give the best results. We 

 are also trying out the crop on the dry 

 lands in various parts of the state, to 

 determine its value, under those condi- 

 tions. We are not as yet urging farmers 

 to grow the crop largely but merely 

 asking them to try a small area to find 

 out how it yields, and those who have 

 ensilage cutters can also try it as a 

 forage for cattle. It is worthy of a 

 trial by other experiment stations 

 which are located as we are in a high 

 mountain valley. 



Factors Affecting Egg Production 



After a long experimental study of 

 the factors affecting egg production, 

 E. D. Ball and Byron Adler^ have made 

 the following interesting conclusions. 

 Environmental factors influence the 

 records of pullets more than those of 

 mature hens. The curve of distribu- 

 tion in a low record flock is practically 

 parallel with that of a high record flock. 

 This was also true of individual hens. 



The production of general purpose 

 breeds was compared with that of Leg- 

 horns. General purpose breeds reached 

 their maximum early in the season and 

 rapidly fell to moderate production, 

 while Leghorns reached their maximum 

 a month later, but continued to produce 

 heavily for several months. 



\\'inter egg production is more vari- 

 able than annual production and seems 

 to be closely correlated with environ- 

 mental factors. Flocks that made low 



records the first winter made high ones 

 the second and vice versa. Those with 

 low first winter records made higher 

 three-year records than high first-year 

 flocks. The correlation between first 

 winter production and that of later 

 years was only 25%. 



The higher the production of an indi- 

 vidual, the great percentage will be 

 made in winter, regardless of age. 

 There does not seem to be any founda- 

 tion for the assumption of a division of 

 the laying period into units. The date 

 of hatching, when kept between March 

 and May, did not appear to influence 

 total production. The time between 

 hatching and laying affected total pro- 

 duction, the latest maturing pullets 

 being the poorest producers. The date 

 of laying the first egg was not important 

 except as indicating the length of time 

 to maturity. 



New Paper-making Materials 



The Imperial Institute of India has 

 recently reported in Commerce Reports 

 the success of its experiments with three 

 new paper-making plants that may be of 

 use in developing new fibers. Ecdeiocolea 

 monostachya, a rushlike plant belonging 

 to the order Restiaceac found only in 

 Australia, furnishes stems from two to 

 five feet in length which yield 44% 

 pulp, and a slightly darker paper than 

 that of Algerian esparto grass. An 

 African tree, Neohontonia macrocalyx, 

 which attains a height of fifty to sixty 



feet, was also tested, and a pulp was 

 produced from its timber which bleached 

 easily, giving an opaque and almost 

 white paper which did not shrink on 

 drying. Brachystegia bark (Brachy- 

 stegia Randii) was also prepared, the 

 pulp when unbleached, giving a strong, 

 dark brown paper, or when bleached, a 

 white paper of good quality. Because 

 of unfavorable local conditions in Rho- 

 desia, the home of the tree, however, it 

 is improbable that this last could be of 

 commercial promise at present. 



1 E. D. Ball and Byron D. Adler; Factors Affecting Egg Production, II. 



