WIIKUK TIIK <;OVEKN.MENT\S HENS LIVE 



The main laying house at the Government poultry farm. The curtains are down in one com- 

 partment. The only purpose served l^y glass is to admit sunlight. The curtain acts as 

 a ventilator. If the hen-hf)use has a curtain in front of the roosts, fowls will he comfortable 

 in the coldest weather provided the liouse is ])roperly constructed otherwise. Photograph 

 from the Bureau of Animal Industry. (Fig. 25.) 



To produce winter laying ])ullets, lialcli 

 all chickens not later than Ma\- 1. 

 Poultry kee]jers should kee]) this date 

 firmly in mind, and let the year of their 

 flock operations revoh'c around it. 

 For southern localities, earlier dates 

 should be selected, until we reach the 

 Gulf States, when hatching may bejj;in 

 as early as December. 



Every part of the country sviffers 

 from the effect of the hen's annual 

 vacation. The time of its occurrence' 

 varies with the latitudes, but its rej.,ailar- 

 ity of a]Ji)earance in a pven section is 

 as certain as seedtime and harvest. 



If we must ha\'e realh' fresh ej^j^s during 

 the entire year, we must furnish jnillets 

 to serve as substitutes for the molt- 

 inj.^ hens and distribute the e<^^ yield 

 as evenly as ]jossiblj throu<];hout the 

 year. 



To summarize the foreji;oinj^ remarks, 

 these are the three simjjle rules for 

 fall and winter ejijg jjroduction : 



1. Match chickens earl v -between 

 Marcli 1 and April 30. 



2. De\'elo]) the i)ullets ijrt)|)erly. 



3. Furnish jj;ood qtiarters for the 

 followinj^ winter; feed liberally when 

 laying begins. 



A Valuable Collection of Reprints 



W. J. Sj)illman, of the U. S. I)ei)art- 

 mcnt of Agriculture, has j^rcsented to 

 the JofRXAL OF IIivRKDiTV a Collection 

 of several hundred re])rints, covering 

 most of the progress of genetics from the 

 rediscovery of Mendel's law to 1912. 

 The gift is most welcome because the 



142 



collection of reprints already in the 

 oflice of the Association dates from 

 1913. The editor takes this occasion 

 to remind workers in the field of genetics 

 that rei)rints of thtir jjulilications are 

 always received with i)leasure, and made 

 part of the ])ermanent library. 



