300 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



The next slide, F\^. 'M], shows what can be done by the poultry de- 

 ]>ai'tiiieuts of the ai'riciilUiial colU'^es. It shows ten ways of helping 

 the ]>oiiltiynien of the Stale by condnctin^- ex|)eiini'enls with jxniltry, 

 through correspondenee, by showing the poultry department, l)y a 

 l)ouUiy leading coiiise, by educational exhibils, leclurt's, &c., at fairs, 

 and by lectuies and denionsuations at [>oultry shows, by poultry les- 

 sons for rural schools. These and many other things a poultry depart- 

 ment in the State Agricultural College can do. 



A few slides more, because the time is nearly up, 1 will throw on the 

 screen to show the way in which this nuitter can be brought to the at- 

 tention of the people. Tig. o7 is the lantern slide exhibit holding 

 about 150 lantern slides which we used at the ^e\v York State Fail-, 

 \yliere the people can stand an;-." look at the slides with the illuminated 

 back and read the inscriittion under them. 



Fig. 38 sliows another portion of the same educational exhibit in the 

 same building, in which there are models of poultry houses and a])- 

 pliances and ]diotographs showing the results of experiments with 

 ]K)ultry. 



Fig. 30 shows a new dei)arture. Swarms of people passed through 

 the exhibit in a large tent at the State Fair. This was to find out 

 whether or not the people were interested enough in i)oultry to wit- 

 ness the demonstrations when there was horse racing and balloon as- 

 censions and all sorts of other things going on around. And yet those 

 who were there certified to the fact that every one of the four demon- 

 strations held each day the seats were almost always occupied and 

 many times the attendance tilled the tent standing room. So that it 

 was a pronounced success and shows that the people of the country 

 are hungry and thirsty for knowledge regarding the methods of hand- 

 ling poultry. 



Fig. 40 gives a view inside the tent showing the assistant giving a 

 demonstration how to kill and pick poultry. 



There was also shown an egg grading device by which eggs can be 

 graded and which also shows what the value of these eggs are if they 

 are produced of the right quality. There are 30 dozen eggs there to 

 be put into nine grades, large, medium and small, and each of these 

 groups divided int(^ three grades as to color, white, brown and mixed. 

 The average prices given by the best dealers in New York for each 

 grade of eggs, and the value of the eggs according to the grades is 

 shown. We can tell exactly and quickly what any case of eggs is 

 worth. We find a difierence in the Kew Y'ork City market usually of 

 five to twelve cents a dozen between the' pure white eggs and the 

 mixed colored eggs of the same weight, and sometimes a difference of 

 twenty cents or moi'e between eggs of the fancy large white and the 

 common or small eggs. It pays to produce the right kind of eggs. 

 I am certain that we know how to jsroduce eggs of better quality and 

 also how to breed hens to produce more eggs. There are a few things 

 we can do in selecting hens to jtroduce more eggs. There a few things 

 we can do in selecting hens for breeders to increase egg })roduction. 

 (1) Select our hens for constitutional vigor. (2) Take hens that 

 moult late because they are the ones that are generally the heaviest 

 producers. (3) Watch the pullets of the same age and see which ones 

 begin to lav first and thev usuallv are found to be the hens that in the 

 long run will lay the largest number of eggs. (4 ) The color of a fowl's 

 shanks may indicate her laying capacity. The hens in the fall of the 



