314 FARM ANIMALS 



when the fattening period began. Since the older 

 fowls ate fully as much and in some cases more than 

 the young fowls the great superiority of young 

 fowls from a financial standpoint is quite manifest. 



The Egg Type of Hen. We have mutton and wool 

 types of sheep, draft and speed types of horses, 

 lard and bacon types of hogs, and beef and dairy 

 types of cattle. It is highly pertinent therefore 

 to ask whether there is an egg type of hen. Prac- 

 tical poultrymen have answered this question in 

 different ways. Many men have studied certain 

 qualities or characters which from their experience 

 they believe indicate laying qualities in hens and 

 on the basis of these characters fowls are separated 

 into layers and non-layers. The success which 

 attends such classifications obviously depends on 

 the skill of the man who does the work and upon 

 the keenness of his observation in selecting the 

 proper characters upon which to divide the flock 

 into two groups. Recently a patented system has 

 been devised for separating hens into layers and 

 non-layers on the basis of certain characters which 

 indicate good laying qualities or lack of the same. 

 From the successful experience of a number of 

 poultrymen who have tried this system the writer 

 can vouch for the importance of the scheme when 

 the separation of the flock is done by a skilled 

 poultryman. 



It certainly requires no argument to show that 

 the profit to be derived from a flock of fowls kept 

 for eggs can be greatly increased if any system can 

 be put in operation by means of which non-layers 

 can be separated. These hens are, of course, 

 mere dead weights and bring down the average of 

 the flock. As soon as the poultryman has a scheme 

 by which he can pick out the non-laying hens at 



