The Business Hen. 



and be encased within the same shell, producing a double yolked tgg. Il 

 is perfectly apparent then that if the yolk is the first part of the egg to 

 be formed that all the conditions for its development must be met, or the 

 hen cannot make the egg. The activity of development of the ovary 

 depends first upon good health. The hen in the best laying condition is 

 in the best health. Reproduction is a question of nerve strength which is 

 dependent upon physical vigor. The over-fat hen does not lay well, 

 because over-fatness is softness and weakness, which ends in debility. A 



poor hen cannot 

 lay because there 

 is no surplus fat 

 with which t & 

 make the egg. An- 

 alysis of the yolk 

 of an egg shows 

 it about one-half 

 fat. Unless the 

 fowl can sup- 

 ply the available 

 fat the yolk can- 

 not develop. 

 Therefore it will 

 be found that the 

 hens in their best 

 laying condition 

 will have a little 

 surplus fat in their 

 body. 



When the yolk 

 has entered the 

 oviduct it is quick- 

 ly passed along 



PIG. 8. FORMS OP EGGS. "^^^'^ ?\. "i^"" 



men or white is 

 deposited (10). During the passage it is pushed forward by the con- 

 traction of the muscles of the oviduct, which, being twisted and convoluted, 

 gives the yolk a turning motion as it advances, so that the albumen is 

 deposited in several layers. These layers may be seen by examining care- 

 fully a hard-boiled egg. The twisting motion of the yolk in its passage 

 causes twisted string-like fibres of albumen to form on two sides of the 

 yolk. These are called the "chalazae," Fig. 3 (5). They cause the yolk to 

 swing in the watery albumen like a hammock. This tends to prevent 

 injury to the yolk by any jarring or jolting which the egg may receive. 



