January, 1922. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



155 



with the increase of this family, prove to 

 be of considerable economic value. 



Some sixteen- other Leghorn hens have 

 been retained because they have given cer- 

 tain outstanding daughters as well as medi- 

 ocre ones, and seemed deserving of a more 

 complete progeny test. 



Testing Males. 

 Males Nos. 2671 and 2785 are closely re- 

 lated Oregon White Leghorns. They illus- 

 trate the variable prepotency of males of 

 similar blood lines as shown by pedigree. 

 No. 2671 produced 84 daughters that av- 

 eraged 40.3 eggs in winter production, a 

 record scarcely equal to that of the dams. 

 No. 2785 gave 90 daughters that averaged 

 69.2 eggs in winter production, a record 

 that was 25 per cent greater than the pro- 

 duction of their mothers. Male No. A527. 

 a son of 2785, is outstanding. When mated 

 with hen No. 56, as referred to above, he 

 produced five daughtters that averaged 

 234 eggs, and when mated to three other 

 hens his pullets averaged 230 eggs. Am- 

 ongst the latter was one daughter from 

 hen "No. 65 that has laid 312 eggs up to 

 Nov. 1st last. Practically the only defect 

 in the progeny of this male is that their 

 eggs do not all weigh up to the two-ounce 

 average. T^e compensating feature is that 

 hen TSTo. 501, the 312-egg performer, lays 

 ec^cyfi that average well over the two-ounce 

 standard. She will be mated back to her 

 sire, since the old lien Xo. 65 is dead. A227. 

 a full brother of A527 from 0. A. C. 153. 

 also has given a large number of good 

 daughters that have laid from 200 to 283 

 eggs. At the same time, when mated with 

 poor hens tjie progeny has not done so 

 well. This bird does not seem to be as 

 prepotent as his brother, A527. Ordinary 

 producing ability and prepotency seems to 

 depend upon individual matings. It does 

 not seem to be safe to emphasize unduly 

 either males or females in the genetic cal- 

 culation. 



White Wyandottes. 



The foundation stock in White Wyan- 

 dottes came from B. C. breeders who had 

 built up high producing, vigorous flocks 

 by the use of the best pedigreed males ob- 

 tainable crossed with jhens that had been 

 selected •carefully for size, type, visible 

 productive characters and vigor. Prob- 



ably the most promising family is that in- 

 eluded in the progeny of hen No. 15. She 

 laid 225, 169 and 152 eggs in her first three 

 years, a fair average for a Wyandotte. 

 Fourteen daughters from her by male 194 

 laid an average of 219 eggs last year, while 

 the production of her eleven daughters this 

 year by another male was 190. T^iiese 

 twenty-five daughters show relatively little 

 broodiness and many are non-broody. The 

 average size of egg is around two ounces, 

 while the fertility and hatchability of eggs 

 shows a uniformly good average. 



The progeny of hen No. 8 make another 



White TVyandottt Hen No. 8. has given 36 

 daughters averaging 62.6 eggs in winter pro- 

 rtuction. Seven of her grand daughters aver- 

 aged 215 eggs. Her progeny lay up to 259 eggs. 



promising family. The daughters of this 

 hen have given a uniform production, al- 

 t^iough not a very high average. They lay 

 a large egg and give good hatchability, av- 

 eraging around 80 per cent. One of these' 

 daughters, A102, laid 255 eggs, and she has 

 two daughters laying 211 and 259 eggs, 

 respectively and a third that showed prom- 

 ise of laying well over the 200 mark when 

 she died. Another group of granddaugh- 

 ters of 8 from hen A163 gave an average 

 of 215 eggs for eight birds, exclusive of ones 

 poor producer. Some daughters of No. 8, 

 sue^i as A132, mated to the same male as 

 used with A102 and A163, gave some low 

 producing daughters. Seven daughters of 



