RECORDS FOR FUTURE STUDY 203 



a book of records of happenings and of work, and, if 

 possible, of averages, which may be studied for the clew 

 to success with the larger venture. 



The trap nest is a simple thing, but the Beginner may 

 simply stand still and mark time if he fail to appreciate 

 its value. I do not believe that the common man can 

 afford to bother with trap nests, all the time, and for all 

 his fowls. But the use of a set of trap nests with one 

 pen of fowls for a season or two will teach one effectively 

 many things which others have tried to teach him, without 

 having been able to make their words striking enough to 

 reach his real consciousness. An essential thing to learn 

 is the necessity of finding how to increase the income 

 without also increasing the outgo. It costs quite nearly 

 the same to maintain the idle hen, the fairly good layer, 

 and the rarely good one. But the extra good layer must 

 have an extra good appetite ; she must eat, not only the 

 maintenance ration, but enough more for the manufac- 

 ture of her output of eggs, whatever it may be as to 

 number. As the egg may range from 65.5 to 75.8 water 

 (Atwater's figures), the amount of feed required by the 

 layer above that taken by the idler who merely eats for 

 the fun of it need not be considered excessive. But, she 

 must be a good eater with a good digestion, or she cannot 

 be a good layer. 



The trap nest will show some surprising things. You 

 may have a lot of hens, looking fairly alike, which are, 

 you think, doing reasonably good average work. The 

 trap may show you that while you are averaging, they 

 are not; they are individualizing. One is, perhaps, 

 doing nothing, at least two thirds of the year ; another 

 is not so bad, but still much below your averages ; one 



