Effects of season on egg quality traits were studied in a randombred 

 flock of S. C. White Leghorns at the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station (24). For the purpose of this study, the data from 4 years 

 were grouped into period one (December and January), period two 

 (February), period three (March and April) and period four (June). 

 Egg weight and egg shape increased from period one to period two and 

 then stabilized. Haugh units and shell thickness declined consistently 

 from period to period with the maximum decrease occurring in the 

 spring. 



Summary 



The few projects undertaken in NE-6 on gene-environmental inter- 

 actions were quite successful. 



A low plane of nutrition provided higher estimates of additive gen- 

 etic variance and heritability for survivors egg number than did a high 

 plane of nutrition. 



Raising sexes separately had little effect on variation in 9-week body 

 weight. In the Cornell randombred control populations, the variation 

 due to genetic-environmental interactions was small. The largest esti- 

 mates were 9% for egg production, 8% for 8-week body weight and 6% 

 for 32-week egg weight. 



Coiieliisions 



Although the objectives of NE-6 were not completely and clearly 

 attained in detail, a number of important contributions to poultry breed- 

 ing research may be cited. 



1. The development, availability and use of randombred control 

 populations have been of major importance to poultry breeding 

 research and to the poultry industry. 



2. Many of the contributing projects provided new knowledge on 

 basic physiological systems of the domestic fowl. 



3. The research on biological selection indexes provides a unique 

 and imaginative approach to multitrait selection. 



4. The 36 scientific puldications. 16 aljstracts. and 9 theses that 

 evolved from the project represent a significant record of re- 

 search productivity. 



5. The NE-6 project has provided an unusual stimulus to poultry 

 breeding research in the Northeast. The annual meeting of re- 

 searchers with different liackgrounds of training and experience 

 but witli conuuon goals has resulted in fertile exchanges of ideas 

 to the mutual benefit of all concerned. 



6. Finally, the cooperative nature of the research has made results 

 from one or more states readily known and available to workers 

 in the entire region. In this way the poultry industry of the 

 Northeast has benefited much more than would normally be 

 expected. 



2n 



