No. 4.] POULTRY AND EGG PRODUCTION. 19 



dition of the range upon which the chicks are reared and the 

 method of feeding. Youngsters which are provided during the 

 summer with an abundance of range, providing shade and green 

 food and plenty of nutritious food material, will make a more 

 rapid and uniform growth than flocks which are crowded into 

 small bare yards during the same time. 



The hatching egg should be carefully selected in order that 

 it may be uniform in shape, size, and, as far as possible, in 

 color; it should also be strictly fresh and of normal shell. If 

 these characteristics are chosen, the tendency is for the progeny 

 to lay a more uniform product. 



Experience shows that eggs decrease in their hatching power 

 the longer they are held, and it is never safe to hold hatching 

 eggs over three weeks. When it is necessary to hold them for 

 even a short time they should be placed in a moderately cool 

 temperature, between 40 and 50 degrees being the most desir- 

 able. They should also be turned occasionally to keep the air 

 cell from becoming misplaced. If possible, it is well to stand 

 them on the end, leaving the air cell uppermost. The character 

 and quality of the chicks resulting from the hatch will depend 

 in large measure upon the condition of the hatching eggs 

 placed in the machine. Too much care cannot be expended in 

 keeping the eggs in a normal condition. 



IV. Practice Constant Selection. 



Selection should not only be continuously practiced in mating 

 the breeding flocks, but it should be the plan to eliminate 

 weak or sick birds throughout the brooding, rearing and adult 

 periods whenever they appear. Fowls which show at any time 

 a lack of inherent ability to resist disease are never a profit- 

 able animal on the farm. 



Constitutional vigor, or, expressed differently, inherent 

 vitality and stamina, is pictured by the perfect health, the 

 activity and the vitality which is seen in strong fowls. Birds 

 showing a lack of these are unsatisfactory, both as producers 

 and reproducers. As we expect more and more of the modern 

 hen in the way of production, fowls often break down, and the 

 effect is especially shown in future progeny. Much of the 



