1899.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— Xo. 33. 97 



Tho fowls on tho wide (corn) ration laid three soft-shelled 

 eggs during the winter test and one during tho summer. 

 These are not included in the tabular reports. 



Study of the results reveals the following facts : — 



1. The hens on the wide (rich in corn) ration laid a great 

 many more eggs in both the winter and in the summer experi- 

 ments than those on the narrower ration. 



2. The difference in favor of the inide ration amounts to 

 26 p>r cent, in the winter trial and to 33£ per cent, in the 

 summer trial, upon the basis of equal number of hen days. 



3. The total cost of feeds ivas less for the wide ration, and 

 of course the cost per egg was much less. In the production 

 of one hundred dozen eggs the saving on the basis of our 

 whiter test woidd amount to §4.56 ; on the basis of the sum- 

 mer test, to §3.24. 



4. In average weight of the eggs produced there is a small 

 difference i)i favor of the narrow ration; but in quality the 

 weight of family evidence shows the eggs produced by the 

 corn-fed hens to have been somewhat superior. They were 

 deeper yellow and of a milder flavor than the eggs from the 

 narrower ration. 



5. Tlte fowls on the wide ration gained somewhat in 

 weight and were Jteavier at the close of the experiment than 

 the others, notwithstanding the much larger number of eggs 

 laid. 



At the close of the experiment the fowls were closely 

 judged as to the condition of the plumage while still living, 

 and it was decided that the corn-fed hens were farther 

 advanced in moulting than the others. The fowls were 

 slaughtered, and the judgment of the men removing the 

 feathers coincided with the judgment on the living fowls. 



The averages before and after dressing were as follows : 

 narrow-ration fowls, 5.07 pounds; dressed weight, 4.37 

 pounds; wide-ration fowls, 5.44 pounds; dressed weight, 

 4.81 pounds. The narrow-ration fowls gave 86 per cent. 

 dressed weight; the others, 88 per cent. The dressed fowls 

 were judged by a market expert, who pronounced the corn-fed 

 fowls slightly superior to the others. 



The results are thus greatly in favor of the ration richer in 



