98 



HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. 



[Jan. 



com meal and com; and so important will a hnowledge of 

 this fact prove (if confirmed by further trials), because of the 

 cheapness of these foods as compared with wheat, that the ex- 

 periment is being repeated this year with three different 

 breeds of fowls, using com yet more largely than last year. 



4. Influence of the Cock on Egg-production. 



At the close of the winter tests the hens that had been 

 used in the condition-powder and cut-bone experiments 

 were matched in such a manner as to equalize previous 

 feed conditions in four coops of sixteen fowls each. The 

 fowls were all put upon the same feed, and egg records 

 were kept for two weeks, to determine whether the fowls 

 seemed evenly matched. At the end of the time a vigorous 

 White Leghorn cock was placed in two of the coops. We 

 had thus two experiments co-incidently running. These 

 will be designated respectively test No. 1 and test No.. 2. 



Test JVb. 1. Influence of the Cock on Egg-production. — 

 In the preliminary trial the hens in pen 1 laid 129 eggs ; 

 those in pen 2, 107 eggs. In the first pen five hens were 

 brooding; in the second, seven. The fowls in both pens 

 were fed alike, each receiving, in addition to the feed re- 

 corded, lawn clippings three times per week. The experi- 

 ment began May 13 and extended to September 2. In 

 calculating the food cost per hen day the cock is included 

 in the hen days, but in calculating the number of eggs per 

 hen day the cock is not included. No ill health or accidents 

 of any kind occurred. The cock in the trial was in pen 1. 



Foods consumed {May 14 to September 2). 



Kinds of Food. 



Penl. 



Ten 2. 



Wheat, . 

 OatB, 

 Bran, 

 Middlings, 

 Gluten feed, 

 Animal meal, 



