l!i()(;.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 83. 45 



lows: for the first period, March 3 to May 12, inclusive, 

 the wheat ration produced eggs at the average rate of .41 

 })er hen day, the corn ration .31) per hen day; or, in other 

 words, 100 hens would have laid on the wheat ration 41 

 eggs, on the corn ration 39 eggs, per day. For the second 

 period. May 13 to September 23, inclusive, the wheat ration 

 gave an average of .35 eggs per hen day, the corn ration .31 ; 

 or, in other words, respectively for the wheat ration, an 

 average of 35 eggs per hundred hens daily, and for the corn 

 an average of 31 eggs. The food cost of the eggs in this 

 experiment was as follows : for the wheat ration during the 

 summer period, .845 cents per egg ; for the spring period, 

 1 cent per egg. For the corn ration, the food cost per egg 

 was .871 cents for the summer period; .942 cents for the 

 spring period. The cost of food per hen daily on the wheat 

 ration varied from .273 to .372 cents; for the corn ration, 

 from .248 to .333 cents. In this experiment the wheat ra- 

 tion gave a somewhat better egg yield than corn, but at a 

 higher average cost per egg. The experiment indicates, 

 therefore, that, unless the fat content of the ration is rela- 

 tively high, the more starchy foods are not sufficient to 

 produce a satisfactory egg yield, and the product falls below 

 that obtained from feeding a ration higher in protein. 



3. The fowls in houses Nos. 5 and 6 Avere fed rations in 

 both cases characterized by low protein, high ash and high 

 fat content, the deficiency of fat in the grains selected being 

 made up by the use of corn oil. The fowls in Pen No. 5 

 were fed grains, including oats and oat feed, characterized 

 by a high proportion of fiber. Those in Pen No. 6 were 

 fed grains among which rice was prominent, characterized 

 by a low percentage of fiber. The experiment in these 

 houses, then, was calculated to throw light upon the influ- 

 ence of fiber on egg production, the nutritive ratio in the 

 two houses being substantially the same, — about 1 to 6.5. 

 In these houses beef scraps was the animal food used. The 

 results were as follows : For the period March 2 to May 12, 

 inclusive, the egg production was : for the oat ration (high 

 fiber) .40 eggs per hen day, for the rice ration (low fiber) 

 .42 eggs per hen day ; or, in other words, from 100 hens 



