64 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



of fiber in the ration on egg production. The nutritive ratio 

 in the two houses was kept substantially the same, about 1 

 to 6.5. The animal food used in these houses was beef scraps. 

 The results were as follows: For the winter period, January 

 25 to April 28, inclusive, the egg production was: for the 

 oat ration (high fiber), .32 per hen day; for the rice ration 

 (low fiber), .46. For the summer period, April 28 to Sep- 

 tember 5, inclusive, the egg production was: for the oat 

 ration (high fiber), .32; and for the rice ration (low fiber), 

 .37 per hen day. In other w^ords, 100 fowls, laying at the 

 same rates, would have produced daily during the winter 

 period, on the oat ration, 32 eggs ; on the rice ration, 46 eggs ; 

 during the summer period, on the oat ration, 32 eggs ; on 

 the rice ration, 37 eggs. The food cost of the eggs was 

 greater on the rice ration than on the oat ration. As has 

 been pointed out in earlier reports, rice, on account of its 

 high price, cannot as a rule be economically used as a food 

 for laying fowls. It is used in this experiment because 

 of its exceptionally low fiber content. The results of the 

 past year are in exact accord with all earlier experiments 

 testing this point. A large proportion of fiber in a ration 

 for laying fowls seems to be highly unfavorable to a satisfac- 

 tory egg product. 



