1915.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. G9a 



REPORT OF THE POULTRY HUSBANDMAN. 



J. C. GRAHAM AND H. D. GOODALE. 



Steady progress has been made on our original projects. A 

 new viewpoint of the problem of egg production has been se- 

 cured which leads to the belief that it will have to be studied 

 analytically, considering the factors of broodiness, age, egg 

 cycles, rate of laying, longevity, maturity, each by itself as far 

 as possible. Certain families are better producers on the whole 

 than others. That the male is a factor in determining the egg- 

 production of his daughters appears to be demonstrable, but 

 not in the same sense as described by olJher students of the prob- 

 lem. The winter egg cycle in Rhode Island Reds, if present at 

 all, is not marked off from the spring cycle by a fall in egg 

 production. The stimulus that induces the hen to visit the nest 

 is not always associated with the deposition of an egg. Addi- 

 tional data substantiating the individuality among fowls in rela- 

 tion to the hatching quality of their eggs and viability and rate 

 of growth of chicks have been secured. Further work on mor- 

 phogenesis has been done, particularly in relation to the in- 

 fluence of the primary sexual organs to the secondary sexual 

 characters. In one instance an apparently successful graft of 

 ovaries was made in a castrated cockerel, feminizing it to a large 

 degi'ee. 



A new building 18 by 72 feet has been provided, having lay- 

 ing accommodations for 300 hens. This gives us a total capa- 

 city for 450 laying birds. By means of movable partitions the 

 new building can be transformed into a breeding house for pen 

 matings. 



Mr. Sayer resigned the first of October. Late in December 

 a satisfactory man was finally secured, Mr. Austin Brown. In 

 the meantime the egg production was decidedly unsatisfactory, 

 due perhaps to improper care. 



