1917.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 87a 



over a period of three months, each hatch would require the 

 formation of a separate correlation table. The results, how- 

 ever, do not promise to justify all this labor. Since, however, 

 early maturity is associated with high egg production in Rhode 

 Island Reds, it follows that the smaller birds on the average 

 lay more eggs than the heavier individuals. 



Each chick was weighed this year at thirty days of age. 

 Two results stand out, — first, the early-hatched chicks weigh 

 more at this age than the late-hatched chicks; second, the 

 chicks from some hens surpass those from others in rate of 

 growth. 



The pullets this fall have been three weeks ahead of last 

 season in egg production. The pullets hatched in the second 

 and third weeks of April had a mean production for November 

 of about 8 eggs per pullet against 1.2 for last year. Moreover, 

 several families are homogenous in respect to early maturity. 



Poultry Sanitation. — It has always seemed logical to the 

 writer, in view of our knowledge of disease and its transmis- 

 sion, that complete and effective isolation of chicks from hatch- 

 ing time to old age would eliminate parasitic diseases, since, 

 so far as we now know, aside from Bacterium pullorum the 

 chick at hatching time is free from disease organisms. The 

 past season the experimental young stock was reared on a plot 

 of ground half a mile from the poultry plant, and cared for 

 by a man who had no other duties. The isolation, however, 

 was not as complete as could be wished, since the feed room 

 at the plant had to be used for these birds as well as the old 

 stock. This plan, nevertheless, resulted in apparent freedom 

 from disease and in a remarkable freedom from the larger com- 

 mon parasites of poultry, and in a low rate of mortality. Dur- 

 ing June and July an epidemic of severe colds and roupy con- 

 ditions swept through the young stock grown at the old plant. 

 The old stock, too, all summer long had many cases of colds 

 and roup. The young stock, isolated as described, however, 

 escaped entirely. In the fall the laying houses were cleaned out 

 and carefully disinfected, and a special attendant provided for 

 the isolated pullets. No colds have appeared at this date, Jan- 

 uary 28. Moreover, the mortality to date has been only about 

 one-tenth as great as usual, and due to such things as cancer, 



