massachusetts 

 Agricultural Experiment Station 



BULLETIN No. 215 APRIL, 1923 



PEDIGREE 



THE BASIS OF SELECTING BREEDING 

 MALES FOR EGG PRODUCTION 



By F. a. hays and RUBY SANBORN 



In this bulletin the records of ten \ears' poultry breeding investigations 

 at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station are analyzed, 

 specifically from the standpoint of the effect of the female ancestry on 

 the transmitting power of the male. It is shown that the pedigree record 

 basis of selection of the male has given marked results. On the other 

 hand, there is nothing in the work done to date which in any way in- 

 dicates superiority of this method over that of measuring transmitting 

 power by means of the progeny test. 



Available records, however, do indicate that the selection of females 

 on the basis of those specific characters which together are believed to 

 make up the group character of fecundity may be even more important 

 in its results than the particular basis on which the male is selected. 



Publication of this Document 



approved by the 



Commission on Administration and Finance 



Requests for Bulletins should be addressed to the 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



AMHERST, MASS. 



