SELECTING BREEDING MALES FOR EGG PRODUCTION. 49 



Chart III very clcarl}' indicates that selection on a mass basis from egg records 

 alone will not be an insurance as to v.hat the daughters will do during their first 

 egg-laying year. Reference to the chart shows that the annual production of the 

 daughters crossed the path of the inherited annual production of the dams during 

 the year 1916, and the path of the inherited production of the sires during 1917. 

 The average annual record oj the daughters has far outstripped their inherited pro- 

 dtiction from sires avd dams. These facts are unmistakable evidence of the opera- 

 tion of many factors to influence annual egg production. From the year 1916 

 this flock was bred for specific characteristics, such as early maturity, lack of 

 broodiijess and lack of winter pause. Those hens which showed later maturity, 

 broodiness, and a tcndencA^ to stop laying during the winter season were discrim- 



CHART III. 



Relation between" Parents' Inherited and Daughters' Average Produciiox. 



Matirg vear. 



inated against as breeders, even thrtugh they had made good annual records. k\\- 

 'Other characteristic which was sought was intensity of production. Those females 

 that showed intense winter production were favored as breeders over others in 

 which the degree of intensity was lessi marked. 



Chart III does not furnish any conclusive indication of the relative importance of 

 sire and dam in transmitting annual egg production. This may be due to the fact 

 that the chart is based on mass data. A similar chart based on specific families 

 or blood lines would be more enlightening on this point. Data are available and 

 will be published later. The one outstanding item to be emphasized on the chart 

 is the advisability of selecting for specific characteristics as affecting annual egg 

 vield. 



