188 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



Leg Colors in Small Chicks. 



What is the true color of legs of zvhite Minorca chicks a week old? I 

 received a shipment of chicks supposed to be white Minorcas and legs are 

 bright yellow. 



The legs and down of all chicks vary. No one can judge what 

 any chick is by these signs. The color of legs changes gradually up 

 to maturity. Sometimes Orpington chicks come with yellow legs, 

 but they always turn out a light pink or pinkish white, and that is the 

 true color of the adult white Minorca. Wait, they will turn out all 

 right in time if they are pure bred. 



How Far Are Trap Nests Useful? 



While visiting a number of poultry farms I was surprised to learn that 

 very few breeders who formerly used trap nests continued with them, for 

 more than a few reasons. The general opinion seemed to be that the trap- 

 nested hen of high egg-producing ability could not be relied upon to pro- 

 duce pullets of great egg-producing capacity; and in numerous instances all 

 their pullet progeny proved to be inferior layers. 



The poultry breeders referred to were not thorough in their work 

 of trap-nesting or were lacking in certain knowledge that was essen- 

 tial to their success. The following brief remarks may start our 

 enquirer in the right direction. Pullets do not become heavy layers 

 simply because their mothers were great egg producers; therefore, 

 the trap nest does little more than prove that the hen that has laid 

 a large number of eggs has the capacity to digest large amounts of 

 egg-making food and that she has a good circulation which insures 

 vigor. She is able to transmit these qualifications for heavy egg 

 production to her young of both sexes if mated to a male whose 

 ancestors have possessed the same qualifications. On the other hand, 

 if the male is from a mother who was able to produce only a limited 

 number of eggs, he will, in nearly all cases, influence the laying 

 capacity of his pullets that come from his mating with a heavy laying 

 hen, causing them to be poor layers while their brother cockerels 

 are almost sure to inherit their mother's qualifications for producing 

 many eggs, to be transmitted by them to their daughters of the next 

 generation. 



Poultry Yard Shelters. 



I wish to plant some fast-growing trees or shrubbery to act as a wind- 

 break around my chicken yards. The ground is light sandy soil. 



For an evergreen shelter, closing in near the ground, as is pre- 

 sumably desirable for fowls, nothing is better than the Monterey 

 cypress. Small plants, set four feet apart, will close in the first year. 

 As a lighter shelter with some edibility in the leaves, we prefer the 

 "tree malva," (lavatera) which is grown easily from the seeds. The 

 plant is very common in all valley and coast regions. 



