GUAM AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 13 



Whether or not the introduced breeds are to prove well adapted 

 to island conditions has not yet been determined. In the work con- 

 ducted at the station the pure-blood fowls have given fidl promise 

 of hardiness and have requhed no unusual amount of care, but in the 

 hands of the native they have not given the same good account of 

 themselves. Since the arrival of the first dozen hens and four cocker- 

 els in October, 1911, over 100 dozen eggs have been distributed to 

 private poultry owners free of charge, in order to test the breeds out 

 thoroughly under prevaihng conditions in competition uTth the 

 native fowl, and it is doubtful if more than 75 chickens were grown 

 to maturity fi'om the entire distribution. Assuming that no unfore- 

 seen misfortune overtakes us in the work prior to another favorable 

 breeding season, the station should have a comparatively large 

 number of young cockerels available, which it is hoped we vatII be 

 able to sell or dispose of in such a manner as v\'ill best place them 

 with fowls intended for breeding purposes and where they will not 

 be associated \\-ith the native fighting cock, which would soon subdue 

 them. A dissemination of male breeding birds, such as it is hoped 

 will be possible, should prove of much value in improving the present 

 strain. Tlie cross between the Brown Leghorn and the native fowl 

 should prove hardy, and at the same time it should possess egg- 

 laying qualities superior to those of the native hen, and the cross 

 between the Plymouth Rock and the native strain should show the 

 same advantage, in addition to increased size. 



A native strain of fowls, for which the native poultr3Tnen claim 

 immmiity to chicken pox, exists on the island; and so much faith is 

 shown by Chamorro farmers in the resistance of the strain to this 

 disease that many are even fixed in the superstition that the presence 

 of a cliicken of tliis type in a flock aids materially in preventing the 

 loss of associated fowls. Very little credence is placed in these claims 

 of an immune type, however, since so many of the beliefs of the 

 average native planter are based wholly upon common superstition. 

 Nevertheless, it is beheved that the crossing of our improved breeds 

 upon the various hardy strains of native fowls is a particularly 

 promising fine of work, as such a cross should result in a hardy type, 

 better able to thi'ive under local environments than the pure-bred 

 fowls now appear to be, and their egg-lapng tendencies should be 

 more highly developed than are those of the ordinary native hen. 

 The cross between the native chicken and the Plymouth Rock 

 should show the same improvement with the additional advantage 

 of greater size. Upon the arrival of the coming breeding season it 

 is planned to inaugurate, in addition to the work with the pure 

 breeds, a series of cross-breeding experiments using individuals of 



