WITH 4200 HENS 145 



our mash formula, which carries 15 per cent of meat and 

 fish meals, we have found that feeding- half and half of 

 grain and mash gives us a more uniformly large egg. 

 If the feed gets out of balance, the error shows up quickly 

 in the larger proportion of small eggs laid. This par- 

 ticular point, confirmed later by experiments, was first 

 called to the writer's attention by his very good friend, 

 Mr. M. A. Schofield. 



Failure of the water supply, even for a short time, will 

 result in smaller eggs ; so, too, will the giving of salts. 



A sudden hot spell following moderate weather is 

 usually accompanied by a run of smaller eggs. 



Fright, or moving hens from one place to another, will 

 be followed by a run of smaller eggs. But back of it all 

 is the question of whether or not the birds come from 

 a strain that has been bred to lay large eggs. 



Nest Materials 



When the nest boxes have been thoroughly sprayed we 

 allow time enough for the spraying material to saturate 

 the wood and the surplus to dry off. We first put in a 

 double handful of tobacco stems ; these are purchased 

 from cigar factories. The box is then filled to within 

 an inch of the top of the front board with fresh pine 

 shavings. Redwood shavings should not be used. An 

 egg broken in a nest of Redwood shavings, or any other 

 form of moisture coming in contact with them in such a 

 nest will badly discolor the shells of any eggs laid in 

 that nest, and this discoloration is apt to prove prac- 

 tically indelible. 



