No. i.] POULTRY CULTURE. 41 



istniin in the breeding. There is more dilVerenee among the 

 Plyiiiouth Roekis tluin there is between the Pljniouth Roeks 

 iind the Wyandottes. When vou buy tlinrj fowls, don't 

 think you are getting an3^tliing superb. They are bred for 

 the purpose they are used for, and you havi^ to k)ok out to 

 see that the fellow selling them to 3'^ou is an honest man. 



The Chair. The last is (juite important. 



Question. Is it a eonnnon thing, or is there any one 

 here who has known of an egg being developed inside another, 

 — a })erfectly develo})ed egg ? I have seen two this 3'ear. 



Professor Brigham. Yes, it is ])ossible. Not only may 

 you get an egg inside an egg, but you get other things. 

 You will have notieed a elot, a black spot in the egg, and 

 other tilings which may be worse. Disease germs may be 

 enclosed in the white of the egg. That arises from the fact 

 that these srerms are in the digestive tract of the fowl, and 

 may move up into the tube called the egg tube, Avhere the 

 egg receives the white, or albumen. If a cholera germ got 

 in this part and was enclosed in the white, it might still live, 

 enclosed in the shell, and be carried outside. All this em- 

 phasizes the fact that })oultr3'men should be very careful to 

 have all the quarters where the fowls are kept cleanl}^, because 

 these ijerms of disease flourish where there is tilth. Where 

 you have filthy yards and tiltli^^ houses, and especiallj^ where 

 food is thrown on filthy grounds, you have these germs, and 

 they may get into the digestive tract and from there be car- 

 ried into the oviduct and into the egg. 



Dr. James Oliver (of Athol) . I would like to add some- 

 thing to what the lecturer has said. It is a well-known fact, 

 and I have noticed it a good many times, that people will 

 keep hens and allow them to drink the water which comes 

 from sink spouts. 1 liave thought that diphtheria comes 

 mostly from sink spout water, which gets into the well and 

 into the system in some way. I do not think the public has 

 been sufficiently notified of the fact that it is very dangerous 

 to let hens drink sink spout water. 



Mr. L. E. Stewart (of Royalston). One question in 

 regard to Rhode Island Reds. What should the plumage of 

 this breed be? Should it be bright red, or a yellowish red, 

 and also what should be the })luniage of the female bird? 



