84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



were those left unhatched from those selected for low vitality. 

 There were 77 per cent of these hatched from the high vital- 

 ity and only 3o -per cent from the low vitality, and all of 

 these are weak as compared with all of those, which are 

 strong. So you see that way back in the egg you can tell 

 the dilference between high and low vitality. 



Next in importance after selecting for constitutional vigor, 

 whatever the breed may be, is the selecting of a breed that 

 will best meet your requirements. This slide (Fig, 12) is 

 simply a contrast made l)y some of the people in our depart- 

 ment who have been studying, for five or six years, six in- 

 dividuals, three males and three females, of as many differ- 

 ent breeds as time has permitted. This is just the contrast 

 between the White Leghorn and the Barred Rock. We also 

 have figures upon the Rhode Island Reds and the Indian 

 Game and others ; but I picked out these. They were first 

 photographed alive, then '' dressed " and photographed ; 

 they were then cut up and put on a board that is marked off 

 in half-inch spaces in multiples of 100, and their organs and 

 parts were cut up and laid down in the same form, so that 

 they are directly comparable. They were then weighed 

 and measured, and then the muscles were taken, sections 

 from the breast and thigh, and here you see represented on 

 this group at the right a cross section of the muscles of the 

 W^hite Leghorn as compared with the muscle sections of the 

 Barred Rock. Then you will see that type difference is not 

 a question simply of color, but a question of shape and size, 

 and also a difference in muscle texture. Notice the differ- 

 ence between the cross section of the thigh of the White 

 Leghorn as compared with that of the Barred Rock (Fig, 

 12). That white connective tissue is very tough, whereas 

 the sections in between consist of soft, juicy, red meat, and 

 you will see a greater proportion in the Rock than in the 

 Leghorn. If you were to buy 100 pounds of Barred Rock 

 and 100 pounds of Leghorn as you see them here, take them 

 home, cut off the head and feet and cut it up into parts and 

 prepare it ready for the table, our figures show that you 

 would have approximately 8 pounds more to eat in the case 

 of the Barred Rock originally purchased than in the case 



