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year. It is by these records that we arc able to study the laws of 

 breeding and determine whether or not the mating of heavy pro- 

 ducers will give rise^to offspring which will be heavy producers. This 

 nest is a very simple device. The hen, as she enters the nest, springs 

 the trapdoor and she is securely fastened until released by the at- 

 tendant. Eggs are probably used as food more than any other article 

 of food that we use to day. They are eaten by the healthy, sick, rich 

 and poor and are one of the finest 

 forms of food that nature has pro- 

 vided us with. One noted writer de- 

 scribes the egg as follows: "Out of 

 bugs and worms and food which it 

 finds in Nature's great store house, 

 the hen manufactures the pure w T hite 

 egg ; a delicious morsel and one to fill 

 the heart of man with loving kind- 

 ness." Aside from its food value the 

 egg is used extensively in commercial 

 work of various kinds, namely, photo- 

 graphic work, and in the tanning of 

 leather. The large tanning houses 

 use a very poor grade of eggs, one 

 which could not be utilized for food. white w "andotte 



Large quantities of eggs are also frozen and dried. These are used 

 in the preparation of various foodstuffs. 



We have here three baskets of eggs. No. 1 represents the eggs 

 laid by one hen in her pullet year ; No. 2 the second year production, 

 and No. 3 the third year production. At a glance we can easily see 

 that the pullet year production w r as the greatest of the three years, 

 and the second year greater than the production in the third year. 

 The lesson we should get from this is that as a flock, fowls are not 

 maintained at a profit after the second year. This does not always 

 hold true, but in the majority of cases it does. For example, there 

 are many hens which will produce more eggs in their second year 

 than they do in their pullet year; also, some hens will lay more than 

 one hundred and fifty eggs in their third year This is what we call 

 individuality, and we find it in all forms of life. 



Question. Would we be safe in using two-year-old stock for 

 breeding, or what age would you advise to breed from? 



Answer. To be on the safe side I would recommend that two- 

 year-old stock be used. 



Question. When does the egg record of the pullet year begin? 



Answer. The pullet year is usually reckoned three hundred and 

 sixty-five days after the first egg is produced. 



I have quite an interesting picture showing two Barred Plymouth 

 Rock hens. One hen produced close to two hundred eggs and the 

 other laid only ten eggs during the year. Here again we have the 

 variation or individuality. Sometime ago I kept a record of three 

 hundred Leghorn hens for three years. At the end of one season I 

 went over the flock and selected sixty of the best layers and placed 

 them in a pen by themselves. I also selected sixty of the poorest 

 producers and treated them likewise. One pen was adjacent to the 

 other, which gave me an opportunity to compare them. This is ex- 



