120 EGGS 



fowl, the lighter in weight the eggs will average. This 

 is shown in the table on page 119, which is a summary 

 of the egg record of 4,362 hens of fifteen different 

 varieties that laid a total of 732,082 eggs, the records of 

 the different lots of fowls being taken over a period of 

 5 yr. In the table, the fowls are arranged with those 

 laying the heaviest eggs per doz. at the top and those 

 laying the lighter eggs coming in their proper order. 

 The Black Hamburgs and the Rose-Comb Brown Leg- 

 horns that produced the two highest average egg records 

 produced the lightest-weight eggs, and though the results 

 obtained are not all exactly in accordance with this 

 statement, a careful inspection of the table will show 

 that on an average hens with high egg records produced 

 light-weight eggs, and that the hens with the lowest egg 

 records produced somewhat heavier eggs. Since little 

 attention is paid in the market to the weight of eggs, it 

 is obvious that the best egg producers are the most 

 profitable. 



Relation of Egg Production to Season. In spite of the 

 many assertions that hens lay more prolifically at one 

 time of the year than at another, an inspection of the 

 egg records of a large number of fowls fails to show 

 any uniformity in regard to this point, but rather tends 

 to indicate that egg production is more a matter of 

 individuality than of season. The egg records given in 

 the table on page 122 have been taken from laying 

 hens in America, England, and Australia. The records 

 of some exceptionally high egg producers have been 

 selected and also the average production of a large num- 

 ber of fowls where it was possible to obtain authentic 

 records of this character. It will be noted that the indi- 

 vidual fowls that make high egg records lay consistently 

 throughout almost every month in the year, and that 

 the only time when they fall off in egg production is 

 during the molting period or when they are broody. 



The single hens that do not make such high egg 

 records usually lay very well for certain months in 

 the year, but are unable to stand the strain of heavy 



