BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 105 



experimental stations, private individuals have spent 

 time and money in carrying out experiments along 

 this line. Such work has resulted in much good to 

 the present day poultry raiser, and is assisting him 

 greatly in building up his flock to a higher standard 

 of productiveness. The various egg laying contests 

 which have been carried on in different parts of the 

 country have given to the public many facts showing 

 what the American hen is capable of doing under the 

 right conditions. We are just beginning to learn the 

 value of the hen on our farms and in our back yards. 



The introduction of the trap nest has been a great 

 help to poultry raisers in selecting good layers. By 

 its use the egg yield of every hen can be easily ascer- 

 tained, and there is no more guess work necessary in 

 finding out which hens really do the work. Trap 

 nests make it possible to keep an accurate record of 

 each individual hen. They are now quite extensively 

 used throughout the country and are becoming more 

 popular each year. 



For the benefit of the beginner who, perhaps, does 

 not know what a trap nest is and how it works, I will 

 state that it is a nest box with a door on the front 

 which works automatically in such a manner that it 

 traps a hen as soon as she is on the nest and holds 

 her a prisoner until released. When the hen is re- 

 moved from the box the band number is taken and 

 put on the record book for future reference. In con- 

 structing these trap nests great care should be taken 



