90 POULTRY BREEDING IN 



" Cochins, Bramahs, &c., should lay one hundred and 

 twenty eggs in a year." True, but how many more may 

 be reasonably expected? Does "Barndoor" give this as 

 the actual result of his own experience? If so, will he 

 say how the hens were treated, their ages, &c. ? I admit 

 the mere opinion of one man, or even his practical ex- 

 perience, can carry but very little weight; I can, how- 

 ever, quote some well-known authorities which fully 

 sustain Mr. Geyelin's calculations about the produce of 

 hens, while but one goes so low as one hundred and 

 twenty, the figure of " Barndoor," for the best known 

 egg-producing breeds. Cobbett says eleven hens should 

 give two thousand eggs and one hundred chickens, if 

 well fed, in one year, and allows eighteen bushels of 

 barley to feed them with one cock. Richardson relates 

 that three Polish pullets laid five hundred and twenty-four 

 eggs, cost sixteen shillings and six pence. Baxter records 

 that four hens laid seven hundred and ten eggs one year, 

 at a cost of one pound two shillings and a penny half- 

 penny, and five hundred and ninety-four the next year, at 

 fifteen shillings and nine pence halfpenny. 



In the work called " Farming for Ladies," we read, 

 " Hens lay nearly all the year round, except when moult- 

 ing and in the depth of winter ; but generally speaking at 

 least ten to twelve or fourteen dozen eggs a year may be 

 counted on." I dare say the experience of most of your 

 readers will differ quite as much as that of those writers, 

 so much depends on the peculiar circumstances of each 

 case. In my opinion a fair average can be taken only by 

 the actual results obtained by a large number of the most 

 careful breeders, who keep their poultry in the best and 



