80 NUMBER OF EGGS. 



is said that at Malacca and other places 

 hens lay twice a day ;" and we see it stated 

 in some of the poultry books, that one par- 

 ticular breed will lay an egg every day in 

 the year. A poultry-yard stocked with only 

 forty of these miraculous fowls would, of 

 course, furnish the very extravagant number 

 of 14.600 eggs in the course of a year. 



But leaving these old wives fables, we 

 shall record several statements from Ameri- 

 can practical writers, which may enable us 

 to form some judgment on this matter. It 

 should be remembered, however, that all 

 these have been recorded, because they 

 were thought to be extraordinary products, 

 and therefore the average number, under 

 ordinary circumstances, must be consider- 

 ably smaller. 



No. 1. A yard of forty hens, mostly pul- 

 lets, and three cocks, yielded in ninety days, 

 between January and May, 1440 eggs. 

 Cultivator, 1842, p. 117. 



No. 2. Another, containing 60 hens, yield- 

 ed in 160 days, between February and Au- 

 gust, 2655 eggs. It is worthy of remark, that 



