without the use of the trap nest, by keeping one's eyes and ears 

 open, one can pick out the layers with sufficient accuracy for all 

 practical purposes, as I shall show before I get through. 



THE THREE CONDITIONS OF EGG PRODUCTION. 



It was a maxim of Lord Bacon, one of the greatest men that 

 ever lived, that Nature is the great teacher, and that in order to 

 learn we must interrogate Nature. If we study Nature with open 

 eyes she will often give us suggestions of great value and fruit- 

 fulness. The poultryman must continually go to Nature, the 

 great teacher, and he will not go in vain. In the state of Nature 

 in which wild fowls live, or in the state of semi-Nature in which 

 the farmer's fowls are kept, what is the season of egg produc- 

 tion? Summer. Why? Because in summer the conditions of 

 egg production are present. What are these conditions? 

 Warmth, proper food and exercise. Reproduce these conditions 

 at any season of the year and the fowl will be likely to lay. The 

 poultryman should keep this fact in mind and govern himself 

 accordingly. 



IS THERE AN EGG TYPE? 



Before I pass to the next chapter I wish to take up a subject 

 upon which there is a wide difference of opinion Is there an egg 

 type? Some of those who ought to know claim there is not. 

 But I am of the opinion that as there is a type of cow that we 

 associate with large production of milk, so there is a type of hen 

 that we may associate with large production cf eggs. I believe 

 that a hen with a broad breast, a long, deep body and straight 

 underline (the so called "wedge-shape" fowl) will lay better than 

 one with a narrow breast, a short body and curved underline. 

 The reason is not far to seek. The vital organs are confined 

 within the body, and in a hen with a broad breast and long, deep 

 body there is plenty of room for the organs of assimilation and 

 reproduction; while in a hen with a short, curved body these 

 organs are necessarily constricted. If a hen is to lay well she 

 must eat well, breathe well, and have large ovaries; in other 

 words there must be plenty of room inside for all the great organs 

 to perform their functions. This explains why there is a tendency 

 on the part of the egg-producing breeds to increase in size. 



