N. II. A.gr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 265 



The field man was able to secure data on egg size by weighing samples 

 of 100 eggs at weekly visits. Much of the other material gathered and 

 analyzed could not have been secured without these frequent visits. 



Farms Selected 



Farms were selected in Rockingham, Strafford and Hillsborough 



Counties on the basis of type, size, the convenience with which the farm 

 fitted into a route and the willingness of the individual to co-operate. 

 Very few commercial poultry farms in Xew Hampshire are diversiii sd 

 to the extent of combining poultry with such other enterprises as apple 

 orcharding or dairying; ami consequently, the diversified type could 

 not be included in the study. Thus, all the farms selected were of a 

 highly specialized commercial poultry type. Fifteen had some diversi- 

 fication within the poultry business itself through the production of 

 hatching eggs, day-old chicks or breeding stock. Eight specialized in 

 market eggs. 



The numlx r of birds (Table 1) housed in the fall of 1929 ranged from 

 513 to 3,09!) with an average of 1,290. Eight farms had less than 1,000 

 layers, and three had over 2.000. The average number of layers for the 

 year (a figure obtained by dividing total hen days for the year by 365) 

 was 995. 



Table 1 — Size of flock on '-l commercial poultry form : studied 



