THE CALL OF THE HEN. 133 



learn to estimate the width right. Anything under 1 inch 

 will not pay, all over l x /2 inches will pay; from 1- to ! 3 / 8 

 inches are doubtful; 2 inches is about the 200-egg type, 

 2 3 / 8 inches about the 250-egg type, and 2 3 / 4 inches about the 

 280-egg type. 



Hens measuring from 1 to ! 3 /s inches should be put in a 

 yard while being fed well and looked over once a week at 

 night in the dark for about eight weeks, if you wish to make a 

 careful test. Any that come up or down in measurement can 

 be put in the good or bad yards, as the case may be. Hens will 

 go up or down about 25 per cent in measurements as they are 

 in flush, of laying or not. The best time to examine hens is 

 after dark while on roost, which should be about 18 inches 

 from the floor. Place left hand on back of hen, lift up tail 

 with thumb of right hand, and apply tips of fingers to pelvic 

 bones. With a little practice you will be able to inspect thirty 

 per minute. It is admitted by all physicians, professors, and 

 students of physiology that I have talked with in regard to 

 this matter that the abdominal capacity of a hen, together 

 with a strong vital temperament, has everything to do with 

 her value as a Laying proposition. The pelvic bones (being a 

 continuation of the body structure of the fowl and subject to 

 very small changes in the formation of flesh) are, when compara- 

 tively straight and thin, an index to the width of the abdomen, 

 and the best if not the only one we have, as they protrude from 

 the body and may be easily measured. The depth of the ab- 

 domen can be taken by placing the palm of the hand crosswise 

 below, between the pelvic bones and the rear of the breast- 

 bone. Sometimes it will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 fingers.. (A 

 finger means 3 /4 of an inch.) Also place fingers between 

 pelvic bones and tail-bone. Sometimes it will take one, some- 

 times two fingers. In this way you can judge the size of 

 the abdomen, which, with the pelvic development, will be a 

 rule as to a hen's value as a layer, except in rare cases of mis- 

 placed or diseased organs. Sometimes a hen will have a large 

 abdomen, but her pelvic bones will grow crooked and* come 

 almost together, like the horns of a Jersey cow, and she will 

 lay better than the distance apart of her pelvic bones will 

 indicate, but never will do as well as she should, and should 

 not be bred from. She wastes too much nervous force in 



