THE CALL OF THE HEN. 69 



tLj organ of amativeness in the human family. I found that 

 when it was large in both male and female the parents pos- 

 sessed the ability to transmit their PREDOMINATING 

 CHARACTERISTICS to their offspring. If the parents were 

 fancy birds their progeny would excel, in some cases, their 

 parents in feather, vigor and other good qualities. If the par- 

 ents were in the egg type, some of the chicks would be as 

 good and some better layers, and more vigorous than the 

 parents. If of the meat type the progeny would be of a strong- 

 er constitution, of a quicker growth and assimilate their food 

 better. In a word" if both parents have this organ (called pre- 

 potency by some) large the chicks will be more likely to be 

 equal to, and some will excel, their parents along the lines in 

 which the parents predominate.. If the parents have the organ 

 small, the chicks will not be so good as the parent stock, but 

 will degenerate along the lines that the parents excel in. If 

 a hen is a 200 egg type, and she has this organ small she will 

 be just as valuable as an egg producer as if she had the organ 

 large, but she will be of no value as a breeder. She will be an 

 old maid from choice, and her eggs will not be fertile, if she 

 has the organ small enough. If the male bird has it small his 

 eggs will not hatch well ; and if small enough they will not 

 hatch at all. I have found a few cases where the cock bird had 

 the organ of (Amativeness) prepotency large and failed to 

 fertilize the eggs, but the cases are. very rare and I attribute it 

 to weakened or diseased nerves; as for instance the nerves of 

 the teeth or sciatic nerve in the human being. 



Figure 36. Holding Hen Ready to Put in Sack. 



