I 



POULTRY EXPERIMENTS. 97 



birds yielded above 200 eggs each before the close of the follow- 

 ing October. 



All of the breeding females we are now carrying are tested 

 hens that have laid from 160 to 251 eggs in a year; and 150 

 pullets and hens whose mothers produced 200, or over, eggs per 

 year. All males used in breeding these two classes since 1901 

 had mothers that had laid 2fflo or more eggs in a year. 



This season (1905) six hundred pullets out of hens that have 

 laid above 160 eggs per year, and whose fathers, grandfathers 

 and great grandfathers were out of hens that yielded above 200 

 eggs per year are being tested by the trap nests for additional 

 breeding stock. All of the mothers of these pullets had fathers 

 and grandfathers that had 200 egg producing mothers. 



The stock is strong and vigorous and but few chickens that 

 hatch are lost. The hardihood of the stock is shown by the fact 

 that many cockerels have been sold to farmers and poultrymen 

 in and out of the State during the past two years and this fall 

 many of them have ordered again, with the frequent comment 

 that their pullets are laying earlier in the season and giving bet- 

 ter eggs than they have ever done before. 



The numbers of the breeding stock now secured makes prac- 

 ticable the avoidance of in-breeding and this is strictly guarded 

 against, as it is doubtful if the inbred hen has sufficient constitu- 

 tion to enable her to withstand the demands of heavy egg yield- 

 ing. During only one season, have birds as closely related as 

 first cousins been bred together. Line breeding is followed, the 

 matings now being only with distantly related birds. These 

 breeding investigations have now been in progress for six years. 

 The first year was consumed in testing pullets to find foundation 

 stock. The second year cockerels were raised from the large 

 laying hens for future breeding, and the third year, the first lots 

 of pullets were raised from the selected stock ; so that we have 

 only the last three years in which to note results and these three 

 years can only show the first changes that have taken place. 

 The stock that we commenced with was well bred, as flocks 

 generally go. The hens were averaging about 120 good brown 

 eggs a year, and had been doing so for several years. Three 

 years ago they averaged 150 eggs and the last two years, with 

 the great setbacks caused as above indicated, which was no 



