SIZE^ SHAPE AND. PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EGG. 11/ 



chicken feathers. The eggs of Mr. Gerald's pullet were very 

 small and the yolks were only about one-half the size of the 

 yoiks of the five to six months old pullets. Also the yolk weight 

 increased considerably during the fifteen days observations. 



The case of this precocious pullet adds evidence to the view 

 suggested by the data from the flock investigated, namely that 

 the egg yolks increase in weight as the bird matures and that 

 this increase is more rapid at early than at later stages of de- 

 velopment. There is further evidence of this fact from the 

 data on the birds which began to lay in February. These birds 

 were from eight and three-fourths to nine months old when 

 they began to lay. 



The relation of the age of the bird at the beginning of laying 

 to the size of the first yolk is shown by the data given in table 3. 



TABLE 3. 

 Shozving the Relation of the Age of the Bird to the Size of 



the 1st Yolk. 







Age at laying 



Weight of 1st 







Bird No. 



1st egg. 



yolk. 



Mean. 



Mr. 



Gerald's pullet, 



3 



6.21 



6.21 (1 bird). 





218 



5* 



10.19 







516 



5J 



10.75 



10.945 (4 birds). 





478 



5i 



9.30 







236 



5i 



13.74 







446 



6 



13.09 







184 



6 



12.22 







441 



6 



12.63 







259 



6i 



10.68 







212 



6i 



11.74 







235 



6i 



14.05 







192 



6} 



10.51. 







204 



6* 



12.27 



12.236 (13 birds). 





198 



6* 



11.53 







139 



6i 



11.51 







211 



6f 



12.28 







205 



H 



13.22 







243 



6i 



13.35 







137 



7 



13.75 







172 



7i 



13.27 



13.51 (2 birds). 





459 



8J 



14 . 19 







489 



8J 



17.63 







514 



9 



15.11 



15.643 (3 birds). 



Data on the eggs of the birds which began to lay in February 

 show also that in these cases the yolk weight does not begin 

 small and increase very rapidly, as in the case of the bird? 

 which begin to lay in the fall. In fact with one exception the 

 yolk weight shows a slight decrease for the first few months. 



