EGG PRODUCTION. 57 



however, roughly 5 per cent lower than is the mothers' total 

 relative yearly production (paragraph 6). 



10. From the data discussed in paragraphs 6 to 9 the fact 

 appears that the daughters' gain in spring as compared with 

 winter Qgg production is proportionately much greater than the 

 mothers' similar gain. Thus, the daughters' relative egg pro- 

 duction is 38.0 per cent higher in the spring months than it is 

 in the winter months, whereas the mothers' relative spring 

 production is only 17.9 per cent higher than their winter pro- 

 duction. The daughters gained more than twice as much as 

 the mothers. This of course finds its explanation in the fact 

 that the winter production of the mothers was so much better 

 than that of the daughters that the mothers could not possibly 

 make so great a relative gain in spring as compared with winter 

 laying. Their winter laying' was already too high. The daugh- 

 ters had a poor winter record and hence had no difficulty in 

 making a relatively high gain in the spring production. 



11. The general conclusion to be reached from the data set 

 forth in Table II is clearly, so far as these data indicate, that 

 the daughters of "200-egg" hens when kept under substantially 

 the same conditions and treated in the same way as their 

 mothers, are markedly inferior to them in winter and in spring 

 Qgg production. 



This result inevitably raises the question : Did "like produce 

 like" in this experiment? The assumption made in much of 

 the practical breeding of poultry is that if one wants to get good 

 winter layers he needs only to breed from good winter layers. 

 But in this experiment there is found no evidence whatever that 

 the good winter layer produced the good winter layer. In fact, 

 taking the data as a whole, exactly the contrary is the case. 

 The mothers on the average were wonderfully good winter 

 layers. The daughters, on the other hand, were extremely 

 poor winter layers. These, be it remembered, are statements of 

 fact, not of theory. 



One must be very cautious about drawing the conclusion from 

 the data set forth that there is no inheritance of fecundity from 

 parent to offspring in the domestic fowl. There are many 

 further points which must be taken into account before any 

 conclusion whatever as to the inheritance of fecundity may be 

 certainly reached. The remainder of this bulletin will b»^ 



