POULTRY EXPERIMENTS. 183. 



There were no interruptions or irregularities during the test. 

 The weather was very severe during much of the winter, but 

 the birds laid well in the open air houses and the losses were 

 not heavier than usual with us. 



There is nothing in the results that leads to the conclusion 

 that it is necessary or advisable, to crack the corn fed to hens 

 kept for laying eggs. The slight differences in the average 

 yields of the birds in the two classes should not be inter- 

 preted as meaning that cracked corn is inferior to whole corn. 

 Neither do the somewhat greater losses of birds on the cracked 

 corn ration indicate that the cracked corn was injurious. There 

 is nothing in the appearance of the birds in either of the ten 

 flocks, to indicate lack of vigor or health, in any flock. An 

 examination of the yields of the birds in the different rooms 

 during the same, and succeeding months shows much regularity. 

 The greatest variation in the average pen yields per bird was 

 in Room I where it was 84 eggs, and in Room 3 where it was 

 73. The causes of this variation are not known. 



In conducting feeding tests with any animals it is practically 

 impossible to get individuals or groups that are exactly alike,. 

 or that will remain in exactly the same condition during con- 

 secutive weeks or months. The variations in animals are such, 

 that reliable answers to delicate questions can probably only be 

 secured by taking the average results from large numbers, that 

 are apparently uniform in form, function and condition. In this 

 test, 1000 individuals were employed, and the conduct of the 

 work was such as to establish confidence in the results. 



With corn costing from 55 to 65 cents per bushel of 56 

 pounds, the mill cost for cracking is usually from one to 2 

 cents per bushel. During much of the year cracked corn is 

 liable to heat and sour if kept long, which necessitates buying 

 in small quantities. This danger is less with whole corn, and 

 it can usually be bought in large quantities to advantage. When 

 cracked corn is not thoroughly screened the meal sifts out and 

 is largely lost in the litter. Whole corn will take the place of 

 cracked corn in feeding the mature birds of the Station flocks,, 

 except when experiments may require the use of other materials. 



