DWARF EGGS OF DOMESTIC FOWL. 30I 



to an increase in the diameter of the egg. The fact that the cor- 

 relation between length and breadth is significantly higher for 

 dwarf eggs with little or no yolk than for small yolked dwarf 

 or normal eggs may indicate that in these very small eggs 

 there is little or no differential stimulus on the muscle fibers 

 of the oviduct wall, but that there is such a stimulus when the 

 egg is larger. 



2. Length and breadth are both highly correlated with 

 weight. That is a large egg is both broad and long. These 

 relations are also true for normal eggs. 



3. The index-weight correlations are negative and they are 

 significant for dwarf eggs with little or no yolk. That is for 

 these two groups of small dwarf eggs the larger the egg the 

 longer it is in proportion to its breadth, or the larger the egg 

 the lower the index. The bearing of this fact has already 

 been discussed (p. 297). 



4. The correlation between yolk weight and albumen weight 

 in dwarf eggs with small yolks is higher than the average cor- 

 relation between yolk weight and albumen weight within the 

 normal eggs of a single individual. This high correlation 

 between yolk weight and albumen weight in dwarf eggs with 

 small yolks adds to the evidence already presented (p. 297). 

 that the amount of yolk present in the duct is an important 

 factor in determining the amount of albumen secreted and thus 

 both directly and indirectly influences the size of the egg. 



V. The Frequency of the Occurrence of Dwarf Eggs 

 Compared to Normal Eggs and of Dwarf Egg Producers 

 Compared to Birds which do not Lay Dwarf Eggs. 



The 298 dwarf eggs collected were produced by nine differ- 

 ent flocks. During any year a few dwarf eggs may have 

 escaped collection by being broken in the nest or laid on the 

 floor and lost in the litter. This loss cannot have been large 

 at any time. However, in order to guard against the possibility 

 that there was an unequal loss during the several years the 

 two years of highest dwarf egg production were selected for a 

 comparison between the frequencies of dwarf and normal eggs. 



The frequency of the occurrence of dwarf eggs compared to 

 normal eggs may be determined by calculating the percentage 



