294. POULTRY BREEDING 
ence is probably not quite as great as this, as the Leg- 
horn hen would require proportionally more feed to sup- 
ply material for the larger number of eggs she would pro- 
duce, although Prof. Thompson of Australia has asserted 
that the larger breeds consume “a great deal more” feed 
than the Leghorns. In our own yards we once weighed 
the feed for a pen of Leghorns and a pen of Brahmas and 
found that the Leghorns consumed but three-fifths as 
much feed as the Brahmas. 
SKIMMILK FOR CHICKS.—At the Indiana Experi- 
ment Station W. B. Anderson tested the value of skim- 
milk in feeding young chickens. He selected two lots 
that received the same treatment except that Lot 2 was 
given all the skimmilk the chicks would eat, in addition 
to the grain ration. The test was continued eight weeks. 
Lot 1 consumed 180 pounds of grain and the average 
weekly gain per chick was 2.62 ounces. Lot 2 consumed 
217 pounds of grain and 90 pounds skimmilk and the 
average weekly gain per chick was 4.46 ounces. The 
milk was very profitable as it improved the digestion of 
the chicks as well as making the ration more efficient, 
resulting in more rapid growth. The experiment was re- 
peated with practically identical results. If a 10-pound 
baby would make the same proportionate gain it would 
weight 260 pounds when three months old. This shows 
that the digestive organs of a chick work at high pressure. 
SKIMMILK FOR LAYING HENS.—At the West 
Virginia Station Prof. Atwood made a very thorough 
test of the value of skimmilk in feeding laying hens. The 
milk was allowed to sour before being fed and then was 
used to moisten the mash of the flock to which it was fed. 
Two flocks were used in the experiment. One was given 
a mash moistened with the sour skimmilk and the other 
