EXPERIMENT STATION WORK 
point in question, but certainly the marring of a breeding 
experiment by introducing radical changes in the factors of 
production is at best unfortunate. 
A much more serious criticism than any of the foregoing is 
to be found in a change of the size of flocks and amount of 
floor space per fowl. I have gone over carefully the pub- 
lished records of Professor Gowell, and the review of Dr. 
Pearl, and the following table represents, as near as I can 
determine, these factors for the series of years. In the year 
1903 I find no clear statement as to the manner in which the 
birds were housed, and I may be in error in this.case. Other- 
wise the table gives the facts. 
Year Hens in Flock Per Hen Egg Yield 
1900 20 8. sq. ft. 136.36 
1901 20 8. sq. ft. 148.44 
1902 20 8. sq. ft. 155.58 
1903 20 8. sq. ft. 135.42 
1904 50 4.4 sq. ft. 117.90 
1905 50 4.4 sq. ft. 134.07 
1906 50 4.4 sq. ft. 140.14 
1907 50 4.4 sq. ft. 113.24 
Certainly this oversight is a serious one, and one especially 
remarkable considering the fact that the comparison of differ- 
ent size flocks formed a prominent part of the Maine Station 
work during the last three years of the breeding test. The 
results of the work at the Maine Station on testing flock size, 
conducted without relation to the breeding work, gave the 
following results: 
No. of Hens Sq. ft. per Hen Egg Yield 
150 3.2 111.68 
100 4.8 123.21 
50 4.8 129.69 
No comparisons of 50 and 20 bird flocks in the same year 
are available, but by extending the comparisons of the 50, 100 
and 150 flocks into the 20 flock size, we can get some idea 
of the error that has been here introduced. The result of the 
Australian egg laying contest in which the flocks were com- 
posed of six hens, shows a yield of about one and one-half 
times as heavy as the Maine records, which certainly seems 
to substantiate the ideas here brought out. 
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