42 POULTRY FOR PROFIT 



Pullets hatched in the fall are usually found to be 

 better layers than those hatched in the spring. 

 They also begin to lay at an earlier age. Orpington 

 pullets hatched in September or October lay in 

 March or April, while pullets hatched in March can 

 hardly be expected to lay before October, and many 

 will delay beginning till November. On the other 

 hand the pullets which mature early lay more small 

 eggs than those which delay their laying till the 

 eighth month, and as they begin to lay when egg 

 prices are at the lowest point they can hardly be 

 said to be profitable layers for the first three 

 months. 



The great point in favor of the fall hatched layer 

 is, that being the daughter of a hen that lays in the 

 fall, she may perhaps be expected to lay more fall 

 eggs than a spring hatched hen, but the question 

 of inheritance of fecundity has not been settled yet. 

 If, as the Maine Station recently declared, inheri- 

 tance of fecundity comes through the sire and not 

 at all through the dam, the fact that the mother laid 

 in the fall does not indicate that the daughter will. 

 But this is a delicate question and one that is open 

 to careful investigation. 



HOW TO HATCH 



Except on questions of sanitation and hygiene, 

 it is almost impossible to lay down any hard and 

 fast rules for the management of a flock of fowls. 

 The breed, constitution, age and individuality of 

 the fowls, the location and size of the farm and the 

 taste and ability of the poultryman have all to be 

 considered as well as such contingent circumstances 

 as the state of the weather and the price of feed. 



In no part of the work of a poultryman is this 

 more evident than in choice of the method of hatch- 



