BRANCHES OF THE POULTRY BUSINESS 43 



experiment stations and agricultural colleges have 

 done a great work in testing many so-called sys- 

 tems and even in originating others. No poultry 

 raiser should send money for advertised secret sys- 

 tems until learning through one of the experiment 

 stations whether such a system is feasible or not. 

 Of course, these remarks are not leveled at any- 

 thing legitimate in the way of a system. For in- 

 stance, the application of the principles of breed- 

 ing to improved egg production, etc., emphasized 

 in this book are partly the result of investigation by 

 the late Prof. G. M. Gowell of the Maine experi- 

 ment station. Professor Gowell published the follow- 

 ing statement in a booklet which he sent to inquirers : 



" For more than 25 j'ears I have bred Barred Plymouth 

 Rocks for producing good brown eggs, by selections from the 

 general stock. While that system of selection gave birds that 

 laid eggs of good size, shape and color, there was no means 

 of knowing whether the eggs incubated came from the hens 

 that were good or poor layers, and it was reasonable to sup- 

 pose that as many chickens came from mothers which had 

 laid poorly through the winter as froni those that had laid 

 well. Indeed, recent investigations have convinced me that 

 the eggs from hens that have only just gotten well under 

 way laying at the commencement of the incubating season, 

 yield more chicks than do those from hens that have been 

 laying well since early fall. 



" Thoroughv believing in the principle of breeding perform- 

 ers to performers to get performers, I determined to cull out 

 rigidly all non-performing hens and breed only the good layers 

 to the sons of all good layers to get good layers. In order 

 to do this in 1898 I devised and constructed at the Maine 

 experiment station 52 trap nests and commenced selection of 

 the best laying hens for foundation stock. t 1 -,, icft 



" At the end of the year all birds that had not laid 160 

 eggs were rejected, and those that had laid above that num- 

 ber were retained for breeding. They were bred to sons of 

 hens that had laid 200 or more eggs in a year. 



This system practiced by Professor Gowell has 

 been widely adopted by the more progressive poul- 

 trymen and has given excellent results. With vari- 

 ous modifications it has been followed by a prom- 

 inent firm of egg producers who have published a 

 book giving figures, drawings, half-tone illustrations 

 and descriptions of their poultry plant and its 



