CII AI'TEK III. 

 TIIK lUil'.l'.DlXC OF ClIICKKXS. 



Definition of Breeding. I'lHiltn' breeding is comprisi-il nf 

 tlio^c npcnitidiis wliii'li (leal dircctl}- with reproducing and 

 iinpi-(j\'ing ddiiicstic ponlti-y. It includes selecti(.>n, mating, 

 and iiiculiatioii. I-'df cnnNciiirncc and hccause artificial 

 incuhation lias Im'imi so liiglily dcxclupcd as t" need treatment 

 in a si']iai'atc cliaiitcr, (Hily tlinsc phases which ha.ve tn d<i 

 with selci-tidii and mating arc disrnsscd here. 



Physical Basis of Reproduction in the Female. — The organs 

 of repro(lucti(.)n in tlie female fowl are the left ovary and the 

 left o\'iduct. The right oN'ary and o\iduct are fonm'il 

 at the same time as the organs on the left side, l.>ut 

 degenerate during emhryonic life, and ]iersist, if at all, 

 only as funetionless rudiments. Lillie' suggests that this 

 fact would a])pear to he correlated with the large size ot tlie 

 egg and the delicate n.ature of the shell, as there is not room 

 for two eggs side by side in the lower part of the body cavity. 



The functioning <>a ary a])pears as a cluster of many 

 spheres wliii.-h \ary in size from that of the normal egg->'olk 

 down to the \>nh\{ where they are barely \isible to the luiaidcd 

 eye. Each sphere is a more or k'ss develo|)ed ovum or yolk 

 and is joini'd to the main stalk of tlie ovary liy a stalk of its 

 own called a follicle. 



A continuation of this follude completely surrounds the 

 ovnni as long as it remains connected with the o\"ar>'. It is 

 the rupture of the follicle along a preformed line or band, 

 called the stigma, and whieli marks the extremities of its 

 vascular system, that allows the ripe o\'um or fully grown 

 yolk to escape into the o\ iduet. In counts of the total num- 

 ber of o\'a and ruptured follii-les \ isible to the unaided eye 



1 IJevttoptnciit r,f (lie Cliirk. 



(84) 



