4'2 THE TRAP NEST TEXT BOOK 



similar condition with mammals when giving birth to their young. 

 Perhaps, in their wild state, birds may show this condition more than 

 does the domestic hen. However accurately we might be able to dis- 

 tinguish a layer from a non-layer by noting if the pelvic bones were 

 near together or wide apart, the test would be valueless as far as being 

 able to distinguish a good layer from a poor layer was concerned. For 

 separating layers from non-layers it would be useful, if reliable. I 

 have been unable to make anything of it as yet . 



It reminds me somewhat of the man who wrote to a heating engineer 

 for certain estimates. He said that his chimney was a large one, and 

 ha'd agood draft. The engineer asked him how large his chimney was, 

 as large chimneys were from four to forty feet square. It depended 

 upon the point of view of the man who owned the chimney. When I 

 hear of a flock of "heavy layers" I sometimes think of the same story. 



An editor advised a subscriber to separate the liens with the scarlet 

 combs from the others as they were the layers and should be fed heavier. 

 I wondered, when 1 read that, what the subscriber would do if all of 

 his hens had scarlet combs and none of them were laying. Now the 

 color of comb has no particular bearing upon egg production, except 

 indirectly. A well nourished bird will have a scarlet comb, if she is 

 old enough to mate, and in good health. The combs of both the male 

 and the female indicate the same thing. A scarlet comb may show that 

 a hen should be laying, but it does not show that she is laying. If all 

 of the reader's laying hens happen to have scarlet, combs, and all of his 

 non-layers happen to have paler combs, it will not. disprove what I have 

 just written. 



There are thousands of scarlet-combed hens and pullets that are not 

 laying now (September) and may not lay for months. There are thou- 

 sands of hens with paler combs that have been laying for a long time, 

 are laying now, and will lay for some time. A layer, on a long run of 

 egg production, is likely to pale, more or less, if not adequately nour- 

 ished, or if lice arc troubling her; but otherwise she may hold her color 

 all right. I have birds that have made a straight run of something like 

 200 eggs each and their combs are as bright as could l>e desired. They 

 get plenty of food, pure air and water. I don't know how they are 

 fixed for lice, I havn'l looked. 



1 am compelled, by reasons that would no( interest the reader, to ne- 

 glect many details of management thai are of more or less importance, 

 and have considerable hearing upon egg production. I have also, at 

 times, systematically praclicod neglect for (he purpose of studying the 

 relations of cause and effect as shown by (he behavior of the distinct 

 and separate individuals in the flock. Any thing that may appear 

 strange and incredible in Ibis book may be charged to my point of view. 



