EXPLANATION or Till'. TKK.MS '• UTTKli" AND ••( 'Ll'Tl ll" ' 71 



possible answer to the much mooted question : -'\Vhv do chicks die in the 

 shell V 



It is the writer's present belief that those who would secure long and 

 profitable life in the poultry yard should consider the above propositions 

 carefully. 



EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS "LITTER" AND 



"CLUTCH." 



A -'litter of eggs" is a number that a hen, reverting to the incubating 

 instincts of wild birds, will lay for the sole purpose of reproduction. 

 A normal litter will be no greater number than the hen is able to cover 

 with her body. 



••A clutch of egg's" is a term that has evidently been adopted in the 

 effort to account for a hen ceasing to lay after she has produced more 

 eggs than the word -'litter" would explain, and for the reduced size of 

 some hen's eggs at certain times when the incubating tendency may 

 wholly or only partially develop. It has no definite number. 



The number of eggs in a "litter" or --clutch" is not predetermined in 

 the physical structure of the bird, as so many assume, but depends upon 

 her disposition or temperament, the food that she receives, and the con- 

 ditions to which she is exposed. 



A perfectly developed hen, with a bred-in-the-bone ambition for egg- 

 production could, if perfectly maintained, produce at least one egg for 

 every day of her vigorous adult life, perhaps more. If not then why not? 

 Perfection can never be attained, either in structure or maintenance, 

 but it is as worthy a goal for utility as for art. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



IS IT NECESSARY OR ADVISABLE TO FORCE EGG 

 PRODUCTION ? 



Is it necessary or advisable to force egg production? Egg production during 

 molt. The rooster and the trap nest. Egg-eating hens. 



THE point of view of a reader i.« not always anticipated by a 

 writer. It is quite commonly understood, I believe, that no 

 hen will lay. except during the natural breeding season, unless 

 forced to do so. If we concede the truth of such a proposition 

 we must concede that any hen that lays a larger number of eggs 

 in succession than she would be able to cover with her body, and 

 hatch, (if fertile) has been forced to do -o by some means aside 



