PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



capacity measure should be at least three fingers, this being 

 determined by the span between the lower point of keel and 

 the ends of the pubic bones. The tail should be well de- 

 veloped and the comb, wattles and earlobes should be fine in 

 texture. 



How to Select the Female 



The qualifications of the female are practically the same as 

 with the male. The head points, however, are finer and the 

 cranium is narrower. Special emphasis should be given to 

 type and size. A hen with a baggy abdomen should not be 

 used as a breeder. A hen that produces abnormal eggs 

 should be removed from the breeding pen. A hen with any 

 bad habit, such as egg-eating, feather pulling or laziness 

 should be cured or rejected. 



Selecting and Mating by the Trap Nest 



There is no surer method of determining laying capacity 

 than by the trap nest. While this method is not practical on 

 many farms yet the farmer can profit by the discoveries made 

 through this means in the experiment stations and egg-laying 

 contests. The valuable data collected by investigators through 

 trap-nest records have given a great impetus to the study of 

 poultry problems. Two investigators, widely separated in 

 space but widely known in poultry circles, are Professor James 

 Dryden of the Oregon University Experiment Station and Dr. 

 Raymond Pearl of the Maine University Experiment Station. 

 Their deductions from trap-nest experiments have thrown a 

 world of light upon the problems of fecundity and heredity. 

 We take pleasure in quoting from these authorities, believing 

 that the facts which they present should have wide circulation. 



Professor Dryden's Conclusions 



"Regardless of any question of prepotency, the selection of 

 breeding stock on the basis of production record is a certain 

 method of increasing production. 



"Some individuals have greater power of transmitting 

 high fecundity than others of the same breeding. 



"Good layers are not always produced by good layers, nor 

 are poor layers always produced by poor layers. 



"Rapid progress can be made by the breeder if he tests the 

 breeding quality of his stock by using for breeding those hens 

 and males whose progeny has shpwn high production. 



[110] 



