90 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



in the ovaries of thirteen hens made by Curtis/ it was found 

 that they varied in number from 914 to 3605. There did 

 not appear to be any correlation between this total number 

 of ova and ruptured follicles and the fowl's previous trap 

 nest record. The ovary is situated to the left of the median 

 line of the body just back of the lungs and below the anterior 

 extremity of the left kidney. 



The ovary of a hen in fuU laying. (Courtesy of Raymond Pearl.) 



Curtis^ has described the oviduct of the laying hen as 

 being "a large, much coiled tube filling a large part of the 

 left half of the abdominal cavity. It is suspended from the 

 dorsal body wall and lies dorsal to the abdominal air sac. 

 Its anterior end is expanded into a large funnel which is 

 spread out beneath the ovary in such a way that the mouth 

 of the tube faces the ovary. The mutual relations of the 

 abdominal viscera are such as to virtually form a pocket in 

 which the ovary lies. This walling off of the ovary is of 

 such a character as to tend mechanically to direct detached 

 ova to the mouth of the oviduct." There is no organic 



' Maine Bulletin No. 205. « Ibid., No. 176. 



