BREEDING 143 



tinued selection of highly fecund dams does not alter in any 

 way the mean egg production of the daughters; (6) the pro- 

 portion of highly fecund daughters is the same whether 

 the dam is of high or low fecundity, provided both are mated 

 to the same male; (c) the daughters of a highly fecund dam 

 may show either high fecundity or low fecundity, depending 

 upon their sire; (d) the proportion of daughters of low fecun- 

 dity is the same whether the dam is of low or high fecundity, 

 provided both are mated to the same male." 



From the standpoint of the practical producer it is for- 

 tunate that the transmission of high productive powers is 

 confined to the males. Selection for fecundity is out of the 

 reach of the mass of producers, because it involves pedigree 

 breeding, which, as pointed out elsewhere, is not practical 

 on the general farm. Even if this were not true the practice 

 would be useless so long as selection is confined to females, 

 as is true where grading is practised. " High fecundity is not 

 inherited by daughters from their dam." The improvement 

 ■ in egg production on the farm has come through the males 

 used in grading up the flock. " High fecundity may be inher- 

 ited by daughters from their sire independent of the dam." 



Indications of Fecundity. — The Cornell Station found that 

 late moulting was the accompaniment of late laying, and that 

 all high producers of the yellow-shanked varieties had pale 

 shanks at the end of the laying year. The Storrs Station 

 found it a fairly easy matter to go through a flock of eight- 

 months-old utility White Leghorn pullets and pick out 

 those that had not laid, by means of the yellow pigment 

 in the earlobes. The pigment disappeared soon after the 

 birds began to lay. 



Comfort and Egg Prodioction. — There is a very direct 

 connection between the functioning of the reproductive 

 apparatus and the comfort of the hen. This is to be expected, 

 for it is the la-<v of the field and of the breeding pen that 

 organisms reproduce themselves most often when the con- 

 ditions are most favorable for the race. Egg production is 

 reproduction. The happy hen is the laying hen. Fright; 

 improper , food; damp, cool, or excessively hot weather; 

 the irritation of vermin; too close confinement; or any other 



