70 A REVOLUTION IN EGG PRODUCTION 



region in order to know when the egg supply is greatest and 

 best. If one considers the number of months each year when 

 climatic conditions preclude tgg production almost entirely 

 over the whole of our great egg producing territory, it is plain 

 that some provision for these months of scarcity must be 

 made from the season of plenty if eggs are to appear the year 

 round on the tables of any except wealthy people. The devel- 

 opment of the resources of Kentucky and Tennessee will help 

 to ease the demand of the Eastern markets for "best fresh" 

 eggs during the winter months, but it can never satisfy the 

 general demand any more than the Northern belt, as repre- 

 sented by Michigan and Minnesota, can keep all supplied 

 during the heat of midsummer. Therefore, we must continue 

 to study, and work for, and urge, increased egg production 

 wherever the little feathered lady can manage to eke out a 

 living by dint of hard scratching, be it North, South, East or 

 West. And we must remember, too, that every new laid egg 

 is fresh, sweet, nutritious food. ***** -pj^g j^gj^ j^^g 

 kept pace with her breed and her environment, and almost 

 invariably, even under the worst conditions, she has given 

 her owner more than she receives." 



Value of Light 



A'^e have stated, in our preface, that heredity and environ- 

 ment are two big factors in egg production. 



Heredity is the sum of the effects of the environments of 

 past generations, and this part of the subject is too compre- 

 hensive to take up in this little work. 



We should, however, profit by the laws of heredity suf- 

 ficiently to produce, or purchase, our foundation stock from 

 sources which are known to have produced the kind of stock 

 we desire. 



We purchase farm stock, of other kinds, on this basis 

 and theory that like begets like ; and why should we not do 

 the same with poultry? 



A flock, produced from the eggs of stock of good laying 

 quality, will almost surely produce heavier, under like condi- 

 tions than flocks produced from eggs of indifferent layers. 



Taking this position for granted, however, the second 

 factor in production, namely, environment, will have more 

 effect on laying qualities than heredity. 



