1920.] 



Egg- Laying Competition. 



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laid eggs for his own table. Unless ample ground is available, 

 however, it is better for the town dweller not to attempt 

 rearing ; he should purchase his pullets from a breeder in the 

 open country. 



It is essential that in every case a proper system of housing, 

 feeding and general management should be studied and 

 practised in order to obtain profitable results. One important 

 factor necessary to success is that only hens that are bred from 

 strains having a high egg-yield should be kept. There is a 

 wide difference in the egg-producing capacity of individual 

 hens, but the average yield from a flock of birds bred from 

 carefully selected ancestors will invariably be greater than 

 that obtainable from a flock of nondescript mongrels, given 

 the same feeding and management. In view of the importance 

 of this question the Ministry has, in conjunction with about 

 thirty-eight County Local Authorities, arranged for the dis- 

 tribution, at moderate prices, of eggs for hatching and day-old 

 chicks from high-class stock, at about 213 breeding centres 

 in England and Wales, in order that poultry keepers who may 

 not be in a position to pay high prices may have an opportunity 

 of rearing good breeding stock for next year. 



An egg-laying competition was held by the Northern Utility 

 Poultry Society during 191 8-1 9 on the Society's farm at 

 Towneley, Burnley. The competition was 

 Egg-Laying divided into four sections, viz., Section 1 

 Competition of the (Whit Leg horns), Section 2 (White 

 Northern Utility „ r , xx ~ ,/ v . 



Ponltry Society. ^ yandottes), Section 3 (any other variety), 

 and Section 4 (limited to small breeders, 

 and in which \\ Tiite Wyandottes, Sicilian Buttercups, White 

 Leghorns, Buff Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds entered). In 

 all 107 pens of pure-bred poultry competed, and 5 pullets of 

 one breed were allowed to each pen. The birds in Sections 

 i, 2 and 3 were kept in houses 12 ft. by 8 ft., divided in the 

 centre, with grass runs, and those in Section 4 were housed in 

 large runs. 



The eggs laid were separated into three grades, according 

 to weight, but only the two first grades were given a score 

 value. Eggs weighing 2 oz. and over were classified as Grade 1, 

 and those weighing during the first ten weeks less than 2 oz. 

 but not less than i| oz., and for the subsequent period of the 

 test not less than i| oz., were classified as Grade 2 ; not more 

 than 100 second-grade eggs, however, were allowed to be 



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