Egg-Laying Trials. 



keepers as a whole. It often happens that the monthly or 

 annual reports of the various tests contain more or less casual 

 reference to matters of considerable interest, those who conduct 

 such tests being in an exceptional position to make observations 

 on matters affecting management generally. 



For example, during the drought this year attention was 

 directed to the fact that a long continuance of dry weather is 

 influential in causing a slight but general falling off in the weight 

 of eggs during the period of high production, but when the rate 

 of production is slower the size is more fullv maintained, despite 

 this influence. Again, the fact is emphasised that when penned, 

 the best layers will use up the herbage in their runs more quickly 

 than those that are less productive, thus emphasising the im- 

 portance of vegetables in the dietary of laying stock. 



This latter fact has been further accentuated as a side issue 

 arising out of the inclusion of a section in the eighth Irish egg- 

 laying test, in which the birds were fed on dry mash and grain 

 for the purpose of comparing the productive results with those 

 of birds fed on wet mash and grain. It was found that, whereas 

 the grass in the runs of the latter kept in reasonably good con- 

 dition, the runs in the dry mash section were quite bare of' grass 

 by Christmas (the testing starting on 1st October), and that 

 extra green food had to be given daily to the birds in this section 

 to make good the deficiency. 



Many similar instances of the practical educational value of 

 laying tests, additional to the inculcation of the value of strain, 

 could be given, and those who conduct and report on such tests 

 could usefully amplify their notes on the many side issues that 

 inevitably come under their notice, most of which have a more 

 or less important bearing upon the economy of egg production. 



Experimental Extension. — Although the testing of strains for 

 prolificness must remain the chief object, there are certain direc- 

 tions in which the work may be extended with advantage, and 

 the Harper Adams Agricultural College authorities are certainly 

 justified in regarding the Male Bird Progeny Test as a natural 

 outcome and development of egg-laying tests. In this direction 

 there is an undoubted need for investigation, to discover the 

 worth of male birds by their breeding behaviour, and the first 

 aim of the College authorities is to obtain definite data from 

 which provisional conclusions may be drawn. 



Meanwhile, it may be noted that some interesting results have 

 been secured at the Munster Institute in connection with the 

 tests made by the Irish Department of Agriculture. The Depart- 



