584 



Egg Records. 



[OCT., 



in many cases this may be said to be the main object. The 

 herd-book societies work in conjunction with the control 

 societies, the bulk of the members belonging to both, and the 

 records of the cows are entered in the herd-books. This is to 

 some extent a new development, as when these societies were 

 first instituted in Denmark they aimed more particularly at 

 improving the average milk yield of a herd by telling the 

 farmer what each individual cow was giving, with a view to 

 unsatisfactory animals being weeded out. The information, 

 however, also afforded a basis on which an improved breed 

 of cows could be built up, and this aspect of the matter has 

 resulted in a close connection being formed in recent years, 

 both in Denmark and in Germany, between the societies for 

 milk control and the herd-book societies. 



The benefit of records of this kind in the case of pedigree 

 stock was recognised in Germany at a much earlier date in 

 the case of the Allgauer Herd-book Society, which has carried 

 out systematic milking tests of its pure-bred cows since 1894. 

 In 1907 about 500 cows were being tested in this way. The 

 cost is borne by the Society, which employs several officers 

 for the purpose, who visit each farm once a fortnight and 

 record the milk yield. A sample is also taken, and sent to the 

 experiment station at Memmingen to be tested. The total 

 production and the fat-content thus ascertained are entered 

 in the herd-book, the year's production being reckoned from 

 eleven days after calving till the yield falls below 4J lb. of 

 milk daily. The milk tester keeps a record for each cow, so 

 that the owner knows exactly the condition of his herd. 



The great variation in the laying powers of hens is well 

 known, though the importance to a poultry keeper of breed- 

 ing from birds which have been proved 

 Egg Records. to be good layers is probably only 

 beginning to be recognised. The great 

 difference existing, even in the case of selected birds, was 

 shown in the egg-laying competition recently described in 

 this Journal (May, 1909, p. 108), where, for example one 

 White Leghorn laid 158 eggs and another only 36 in the 

 course of a year. The only way in which these differences 



