i 9 n.] 



Laying Competitions. 



585 



years, a period which is much more satisfactory as a test than 

 sixteen weeks. During the last year two were held in South 

 Australia, one at the Roseworthy College, in the north of 

 the State, and the other at Kybybolite, in the south-eastern 

 section, where it is recorded that "the country is very wet and 

 cold in winter, which is of much longer duration than in the 

 north." In the former 89- pens (six in each), or 534 hens, 

 competed ; in the latter were 40 pens, or 240 hens. The final 



results in totals were as follows : — 



No. of 



Eggs General 



Section. Laid. Mean. 



Northern 102,723 I92'3 



Southern , 35,065 146'! 



Total 137,788 178-04 



Here again the differences are very great, in that the birds in 

 the northern competition gave an average of 46*2 eggs, or 

 more than 30 per cent., above those in the southern competi- 

 tion. In twelve months the number which moulted or became 

 broody would be equalised to a greater extent than when the 

 period is limited to sixteen weeks. No record, however, is 

 given upon these points as in the English report. 



Unfortunately, for the sake of comparisons, we have to be 

 contented with the performances of each pen, as the individual 

 laying is not given. Consequently I am unable to deal as 

 fully with the Australian contests as the English. Had such 

 figures been available they would have proved equally interest- 

 ing, and enabled us to see whether the same variations were 

 found between members of the individual flocks as in 

 England. 



In Diagram II. is shown the average number of eggs pro- 

 duced by the respective pens, indicating the grades of pens in 

 relation to their average productiveness, again placing them 

 in groups of five. It will be seen that one pen produced an 

 average of 100-105 eggs; that ten pens laid an average of 

 161-165 e ggs ; and that one pen attained the maximum by 

 an average of 252' 16 eggs, or a total of 1 ,513 in all, of a selling 

 value of £5 ys. nd. The mean for all the flocks combined 

 was 178 04, and as a proof of the theory of frequency curves 

 as applied to egg-production when dealing with large 

 numbers, we find that one pen was at the top and one at the 

 bottom, and that the numbers of pens below and above the 

 general mean were 64 and 63 respectively. Nothing could 



