20 BULLETIN 1052, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
Birds which make small gains in the beginning show small gains 
at the end, probably because of their physical condition (Table 19). 
The average daily gains made by springs in the different periods 
are 2.14 per cent during the first 8 days, 2.38 per cent from the ninth 
to eleventh day, inclusive, and 1.48 per cent during the last period. 
These results show that springs grow very rapidly during the first 
11 days, and, although their growth is less rapid during the last 
period, they still make a fairly good gain. 
The roasters made an average daily gain in the different periods 
of 2.78, 1.55, 0.80, and 0.56 per cent, respectively. Thus their most 
rapid gain occurred during the first 4 days, the daily gain during the 
second 4 days being fairly rapid, but very small during the rest of 
the time. 
As previously noted, a large part of the gains made by hens is in 
the form of fat. Moreover, the gains are small and erratic. The 
average percentage daily gains made by these hens during the differ- 
ent periods of feeding were 1.02, 0.92, 0.75, and 0.63 per cent, respec- 
tively. These small gains, with their high content of fat, indicate 
that the customary practice of feeding hens for only 6 to 8 days is 
well founded. 
COMPOSITION OF POULTRY BEFORE AND AFTER FEEDING. 
The various rations, differing in quality though containing all the 
essential nutrients, had no consistent effect upon the losses in dressing 
and chilling nor upon the percentage composition of birds of the same 
class. Broilers, springs, roasters, and hens, each considered as a class, 
exhibited marked differences, however. Since a ration consisting 
of corn meal (40 parts) and buttermilk (60 parts) was used with 
each experimental ration as a control, more data were accumulated 
with it than with any of the others. The results obtained with the 
control ration only, therefore, are presented in detail to show the 
differences in composition and dressing losses of the four classes of 
birds. 
WEIGHT LOST IN DRESSING. 
Table 20 gives a summary of the results of the experiments on the 
medium-weight breeds, including Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth 
Rocks, and Wyandottes, to determine the amount lost by the various 
classes during dressing (Tables 11 and 12). 
