VOL. XLVII. NO. 1996. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 28, 1888. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS. 
42.00 PER YEAR. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the 
year, 1888, by the Rural New-Yorker, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
HOW MANY EGGS 
CAN A HEN LAY? 
A few weeks since 
the following ques¬ 
tion was received 
from a subscriber in 
Tennessee: “I notice 
that dealers in patent 
‘egg producers’ state 
that their prepara¬ 
tions will stimulate 
egg production, and 
make the hen lay 
more eggs than she 
would Without this 
feed. On the other 
hand, many poultry 
men claim that the 
number of eggs a hen 
can lay is determin¬ 
ed before she lays 
any—that the egg 
germs in her ovary 
will not be added to. 
Now, if this second 
proposition is cor¬ 
rect the first cannot 
be. We would like 
to know about it. 
Such knowledge will 
be very useful in 
breeding.” 
The Rural sent a 
question covering 
these points to some 
• =8 
Mrw- 
Wvandotte Cockerel “SILVER KING-. 
same time. This is a question that all are ex¬ 
tremely interested in. 
FROM P. H. JACOBS. 
It has been often asserted that the ovary 
contained about (iOO eggs, which, when ex¬ 
hausted, rendered the hen of no further ser- 
FROM PHILANDER 
WILLIAMS. 
I should say a hen 
was born with a cer¬ 
tain number of eggs 
in her ovary, that 
cannot be increased 
by food or care. She 
may from neglect 
or improper food 
not lay in cold wea¬ 
ther, but she will lay 
all the better when 
spring comes. 
Many of our sharp¬ 
est breeders that 
keep poultry for prac¬ 
tical uses, kill all 
hens on the first of 
June. Their reason 
is, that if the hens are 
kept until the moult¬ 
ing season, they will 
lose, on an average, 
two months when 
pullets would lay. I 
should say that for 
the best results in 
egg production a hen 
should not be kept 
over one year. 
FROM HENRY HALES. 
There is no appear¬ 
ance of eggs in the 
ovary of a young 
pullet, so that a hen 
cannot be said to 
come into the world 
with eggs in the 
vice; but I now have a hen, seven years old, 
that has laid regularly since she was eight 
months old, with promise of still beating some 
of the younger ones in the future. I have not 
kept a careful record, but think she has al¬ 
ready laid nearly 900 eggs. I knew a hen 
that lived 16 years, and laid three eggs the 
last year of her life. 
I do not think there 
is a limit to the num¬ 
ber of eggs a hen 
will lay. I believe 
she will lay on until 
old age ends her ser¬ 
vice, and the num¬ 
ber will depend on 
herj,treatment. She 
may, when well ad¬ 
vanced in age, gra¬ 
dually lay fewer 
eggs, but production 
of'off spring gradual- 
Jyiieeases also with 
other animals, 
though age does not 
limit as a class, for 
two cows of the same 
age may not produce 
the same number of 
calves during the 
same period. It is 
generally conceded 
by all good poultry 
authorities that there 
is no limit, and that 
with good treatment, 
and the enjoyment 
of good health, a hen 
will continue to lay 
until she becomes 
aged, which, of 
course, as with hu¬ 
man individuals, oc¬ 
curs sooner with 
some than with 
others. 
of our poultry authorities, and their replies 
will be found below. The weight of opinion 
appears to be decidedly against the theory 
that the number of eggs is predetermined. 
“At what age does a hen kept for eggs 
cease to be profitable?” As bearing upon the 
other matter, this question was asked at the 
WYANDOTTE COCKEREL, SILVER 
KING. 
Score 93 Points. (From Life.) Fi^. 107. 
The bird shown at 
Fig. 107 is bred and 
owned by M. E. 
Phelps, of Bing¬ 
hamton, N. Y. He 
has been very suc¬ 
cessful as a show 
bird, having scored 
93 points. He is a 
fine specimen of this 
breed. The Wyan- 
dottes have lost but 
little of their popu¬ 
larity, and in many 
sections they have 
gained ground of 
late. Their hardi¬ 
ness, good shape, and 
excellent lay ing qual¬ 
ities are much ap¬ 
preciated by all who 
want something in 
the way of a general- 
purpose fowl. Al¬ 
most every poultry 
man has his favorite 
breed, some well 
formed characteris¬ 
tic suiting his taste 
or business; but it is 
safe to say that good 
Wyandottes will de¬ 
velop less objection¬ 
able traits than will 
any other breed of 
poultry. 
At Fig. 108 (p. 285) 
is shown an ideal il¬ 
lustration of the 
Golden-laced Wyan¬ 
dotte, a new breed 
just admitted to the 
standard. 
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/A 
