PROFITABLE EGG FARMING. 
preparation, is the attempt to establish families 
of hens that shall excel as egg producers. To 
do this reliance upon the laws of inheritance 
and transmission must be coupled with selec¬ 
tion. Selection will depend upon the actual 
production of the birds taken for foundation 
stock. From offspring of the foundation stock 
will be selected—by use of the nest boxes— 
the greatest yielders of desirable eggs. 
The male birds will be bred from dams of 
known capacity and quality. Only by use of 
nest boxes and leg bands can we expect to 
control the work. Two hundred and sixty 
females, from three distinct breeds, are under¬ 
going test for the foundation stock. One 
year’s time will be required in the selection. 
From among them it is hoped may be found a 
few birds that are suited for the founding of 
the families. The breeds employed are Barred 
Plymouth Rock, White Wyandotte and Light- 
Weight Light Brahma. 
TRAP NESTS. 
An Experiment to Test the Practicability and 
Comparative Efficiency of Various Con¬ 
trivances for Ascertaining the Egg- 
Laying Records of Fowls. 
The trap nest has been used to a limited 
extent for at least thirty years, but it is only 
within the last three years that it has come into 
general notice through the claims of several 
inventors of devices to determine the number 
of eggs laid by individual hens. 
Some of the objects^ have been to save the 
eggs o{ individuals from special mating pens, 
to select the best layers, to detect the non¬ 
laying fowls and those that lay but few eggs, 
and to ascertain the characteristics of the 
eggs from certain fowls. 
The trap nest is certainly valuable, especially 
in line breeding, to the fancier having a limited 
number of choice fowls from which he wishes 
to establish a pedigree strain. It is also of use 
to the experimenter in breeding when he wants 
to determine the results of certain crosses or 
matings. 
It is a favorite device with a man who has 
a desire to build up a strain of phenomenal 
layers, even if by so doing he weakens the 
stock. Others are using the nests to substan¬ 
tiate their claims for the wonderful egg-pro¬ 
ducing qualities of their hens by advertising 
their actual laying records. 
Trap nests may be divided into two classes, 
single and double compartment nests. The 
latter named may work well, but their use is 
rarely advisable. They are hard to clean, and, 
being bulky, take up valuable space. The 
claim for the double compartment nest is that 
it allows the hen to leave the nesting space after 
laying, thus preventing her breaking or soiling 
the egg by trying to get out. The hen should 
not, however, be confined in so small a space 
for so long a time that she worries, or her laying 
may be impaired. She should be released as 
soon after laying as possible, which is as easily 
done from a single as from a double compart¬ 
ment nest. The single compartment nests are 
generally preferable. They are simpler, more 
easily cleaned, and require no more room than 
an ordinary nest. 
A trap nest should ordinarily be no larger 
than a common nest, and easily cleaned. It 
should be simple in construction, and so well 
made that it will not get out of order. It 
should hold but one hen at a time, and after 
she is in should prevent her exit or the entrance 
of others until the first hen is released and the 
trap set again. It should also be attractive to 
the hens, or they will lay outside rather than 
enter the nest. It should be adaptable to all 
classes and sizes of fowls. Not a single nest 
met all of the requirements as above stated, 
though a few have proved to be far superior 
to others. The openings in some have been so 
large that two hens have been known to enter 
at one time. Others failed to hold the hen or 
admitted other hens because not provided with 
a latch to the door, or when so provided it 
failed to work. Defective operation of others 
was due to their flimsy construction, and to the 
fact that the nesting material often interfered 
with their mechanism. This interference from 
the nesting material was so great in some in¬ 
stances that it was necessary to readjust the 
nest nearly every day. 
With a few exceptions the devices were more 
adaptable to the American and Asiatic than 
to the Mediterranean breeds, as the former are 
more quiet and easier to handle than the latter. 
A few interesting facts were brought out by 
the use of the trap nests regarding the pecul¬ 
iarities of certain hens, among them that a 
number laid two eggs a day at times. The 
average, however, was never more than one 
egg a day, as, after laying twice in one day, the 
hen would very likely miss the next day or the 
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