PEDIGREE BREEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION. 
in breeding Buff Plymouth Rocks I have found 
that some hens lay small eggs, others large; and 
as I have carried out the system of pedigree 
breeding, I have noticed the fact that layers of 
large eggs transmit this attribute to their pro¬ 
geny, and layers of small eggs have produced 
birds which have also laid small eggs. It rests 
altogether with the particular strain of birds, 
ana not with the breed, as to which will give 
the best return, either in size or number of 
eggs laid. 
Thoroughbreds have time and again demon¬ 
strated their ability to hold the lead in egg pro¬ 
duction, and all that is necessary for the be¬ 
ginner in egg farming is to inquire of a reliable 
breeder whether or not his strain of birds possess 
that qualification. Then go ahead and do your 
own breeding. 
There is a material difference between 150 
eggs a year, which is a fair average, and 289, 
which is I believe the record of a pen of fowls 
which have been entered for competition in an 
egg-producing contest. It shows what can be 
done by pedigree breeding and judicious feed¬ 
ing, and constitutes the difference between profit 
and loss. 
If you keep many varieties you cannot give 
the necessary time to each one. Since I limited 
myself to breeding Buff Plymouth Rocks, I have 
won more prizes and obtained more satisfaction 
than I did on all the others combined. In ad¬ 
dition to which there is the pleasure of noting 
results of experiments in mating from year to 
year. 
There has been so much information given as 
to raising, housing and feeding, that anybody 
who reads should have no difficulty in these re¬ 
spects, if the directions are faithfully followed. 
Each breeder may have different methods, but 
analyzed they will be found to agree in the 
main. One feeds cut green bone every day, 
another every second day, but the amounts fed 
also differ, and the result is much the same. One 
feeds soft food for breakfast, another for dinner ; 
even this is regulated by the habits of the poul- 
tryman. The man who feeds early in the morn¬ 
ing may, with good results, feed grain as a break¬ 
fast, while the one who feeds late will do better 
by giving the soft food first. The hens become 
habituated to certain methods, and will do fairly 
well under any, so long as they are not radical. 
Still, the man who gets up early and feeds his 
fowls regularly, will get the best returns, and he 
deserves them. 
Give little soft food, a small but regular sup¬ 
ply of meat, or ground green bone, and a variety 
of grain, not forgetting the green food in winter, 
and the principal requirements for egg produc¬ 
tion have been performed. The next important 
requisite is work. Feed the grain in litter, cover 
it well and make the hens work to find it. Do 
not be governed by false kindness, and throw 
down the food in heaps, but cover every grain. 
Be careful as to scaring the birds. Strange 
dogs, cats or even your next door neighbor 
going among the hens when in confinement, will 
effect the layers detrimentally. A change of 
pens, removing a hen from one pen to another, 
will cause a cessation of laying for a time. Change 
the position of your nests, and it has the same 
effect. Introduce a strange male bird, and you 
will notice the reduced number of eggs. Any 
change, every change, should be guarded against. 
Give plenty of room and plenty of sunshine 
to the workers, and never reduce the scratching 
space to less than six or eight square feet per 
hen. Even this amount is small, and when con¬ 
fined to such a space it is necessary to limit the 
number of fowls in a pen to ten or a dozen. The 
most important requirement has not been men¬ 
tioned, that is the water. Watch the hen come 
off the nest after laying and see her make for 
the water, and you will understand the necessity 
for pure water and lots of it. 
In the winter, if your house is dry, the fowls 
will keep themselves warm during the day if 
you feed little and often, and make them work. 
At night care must be exercised to see that they 
have a warm corner for a roosting place. 
Hatch your chicks as early as possible, but cer¬ 
tainly not later than May, and if properly cared 
for you will have winter layers, and receive all 
the way from 25 to 40 cents a dozen for your 
eggs. If you allow the hen to have her own 
sweet will ,she will probably incubate in June, July 
and August and you will have lots of worry, lots 
of squabs, and any amount of expense feeding, 
during winter, chicks that bring you no return. 
— R. H. Essex. 
Breeding for Eggs. 
I receive many letters asking advice as to 
feeding in order to increase egg production. It 
is impossible for one even to give suggestions, in 
my opinion, without a detailed knowledge as to 
breed and surrounding conditions; but after all 
through food we can induce the fowl to lay 
only the limit of her capacity. 
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