7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
119 
Eg,g> Production on the Pacific Coast 
flROFITABLE METHODS.—in studying the 
various methods of producing eggs in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country it is plainly evi¬ 
dent that many poultry farms in the west¬ 
ern coast States have been very successful 
and that eastern poultrymen working under 
imien different conditions can learn some valuable 
lessons from these poultrymen who have demon¬ 
strated their ability to produce high record birds 
and make a good net profit from large flocks of 
White Leghorns in the land of the setting sun. 
A TYPICAL WESTERN PLANT.—In looking for 
typical farms of this character a person is naturally 
attracted to the Hollywood Farm, at Hollywood. 
Wash., on account of their consistent winnings in 
the egg-laying contests throughout the 
country and the wonderful financial 
success that has been made of the un¬ 
dertaking. 
SKILLED MANAGEMENT — The 
secret of the success of this farm lies 
in the fact that the owner secured the 
services of a first-class poultryman as 
manager and part owner. M. E. Atkin¬ 
son has had charge of the farm for 
several years and has become a recog¬ 
nized authority on breeding for high 
egg production. About 9,000 S. C. 
White Leghorns are kept for the pur¬ 
pose of egg production and a large 
part of these eggs go onto the market 
through the Northwestern Poultry 
Producers' Association of which the 
farm is a member. The remainder are 
sold for hatching purposes or used In 
the large incubators at the farm. 
TRAPPING THE HIGH PRODUC¬ 
ERS.— rn starting, Mr. Atkinson recog¬ 
nized the necessity for high egg pro¬ 
duction and is an ardent advocate of 
trap-nesting. He is keeping individual 
records t>f 2.700 layers and their con¬ 
dition and performance speak very 
favorably for the management. There 
is one policy or system which stands 
out in general management, and in my 
opinion is the greatest factor in the 
success which Mr. Atkinson has 
achieved at this plant. Briefly this 
may be described as being able to take 
advantage of the benefits of improved egg production 
derived from trap-nesting thousands of birds 
through a period of several years, simply by raising 
and keeping in a commercial way during this time 
something like two or three times as many high 
producers as are trap-nested each year. This com¬ 
mercial flock, according to the records at their 
farm, has been improved to such a degree that last 
year they made an average flock record of 197 eggs 
per hen. No doubt this high egg production can 
be attributed to breeding and climate more than to 
care and feeding, although the latter is a very im¬ 
portant part of the program. 
PEDIGREE WORK.—Most of the trap-nesting is 
done with pullets during their first laying year. Of 
course these pullets are 
well bred and selected 
ii'om the many thou¬ 
sands raised each year 
The records of these 
birds are then taken as 
a guide to future breed¬ 
ing operations and aL 
low producers are elim¬ 
inated. A few small 
pens of hens with indi¬ 
vidual records of 260 to 
336 eggs are mated and 
trapped during the 
breeding season for 
pedigree work. Hens 
with records of 250 to 
259 eggs each are kept 
together and so on 
down the line so their 
progeny can be marked 
and distinguished from 
other chicks of different 
breeding. In this high 
pedigree work no males 
are used which have a 
pedigree record of less 
than 200 eggs, as the best heredity is necessary. 
BREEDING METHODS. — Mr. Atkinson does 
some line breeding but for the most part tries to 
mate birds not closely related. An excellent example 
of what can be done along this line of breeding for 
egg production is shown by a sale which Mr. Atkin¬ 
son recently made of a cockerel bred from the 336- 
egg hen for $200, and there is every reason to be¬ 
lieve that the purchaser will receive the worth of 
bis money. Of course many sales are made at lower 
prices, but the fact must be remembered that the 
greatest profit in this work comes from keeping a 
large flock of well-bred pullets for commercial egg 
production. 
Hof SING AND FEED.—Layers are kept con- 
Pvery day in the year. This seems to be one place 
where the Pacific Coast producers excel their east¬ 
ern competitors as a great deal of Jersey kale, 
clover. Alfalfa, cabbage, mangels, etc., is grown and 
fed on practically all of these western farms. The 
absolute necessity of feeding a liberal amount -of 
Hiis succulent green feed seems to be very*generally 
recognized. c . s. greene. 
A Hen That Lays Two Eggs a Day. Fig. 35 
lined in comfortable houses a large part of the year 
and are fed about four pounds of scratch feed in the 
morning and eight pounds at night scattered in lit¬ 
ter on the floor. This scratch feed is mixed equal 
parts corn, oats and wheat. The layers are also 
fed a moist mash in the afternoon besides having 
dry mash before them all the time, while the breeders 
have a good range and are fed scratch grain and 
dry mash only. The dry mash is mixed in the fol¬ 
lowing proportions: 500 pounds cornmeal, 400 beef 
scrap, 600 wheat bran, 400 ground oats, 420 wheat 
middlings. Running water is before the birds all 
the time and electric lights are turned on at about 
4 A. M. during the short days of Fall and Winter. 
An abundance of green, feed in some form is fed 
The Two-Egg-a-Day Hen 
W E have had reports of several cases where a 
lien has actually laid two eggs inside of 24 
hours. These hens did not. however, keep up this 
performance and usually the next egg was delayed 
so that not more than two were pro¬ 
duced in 24 hours. Now we have the 
following report of what may prove 
to be the super hen. She may be “a 
flash in the pan,” keeping up this 
great performance for a few months 
and then quitting or even laying her¬ 
self to death; or she may turn out to 
be a genuine world-beater and the 
mother of a two-egg-a-day family. 
Judging from our own experience in 
breeding these high-powered hens we 
should expect eggs from these rapid- 
fire birds to be difficult to hatch and 
the chicks difficult to raise. A strong 
and vigorous son from this hen may 
pass her good qualities along, but in 
our own experience the pullets from u 
high producing hen are rarely satisfac¬ 
tory. But here is the record. It speaks 
for itself. Mr. DeHart is a little pre¬ 
mature, perhaps, in naming her as the 
“world's greatest laying hen.” 
I am enclosing a picture of a S. G. 
White Leghorn pullet (see Fig. 35), 
hatched in May, 1923. She began lay¬ 
ing on November 29, and up to Decem¬ 
ber 27. she laid 32 perfect eggs weighing 
over two ounces each or 32 eggs in 29 
consecutive days. She laid two eggs per 
day on seven different days during this 
period. She weighs 5% lbs., is a fine 
specimen, and perfectly normal in every 
way. She 'is a great feeder and has a 
wonderful constitution. Without doubt 
she is the world’s greatest laying hen. 
The hen has been under sole supervision 
of a representative from Cornell Univer¬ 
sity, Ithaca, N. Y. for the past few days, 
and has proven officially that she can 
lay two perfectly formed eggs in one day. 
Cortland, N. Y. f. j. de iiakt. 
Part of Storrs contest winners 1922 and 1923, now owned at Five Point Leghorn Farm, Mt. Ephraim, N. J. 
The Cow and the Cattle Buyer 
Can a cattle buyer receive damages from a farmer 
for being kicked by a cow? The cattle buyer comes 
unsolicited, goes in by the side of a cow that he knows 
is nervous, and gets kicked. Is a farmer liable? E. w. 
New York. 
T HE general rule is that the owner of a domestic 
animal, such as a cow or horse, is not liable 
unless it is affirmatively shown either: 
1. That the animal was vicious and that the own¬ 
er had knowledge of the fact, or 
2. That the injury was committed while the ani¬ 
mal was trespassing on the lands of another, or 
3. That the injury 
was attributed to some 
other negligence on his 
part. 
You do not state all 
the facts connected 
with your case. If you 
had knowledge of the 
dangerous propensities 
of the cow in question 
and did not give any 
warning to the cattle 
buyer, that is. if you 
knew the cow was a 
kicker and vicious and 
failed to appraise the 
buyer of that fact, and 
he received injuries, 
there would probably 
be a question for the 
jury, but if the injured 
party had knowledge of 
the animal’s vicious 
propensities and put 
himself in the animal’s 
way, there could be no 
recovery, or if he wan- 
