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270 Report ofr tor First AssisTANT OF THE 
should operate on several dead cockerels before attempting to 
operate on a live one. 
The largest breeds will be found the most profitable for capons, 
and it is useless to caponize cockerels of the smaller breeds. 
Skim-milk can be profitably fed to capons and, if sweet, in 
large quantities. If sour, very little should be fed. It is very 
important that the dishes from which milk is fed should be cleaned 
often and scalded occasionally. 
A variety of food should be given to capons as well as to other 
fowls, and rations somewhat similar to those fed in these experi- 
ments will give good results. With equally good lots of birds, 
rations differing somewhat (but not excessively) in the propor- 
tion of nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous constituents will not make 
much difference in the erowth. Of the rations fed to lots “A” 
and “B” in the experiments recorded, either fairly good, that 
for lot “B” containing corn meal will in general be found to 
give better results, as it did to a certain extent in this trial. 
The cost of feeding capons after they have nearly reached their 
full size is approximately five cents per day for each 100 pounds 
live weight. The advisability of holding those of middle-weight 
breeds after reaching seven to eight pounds weight or the larger 
breeds after reaching nine to ten pounds weight will depend upon 
the prices to be obtained: 
The results from feeding four pens of laying pullets during eight 
and nine months are here reported, as they give some data in 
regard to the question of the relative egg-production of hens kept 
without and with male birds. The pens, for convenience, were 
numbered 5, 6, 7 and 8. Pen 5 contained, during most of the 
time, seven pullets and cockerel, and pen 7, most of the time, eight 
pulliets, without a male. Pens 6 and 8 ath contained eight pullets 
part of the time and ten pullets most of the time, and with pen 6 
a cockerel was also kept. 
The pullets in pens 5 and 7 were Indian Game-Buff Cochin 
cross, and in pens 6 and 8 were Black Minorcas and Light 
Brahmas. The Light Brahmas and the pullets of Indian Game- 
Buff Cochin cross were selected from a lot of chicks hatched and — 
grown to supply cockerels for caponizing. The Minorcas and 
Light Brahmas were from high grade stock so far as “standard” 
