/ SF 487 /\ .J145 y J Copy 1 iS-K^'- l^VBLI5hlEP SY ELI ABLE PoVLTRY JOURNAL PVD QVINCY. ILLINOIS. V4A_ Copyright by the RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLISHING COMPANY Qnincy, Illinois PROFITABLE CULLING and SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING Complete Details Regarding the Latest Approved Methods for Culling, or the Selection of Layers- -Simple and Practical Instructions for Securing Permanent Improve- ment in Egg Production in Any Flock Compiled by HOMER W. JACKSON and GRANT M. CURTIS "In my opinion this matter of careful, systematic culling is the biggest dividend earner that now confronts the practical poultry keepers of this country." — Prof. H. R. Lewis. FULLY ILLUSTRATED PRICE $1.50 PUBLISHED BY RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLISHING COMPANY OUINCY, ILLLNOIS, U. S. A. •■^Ar cl'h iS20 INTRODUCTION NE of the most important advance steps in commercial poultry keeping in recent years, and one that promises to exercise a truly great influence upon the development and permanent upbuilding of the industry, is the more exact knowledge poultry keepers now have of the characters of individual fowls; also the extent to which these characters, whether good or bad, are directly transmissible to offspring. The disposition to look upon the individual bird as too small and unimportant a "unit" to receive separate attention is giving way to a demand that each individual of the flock shall measure up to definite standards in practical qualities. Progressive poultry keepers realize that they can well afford to take the necessary time to apply these standards to each fowl, no matter how many there may be, thus to know, instead of guess, what return each is capable of rendering for the feed and care bestowed upon it. This effort naturally centers chiefly upon the layers, among which there exist the widest differences in rela- tive productiveness. It has been demonstrated beyond question that practically every flock contains some hens that are either entirely nonproductive, or that vrill lay only a comparatively small number of eggs even under the most favorable conditions; also that there almost cer- tainly are in the same flock some hens whose egg pro- duction is quite high. The proportions in which good and poor producers will be found in a given flock are deter- mined by various factors, such as breeding, feeding, gen- eral care, etc., but in the great majority of instances the percentage of inferior producers is so high that, leaving all other measures out of the question, it has been found possible greatly to increase average production in any flock, simply by eliminating the "slacker hens". The possibilities of securing better average production from laying flocks in this way are fairly well understood by poultry keepers generally, though comparatively few realize how readily this may be achieved, or appreciate the vital importance of doing so at times like the present, when prices of feed are abnormally high. During 1917 and 1918 an extraordinary situation de- veloped. On the one hand, thousands of poultry .«peciali.<;ts sold off their flocks and retired permanently or tempo- rarily from the business because they found it impossible to continue except at a loss; and on the other hand, prac- tical poultn,' keepers in the same localities reported as great or greater net profits than those realized in former years. Careful study of this anomalous condition has shown that, while other influences may have been in- volved, the chief factor in determining in which class the individual poultry keeper found himself was THE AVER- AGE PRODUCTION OP HIS FOWLS. In other words, those who through modem methods of breeding and selec- tion were able to realize a fairly high average of pro- duction per fowl, made money; those whose average was low, lost heavily. There are numerous methods known to practical poul- try keepers by means of which average production may be increased. But in ease of application, and in prompt- ness and importance of results secured, CULLING, or the selection of laying fowls on the basis of external characters, has no equal. That this can be done — is being done by thousands of persons in all parts of the country — and with a high degree of accuracy, does not admit of any question. The evidence as given in the pages of this book should convince anyone who may yet be in doubt as to the utility of the method. Of even greater practical importance than the imme- diate increase in average production in the flock and re- duction in feed cost through the elimination of poor pro- ducers, is the opportunity which culling affords every poultry keeper for breeding to secure increased egg pro- duction by the simple and easily practiced method known as SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING. It has been demon- strated beyond question that heavy-laying ability is an inherited character and thus is capable of being trans- mitted to the hen's offspring. Unfortunately, systematic breeding for improvement along this line has only been possible in the past to those who were in position to adopt the use of trap nests — a certain but highly expensive practice that the average breeder cannot afford to .adopt. Now that the method of estimating the hen's laying ability by observing her external characters has been de- veloped to so high a degree of accuracy however, per- manent improvement in production through systematic breeding has been brought within the reach of every earnest poultry keeper. It is only necessary for him to go over his hens in the manner hereinafter to be described, readily to identify his be^t producers and set them aside for use as breeders the following year, thus limiting re- production in the flock to the best layers in it, accom- plishing by this simple and easily applied method much that the user of trap nests achieves only at vastly greater expense. Selective flock breeding DOES NOT take the place of pedigree breeding; let there be no misunder- standing on this point. But its superiority to the usual method of selecting breeding fowls where trap-nest records are not available is so great as to warrant the belief that its general adoption would practically revolu- tionize the poultry industry in this country. The selection of laying hens on the basis of external characters being so vitally important, and also being now a well-defined and fairly exact science, it obviously is highly desirable that all trustworthy information on the subject should be assembled in a permanent and readily available form, not only giving poultry keepers and students a reliable guide to the accurate and rapid cull- ing of fowls, but also enabling them to secure a well- balanced knowledge of the subject in all its phases. That, in brief, is the object of this book. The material used in compiling it has been collected from a variety of sources, full credit being given for same whe^rever possible. Only methods recommended and used by the best authorities are given, and these are presented in so complete detail that anyone should be able to apply them with entire success, without any other instructions. While it appears that some practical poultry keepers have known for years that there are certain characters distinguishing hens with reference to their productive ability (see Chapter I), it is chiefly through the painstak- ing work of the poultry departments of various state agri- cultural colleges and experiment stations that attention generally has been focused upon this important detail of practical poultry management, and that methods of selec- tion have been classified and their value thoroughly prov- ed. Not only have these college poultry departments taken the lead in the development of practical culling methods, but a number of them, such as Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York (to mention only a few), by means (Continued on page 9.) g)Cl,A566274 •o o o rr n 5 ~— 1 1 2 -^ ET H _ tj ."■ ^ ^ -, re —"-I :; - p =r _■ O -.ft .5-w r-_. £,p rr „ 3 ., " 2 r > H n > -£.•= — i; ij -n rt . — " ^ ^ X 3 2 '^ ^ -i o TO =-• 3 O w •? r^, ;:i, -T* O ,*. P n e, r; n) I r n o : CO , O (T fD 3 rt C^ o „ "■ — ■ 3 "^ M." 3 -1 O p ^ 5 " b.3 " D- ■a ' 5-3 H ° ?" 5-3 3 C 1 "" p. O 3 5'w " 3 ^n o o O- D-O S S a. rt 3 ^ ^ o a-?", •o H =.:;■ " 3- m O --P ^ o ? 3-5 S'O S -dSS-^l > 3-3 p 3^^ _ °5-3§S 2 0-3-5 z s 3 5-- ^ ^3 ■=•<"' S -^ H r. r .•a 3- PI .to" ft 3 2 5 ■3 " X "2 < P S re ^ o o . TO — »■ > ft 3- PLATE III-HEAD OF NONPRODUCER-HIGHLY PIGMENTED PLATE VI-GOOD LAYER^ALL PIGMENT BLEACHED OUT ^^^^^^^^V *^'' J ^^^^B^'^lHi ^. "^B ^^^ ..'^^^ K^^'^S^^ ^ ^^^^^^mk ^^ ^ ^^^^■« . Ih^^I^^ ^^ r PLATE IV-PIGMENTATION INDICATING 2-4 WKS. OF LAYING PLATE VII-PIGMENTED BAND INDICATING A LONG REST PLATE V-PIGMENT INDICATING 4-6 WKS. OF LAYING PLATE VIII-PIGMENT COMING IN AFTER LAYING CEASES Reproduced from Photo* lumUhed by Cornell University. •i< PLATE IX— HEAD OF NONLAYING BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK PLATE X HEAD OF I A-llNT. RARRFO PLYMOUTH ROCK PLATE XI— HEAD OF NONLAYING WYANDOTTE PLATE XII— HEAD OF LAYING WYANDOTTE PLATE XIII-HEAD OF NONLAYING RHODE ISLAND RED PLATE XIV HEAD OF LAYING RHODE ISLAND RED Reproduced from Photos furnished by Comell University. ^^^^B^^lw Warn. %i Li i 'flk_"' ^i^^^l ^^^^^^^■tf . .■i'*'*^i- w^^B 1^1 PLATE XV— FEET AND SHANKS OF NONLAYING HEN The shanks are pigmented like the beak ot the nonlayer shown in Plate III and they are plump and full, showing the presence of considerable fat under the skin. A hen whose shanks are round and yellow like these, has certainly been idle for many weeks, and if in this condition during the laying season or near the end of it, she probably has never been profitably productive. Photo from Cornell University. PLATE XVI— FEET AND SHANKS OF A GOOD LAYER The shanks are the last of the pigmented sections to lose their color as a result of production, requiring not less than eight weeks or more. The pigment goes out of the front of the shanks first, the back part next the hock joint, being the last to fade. In this heavy layer they were not only bleached out, leaving them white or pinkish, but they also are thin and flat. Photo from Cornell University. PLATE XVn- REAR VIEW OF BODY OF NONLAYING HEN Comparing this plate with Plate XVIII, the difference in abdominal capacity, in condition of skin, and in size and condition of vent, is clearly brought out. Photo from Cor- itell Univcrtity. PLATE XVIII— REAR VIEW OF A HEAVY-LAYING HEN Good spread of pelvic arch and wide span between arch and keel are indicated, also loose, pliable skin and large vent. Compare with the "slacker" hen shown in Plate XVII. Photo from Cornell University. INTRODUCTION (Concluded) (Continued from page 4.) of annual state-wide "culling campaigns" have spjead the information and demonstrated its practical value in a manner that has proved of almost incalculable benefit to poultry keepers. The compilers of this book have sought to avail themselves of every practical opportunity for getting the latest and most complete information on the subject. Both spent the better part of two weeks at Cornell Uni- versity (July, 1919), in attendance at the Second Annual Judging School, and in personal interviews with Pro- fessor Rice and his able assistants — recognized leaders in this field. Prior to this, the senior author spent sev- eral weeks at the New Jersey Experiment Station, where, through the cooperation of Professor Lewis and his assist- ants, Dr. Thompson and V. G. Aubry, he was able thor- oughly to investigate numerous special phases of the sub- ject. During this visit to New Jersey he also was fortunte in securing the helpful interview.? with Professor Lewis which are given in Chapters III and X; also the splendid set of photos showing different stages in the culling of fowls which are reproduced in Chapter III. The reader will note that expense has not been spared in illustrating this book. In addition to the series of photos received at New Jersey (mentioned in preceding paragraph) there are four pages of color plates (pages 5 to 8) secured through the helpful cooperation of Dr. 0. B. Kent, of Cornell University; also, from the same source, the series of photos illustrating steps in culling high and low-producing Barred Plymouth Rocks, and a number of miscellaneous photos. The excellent photos reproduced in Chapter IV, showing the application of tests to high and low-producing R. I. Red hens, weie fur- nished by the Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station which has, from the start, taken a leading part in the develop- ment of practical culling methods. The material in Chapter XVIII, on Culling Demonstra- tions, was largely supplied by W. G. Krum, Extension Poultry.man at Cornell University. Special articles have been contributed by Dr. C. T. Patterson, ex-Director of the Missouri State Poultry Experiment Station, Professors L. S. Palmer and H. L. Kempster of the University of Mis- souri, and others. Numerous other station workers and expert poultrymen have contributed directly or indirectly to the contents of this book, or have assisted in its com- pilation, and to all of these the authors wish to express srrateful appreciation and thanks. Description of Color Plates The color plates on pages 5 to 8 inclusive, are presented to show the striking changes in pigmentation, color and condition of comb, etc., which are brought about by continued egg production. The way in which these changes are produced is fully explained in the various chapters of this book dealing with these particular subjects. The following brief description of the different plates however, is here given for convenient reference: PLATE I — The photograph from which this plate was repro- duced, was taken in September, at which time this hen was still laying heavily and her comb was full and bright red in color. While this hen naturally had a yellow beak and shanks, the pigment in these sections had entirely disappeared (as here shown) due to long continued production of eggs. She had not yet begun to molt. With proper management such hens should continue laying for nearly two months before molting. PLATE n — This nonlayer was photographed at about the same date as the one shown in Plate I, at which time she had already gone through the molt and her new coat of feathers was practically complete. Further proof that she had not been laying for a long time is found in the fact that her eye ring, ear lobe, beak, anfi shanks are all highly pigmented, and there also was some pigment in her feathers. PLATE III — This plate shows the head of a nonlaying White Leghorn, and illustrates quite clearly the yellow eye ring, ear lobe, and beak that are characteristic of the nonlayer. PLATE IV — This plate shows the gradual fading out of beak pigment as laying progresses. This hen had been laying long enough so that all pigment had disappeared from eye ring, ear lobe, and from the base of the beak, though the pigmented tip shows that she probably has been laying for only three or four weeks. PLATE V^The head of this hen shows a more advanced stage of laying than the one shown in Plate IV. The pigment has entirely faded from the lower mandible and there is only a little at the tip of upper one. This also will soon lose its yellow color if the hen con- tinues to lay. PLATE VI — This hen has been laying for a longer period than any of the fowls whose heads are represented in preceding plates — probably eight weeks or more— and as a result of this long period of production the pigment has entirely faded out of the beak. PLATE VII — The banded beak shown in this plate indicates that the hen, after laying heavily for a time during which her eye ring, ear lobe, and beak entirely faded out, stopped laying for a considerable period, during which the pigment came back into the ear lobes and most of the beak. Later she began laying again and the pigment a second time faded out of eye ring, ear lobe, and from the base of the beak. If she continues to lay a little longer this band will entirely disappear. PLATE VIII— This hen laid until the color entirely faded out of her beak. At some time after that she stopped for a rest, and the pigment came back into the eye ring, ear lobe, and the base of the beak, showing that she has taken a rest of probably a month. PLATE IX— This plate and the others on this page show heads of good and poor-laying Barred Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds. The Plymouth Rock here represented has a completely pigmented beak as well as eye ring, showing that she has been idle for a long time. PLATE X— The Plymouth Rock hen in this picture has been laying long enough completely to fade out the pigment from the beak. The red of her face and comb also has a different shade. PLATE XI— This highly pigmented Wyandotte hen had not been laying for a considerable period prior to the time when the photo from which this reproduction is made, was taken. Note the yellowish red of comb and face also, as compared with Plate XII. PLATE XII — There is a complete absence of pigmentation in the head of this laying White Wyandotte. PLATE XIII— This nonlaying Rhode Island Red shows high pigmentation of beak though it is not so readily observed as in the case of the Wyandotte and Plymouth Rock heads shown in above plates, on account of the horn color in the upper mandible. PLATE XIV — The complete absence of pigmentation in the beak of this R. I. Red clearly shows her superiority to the one shown in Plate XIII, as an egg layer. After a long rest her beak will be just as yellow as that of the other. PLATE XV^All comments on preceding plates with reference to pigmentation in beak due to poor laying, apply with equal force to the shanks, though the pigment fades out in this section more slowly. A hen with yellow shanks like these is either a nonlayer or as been productive for a few weeks only. PLATE XVI— The shanks of the bird here illustrated are not only lacking in pigmentation but appear more shrunken than those in Plate XV, which is also characteristic of good layers. It takes two months or more of laying to take all the yelMw out of the shanks. PLATE XVII— This plate illustrates strikingly the difference in color of skin and in general condition of a nonlaying fowl as com- pared with a good layer such as the one shown in Plate XVIII. The skin carries a great deal more pigment, is comparatively hard and tight, and the abdomen generally is firmer and the space between the pelvic bones is more contracted. PLATE XVIII— In width and depth of abdomen (the latter being indicated by the high keel bone), in looseness of skin and flabbiness of abdomen, and in size and coloring of vent, this fowl meets all the requirements of a good layer as these are commonly understood, and presents a distinct contrast in all these characters to the nonlayer in Plate X\'II. CHAPTER I Development of Modern Culling Methods How the Science of Culling was Discovered and Developed - A Brief History of tiie Discovery of the Different Methods Employed in Selecting Hens of High or Low Productiveness Educational Value of Egg Laying Con- tests and their Influence upon the Development of the Poultry Industry ULLING, as the term is commonly used, refers to the examination of fowls and their class- ification as layers and nonlayers on the basis of external characters. The ability to do this with a good degree of accuracy has been developed as the result of the observations of several independent operators who, in comparatively recent years, have discovered a number of such characters that bear unmistakable evidence as to productivity, or the lack of it. Experienced observers however, are able to go much further than merely to learn whether the fowls are laying or not at the time they are examined. They also can determine, in the case of nonlayers, just how long they have been nonproductive, or whether they have ever laid at all; also whether they were good or poor producers during the laying period, whenever that may have been. Toward the end of the laying season they can estimate with surprising accuracy the exact number of eggs pro- duced, whether few or many, and can discriminate between the hens that laid well in winter and those that were only productive during the low-price season of the year. Furthermore, they can take the pullets before they have begun laying, or hens at the beginning of the laying period, and estimate with a good degree of accuracy how many eggs they will lay during the coming season. It would be difficult to overestimate the practical im- portance of this knowledge to the individual poultrj' keeper. While it is not claimed that estimates of produc- tion based on external characters are exact, the adoption of culling methods enables the poultry keeper, to a greater extent than ever before, to determine what production may be expected from his fowls during the ensuing sea.son, to eliminate nonproducers at practically any time, and toward the end of the season to pick out the hens that have made the best records, and that, therefore, are the ones he will want to keep for use in the breeding pen the next year. He thus is able gradually to eliminate the blood of poor producers from his flock, replacing these with fowls descended only from high producers, and therefore capable of greatly increased production and, in turn, of transmitting this character to their offspring. While the development of culling methods and their popular adoption has been the work of recent years, it is known that long before the present interest in culling methods had developed, observant poultry keepers in dif- ferent parts of the country had found that some external characters were associated with heavy production. For example. Dr. 0. B. Kent of Cornell University writes as follows in an article in the Journal of the American Asso- ciation of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Hus- bandry under date of May, 1916: "A study of some of the various periodicals shows that at least as early as 1876, a womnn contributor to the Cultivator and Country Gentleman recognized that late layers are late molters, and that late molters molt rapidly. This fact seems to have been rediscovered several times before Cornell Bulletin 258, 'The Molting of Fowls', was published. Until that bulletin was published, however, it seems to have been the general practice strongly to advise against using the late molters as breeders, even if they were late layers. "It has been known for some time that during pro- duction the yellow pigment goes out of the shanks, beak, ear lobes, plumage, and skin. The woman contributor before mentioned, in an article on page 615 of the Culti- vator and Country Gentleman for 1879, wi-ites as follows: 'Towards fall there comes a change over the birds. Their plumage grows rusty, and the bright orange legs fade out as the season advances for the second molt. Especially is this true of persistent layers. Often and again have I been disappointed in my fine yellow-legged birds of early .■;pring for, as the season advances, and they pile the eggs FIG. 1— CAN YOU TELL WHICH ARE THE GOOD LAYERS AND VVHRH ARE THE SLACKER HENS? Two of the hens shown above were heavy layers producing over 200 eggs in their pullet year, and two did not lay enough eggs to pay for their feed. Detecting the nonlayers and removing them from the flock may mean all the difference between profit and loss on the year's operations. DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN CULLING METHODS II up, the legs gradually bleach out until they become, by August, a pale flesh or as generally termed, white. The bloom is washed off, and in a Leghorn is almost a certain indication of a good layer. In Leghorns, either Bro^vn or White, the whitest ear-lobed bird is apt to possess the palest colored legs — often a pale lemon that fades to fle-sh color. The deep orange tint will fade with egg pro- duction.' "The same idea has come out several times .since, and probably it came out much earlier." About 1905, Walter Hogan first published his system of estimating probable production by means of measure- ments of the pelvic arch and the span of pubic bones and keel, and Potter's "Don't Kill the Laying Hen" (relating to the same method) was issued. Among college and station workers, the first reference to external characters useful in estimating the value of fowls as layers, so far as we have been able to learn, was by Professor James E. Rice of Cornell, who contributed an article to the Farmers' Institute Report published by the New York Depart- ment of Agriculture in 1909, in which the following statement is made: "It was found in our molting ex- periments that the best laying hens as a rule were the ones to molt late. Hen No. 61 laid 213 eggs in ten months, and did not molt until the middle of November when she was neaily featherless." Circular No. 11 (1910) of the New- York Department of Agriculture, written by Professor Rice, contains the following reference to faded shank color as an evidence of produc- tiveness: "It is a well-known fact that the breeds having yellow shanks will have laid the color out of their shanks toward the close of the laying season." In Bulletin 37 of the N. Y. Dept. of Agriculture, pub- lished in 1912, as a result of further investigations. Pro- fessor Rice listed three factors in the selection of high- producing hens: "Highest Producers Molt Late. The first physical character and the most valuable of all in selecting hen.'; for breeders that are high producers is lateness in molt- ing. The hen that is born to lay a large number of eggs and is well fed and handled will generally follow the line of least resistance and continue to lay and thus fail to per- form the natural process of molting. This is because she has so much reserve power that she continues to lay, and as a result her feathers do not die and loosen. "High Producers Have Pale Shanks. Another import- ant factor in selecting high producers is the color of the shanks of the yellow-skinned breeds. If you were to exam- ine the high-producing hens in the early fall, you would see that their shanks are 'laid out', that is, pale in color. The hens that have had little to do during the summer except to loaf around and eat, usually have the finest kind of colored shanks and skin, whereas, the high-pro- ducing hens have laid out -most of the color. After they have rested a month or two, the color will come back. "High Producers are Heavy Eaters. Watch the hens and see them eat and observe how they act; it will help you to pick out the laying hens in the fall and winter. The hen that is the largest layer is generally the one that is eating the most food. She goes to roost late and gets up early." In Bulletin C.5 of the same Department, published in 1914, Professor Rice adds two more characters: "The Width of the Pelvic Arch. Fowls in a laying condition may be said to be in a condition of pregnancy. This physical condition causes in most animals a soften- ing of certain ligaments and muscles which in a measure modifies their physical conformation. In the case of the fowl the arch of cartilagenous bones through which the egg is expelled, enlarges and softens during conditions of heavy laying, and hardens and contracts during periods of dormancy. This condition enables a person to determine at any given time, with considerable accuracy, the hens that are laying at that particular time from those that are not. In the case of large fowls the space between the FIG. 2-PEN OF HIGH EGG-PRODUCING U I This pen of ten S. C. R. I. Reds laid 1966 eggs in their pullet wi-re H.S. 21)2. 243, 207. 183. 150, 170, 177, 316. 2». This v Vineland Egg Laying and Breeding Contest in 19171918, iiicnt St.ition. REDS year. Individual records highest R. I. Red pen in the Courtesy of the New Jersey Experi- pelvic bones will be sufficient to place three fingers of average size. In the same fowl, in the dormant condition, the pelvic arch probably would not be more than one to two fingers wide. "Size of Abdomen and Crop. The size of the abdomen and crop, and the size, texture, and color of the comb indicate the condition of health and productivity of the fowl with fair degrees of accuracy. It may be said that, in general, a hen in a condition of high production may be e.xpected to have a deep abdomen, a full crop, and a large, soft, velvety, bright red comb for that particular variety. The size, texture, and color of the comb are an indication of physical vigor. Physical vigor generally is correlated with the active reproductive system of the fowl. "A pullet that is laying has a good appetite and there- fore, usually a full crop. The laying fowl has an oviduct that is many times larger than the same fowl will have during a period of dormancy — at least twenty times as large. The size of the oviduct and the fuller condition of the intestines in the case of the productive fowl enlarges the abdomen to such an extent that frequently one would find difficulty in recognizing pictures of the same fowl taken at different times of the year during different con- ditions of productivity and dormancy." The first station publication on the subject, of which we have knowledge, is a Press Bulletin issued by the Maine Experiment Station as a synopsis of Bulletin 232, 12 PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING on the "Histological Basis of the Different Shank Colors in the Domestic Fowl", and in which shank color is de- scribed as a reliable means of determining the productive- ness in fowls. This Maine Bulletin received a good deal of attention in the poultry press, and was the first step in arousing popular interest in the subject. The follow- ing paragraphs are from this bulletin: FIG. 3— PARTIAL VIEW OF POULTRY BUILDINGS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY The Poultry Department at Cornell has taken a leading part in the development of cull- ing methods and their practical demonstration. The large brick building contains offices, class rooms, laboratory, etc. The smaller buildings are devoted chiefly to (owls used in instructional work. The experimental pens and range for young stock are on a separate farm a mile or so distant. "It is a well-known fact to every poultryman and ©very visitor to a poultry show, that different breeds of fowls have characteristically different colors of the skin. In the United States generally yellow-skinned birds are preferred over white-skinned ones for market purposes. As a consequence of this preference nearly all of the so- called American breeds such as, for example, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, etc., have a dis- tinct yellow color to the skin. Correlated with this gen- eral yellow skin color these same breeds of poultry have characteristic yellow shanks. This color of the shank is one to which a good deal of attention is given both by the judges in the show room and by the expert poultry- man in picking out stock for his pens. A clear, bright yellow leg is always preferred in these breeds by the show room judge. "The cause of the yellow skin color of birds is really a layer of colored fat which lies in and below the skin. This fat in the American and other yellow-skinned breeds is colored by a particular kind of yellow fatty pigment known as lipochrome pigment. Also probably this same coloring matter gives the yellow color to the yolk of the normally pigmented egg. "This last consideration is one which calls attention to the practical bearing of these results on .shank color. It is a well-established fact, both in cattle and in poultry, that when the food does not supply a sufficient amount of yellow coloring matter for the product, whether milk or eggs, the animal then draws on its own body fat for the further supply of this coloring matter. This results in a bleaching of the body fat of its yellow color while keeping up the color of the milk or the eggs. From this fact it re- sults that the general skin color, and pairticularly the shank color of a hen having naturally yellow shanks, is much bleached out after the hen has been laying heavily, and furthermore, the heavier the laying has been the greater will be the amount of bleaching observed. In con- sequence of this it is possible to go through a flock at the end of a laying year and pick out at once by the color of the shanks those birds which have been extremely heavy layers from those which have been drones. The drones will be the birds which at the end r^f the season have bright yellow legs, such as one is ac- customed to see in pullets which have not yet begun to lay. On the other hand, birds which have done a hard year's work and produced many eggs will have shanks completely white or nearly so. Examination at this sta- tion of many hundreds of birds whose trap-nest records are known, makes it possible to say positively that no bird which has been a high producer will have bright yellow legs at the end of the laying season. 'Two hun- dred egg' hens always have white legs at the end of their pullet year. "This point is one which may be of a great deal of value to the poul- tryman when he is culling his flock in the fall and deciding which of his pullets he will keep over to use as breeders the next year. If he has no trap-nest records the color of the him one of the best indications he the way in which these pullets have .shanks furnishes can have as to laid during their first year of life." Development of Pigmentation Tests at Storrs At the Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station the ques- tion of pigmentation and its connection with egg pro- duction has received special attention, and in 1915 Messrs. Blakeslee and Warner published an article in Science, entitled "Correlation Between Egg-Laying Activity and Yellow Pigment in the Domestic Fowl'', in which the first experimental data in this connection appear to have been presented. It is there state