Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 February 1917 — PLANS TO DROP THE HIGH-COST EGG [ARTICLE]

PLANS TO DROP THE HIGH-COST EGG

Prof. H. R. Lewis, Poultry Authority, Maps Out Battle j. Against Big Prices. SCIENCE COMES TO RESCUE New Jersey Farmers to Follow Early Hatchin fl Plan in Effort to , Production- in “1 oft 'Season. ' . i ,■ , ' ■ New York. —Prof. Harry R. Lewis, head otthe poultry department of the New Jersey state experiment station, and on’e of the leading poultry au--thorities-xrLthe country, is conduct ing a series of co-operative experiments with New Jersey chicken raisers which promise to make fresh eggs more plentiful in the future, especially in MfeA’all. when the real fresh article becomes so scarce that it gets into the luxury class. Professor Lewis believes the real' solution of the egg problem is to teach the poultry men how to manage their flocks so that the egg supply will not fall so low during the fall and winter months, Realizing that lectures are soon forgotten and literature often thrown away or lost, Professor Lewis decided some time agrrto get mit am<>ntr tin• farmers and work with—them. ~ He is putting the hen through a post-graduate course in egg production at Vineland. N. J„ which promises to revolutionize the poultry industry and be the means of speeding up egg production all over the country. Although increased ,production will mean lower prices, the poultry men are lending every aid, as they realize that their full egg baskets will more than make up for the drop in price. Knowing that hens_siU alway s take a vacation in the fall, when they rest up. molt, and get ready for another season’s laying. Professor Lewis turned^his attention to .the pullets and found that most poultry men were -hatching only in the natural breeding sea son, during April, May and June. Only a few birds were hatched in March, and these did not mature quickly enough to fill in the gap with eggs when the old hens started to slack off. Experimented With Pullets. Experiments were eondueted-fer sev- ; eral years at the state experiment station farm at New Brunswick, which convinced Professor Lewis that chicks hatched about the middle of February would start laying toward the end of July, when production starts downward on most farms. As the Jjpns stopped, these early hatched pullets took their places and the gap was bridged.

They laid all fall, going into a slight molt In the winter, but by that time the later hatched birds were laying well, and Professor Lewis felt that the February hatched pullets were entitled to a short rest, as they had solved the problem of fall egg scarcity and had laid well when eggs were bringing~top prices. Another experiment which promises great results for the poultry industry is being conducted at the Vineland international egg laying and breeding contest, where 100 pens of ten birds each are entered for three years* 1 test. Professor Lewis predicted when the contest started November 1 last that before it ends enough data will be secured to enable all poultry men to breed with more certainty for higher egg production. To Pedigree the Birds. Professor Lewis is going to pedigree, the birds for two years and then is going to breed from them in an effort to show the owners just how to mate their birds to insure increased production from generation to generation. A model $7,000 plant for the contest. furnishes palatial quarters for the birds, with everything arranged for their convenience and comfort. There is a free lunch counter where such delicacies as dry mash, oyster shell, grit, charcoal and water are always on tap. and grain is fed three times day—in-deeu-Titter on the flootytokeep the birds busy and contented.