Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of Poultry Science Association, August 2, 3 and 4, 1933

Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Twenty-fifth A n n u a l Meeting of Poultry Science Association, August 2, 3 and 4, 1933 T H E REQUIREMENTS OF T H E NEW YORK MARKET FOR THE HIGHEST PRICED NEARBY HENNERY EGGS J. C. HUTTAE, Grange League New York

Federation,

In the New York City wholesale egg market the term "hennery" is applied to the best commercial grade of both white and brown eggs. To merit the name "hennery" eggs must really come up to several rather loosely defined requirements. For size, color, and interior quality a case of hennery eggs must be classified as "Specials" under the rules of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In addition, the impression must be conveyed to the buyer of "hennery" eggs by the seller that the eggs were produced on a commercial poultry farm. The market has no rigid, inflexible requirements for "hennery" eggs. They are the best available in quantity at any particular time. CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR EGGS I N NEW YORK BERLEY WINTON, University of Missouri, Columbia Determined efforts are being made to improve the quality of eggs shipped from Missouri and other midwestern states; but the advisability of altering production methods so as to meet the trade demand for light yolks and white shells is questionable. The former would result in higher costs of production, actual quality would not be improved, and there is a strong possibility that market requirements regarding yolk and even shell color may be changed. A study was made of actual consumer preference for yolk and shell color. In New York City 10,358 consumers, representing all major elements of the population, were asked to express their preference for eggs of light, medium, and dark yolks, and brown and white shells, which were offered for their inspection. Uniform shades of yolk color were obtained by using eggs produced under controlled feeding conditions, and objective color readings of the yolks were obtained. Statistical tests indicate that the findings constitute a satisfactory measure of the preference of New York consumers as a whole. Slightly more than one-third of the consumers interviewed expressed a preference for light yolks,

one-quarter for dark yolks, one-fifth for yolks of medium color, and the remaining fifth had no preference. Analysis of the percentages indicates that price premiums for yolk color are' not justified from the standpoint of either consumers or distributors. Slightly less than one-half of the consumers interviewed expressed a preference for white shells. The remainder either preferred brown shells or had no color preference. In some boroughs a majority was in favor of white shells, justifying a price premium, but in others this was not true. Trade discrimination against the darker shades of yolk color is only partly based on the erroneous belief that a majority of consumers prefer light yolks. Another reason for this discrimination is fear of prosecution for violation of official retail grades which are largely based upon federal standards. The latter contain references to yolk visibility which are apparently not justified, for the following reasons: (a) yolk visibility as a quality factor is dependent upon yolk mobility and yolk color, and the former is taken separately into account; (b) consumer preferences justify no inclusion of yolk color as a quality factor; (c) neither yolk color or yolk visibility can be satisfactorily determined or judged by candling, as proved by actual tests. The results of this study point to the desirability or possibility of: (a) eliminating references to yolk visibility in standards for individual eggs which are part of federal and New York egg grades; (b) a program of service to retail distributors of eggs designed to eliminate present discriminations against mid-western eggs which are not the result of actual quality differences; (c) a program of consumer education designed to eliminate false prejudices against "so-called" dark yolk and brown shell eggs, and make it possible to obtain premiums for mid-western eggs when actual quality may justify. SOME PROBLEMS IN MARKETING CORNBELT EGGS IN EASTERN MARKETS W. D. TERMOHLEN, Iowa State College, Ames The Middle West has decided to cast aside the inferiority complex when reference was made to

[31S]

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cornbelt eggs. Cornbelt states not only produce the biggest majority of eggs that reach the large markets, particularly New York and Chicago, but also in the aggregate possibly the largest total of quality eggs. Three main problems.—(1) Not having available, through a very few terminal market agencies, a uniform and sufficiently large volume of well standardized top-grade packs of mid-western eggs graded for uniformity and dependability of style and quality. (2) Breaking down existing prejudices against mid-western eggs, some warranted and others unjustified. (3) Bringing about needed changes in grade rules and regulations, and their interpretation by candlers and officials, without in any way lowering the quality of the product to the consumer, so that mid-western eggs will have an opportunity of competing on an equal basis of merit and value with other eggs. Solving these problems.—It is suggested that a merchandising program, consisting of minimum specifications for top-grade mid-western packs, development of a terminal cornbelt egg association, and an advertising campaign will help materially in solving the first two problems. For the third it is hoped the language of the U. S. Standards of quality for individual eggs will be made more truly descriptive and the requirements brought more in line with recent research findings. EGG AND POULTRY AUCTIONS AT COUNTRY PRODUCING POINTS ALBEN E. JONES, Bureau of

Markets,

SCIENCE

country auctions must be located in the center of the producers' territory and draw most of their supplies within a radius of about twenty miles. Farmers and poultrymen will rarely ever make a trip of more than this distance and it is questionable whether or not they could afford to do so. They must also be located within fifty miles of a large consuming area; the most successful locations are in a triangle of cities of large consuming population or between two large cities. Fifty miles is a maximum distance, although there are occasional cases where buyers will travel farther, but nearer would be much more satisfactory. The success or failure then of these auction markets depends largely on the factors outlined, stressing particularly the standard grades and labels. They should follow closely the United States Standards and Grades for Eggs, since most products are traded interstate and buyers, both wholesale and retail, are becoming better and better acquainted with the Federal grades and standards. Also, there are so many grades used by the various states and communities that unless some base is used, such as the United States Standards, there is no understandable basis of quality on which to deal. A rigid inspection, by an official attached to some official agency and checked from time to time by others of that agency, is absolutely necessary as a matter of protection to both the buyer and the producer and to build good will for any label indicating that a definite quality of goods is sold.

Trenton, New Jersey Egg and poultry auctions as they now exist in the eastern section of the United States are the results of attempts on the part of marketing officials to solve an acute marketing problem. Knowledge on the part of the consumer discounts quite materially in price any product which does not measure up to the highest standards. The reasons that these auctions were placed in the country districts rather than the metropolitan area are several, but principally because of certain indications or selfish motives on the part of wholesale receivers and commission men and the tremendous amount of carelessness which had crept into the production and distribution of eggs and poultry from the farm to market. Producers of poultry products, despite the best efforts through education, have lagged far behind consumer education and the machinery for distribution in the wholesale market. To be successful from a buying standpoint,

QUALITY IN EGGS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MARKET VALUES AND FOOD VALUES EARL W. BENJAMIN, General Manager

Pacific Egg Producers Co-operative, Inc., New York The market value of eggs depends upon the dealer's estimation and anticipation. The dealer bases his ideas on the food value of the eggs, consumers preferences of which he is aware, and his knowledge and confidence of the dependability and uniformity of the eggs. Contrary to the consumer's general thought, distance is not the most essential factor in market value. Breeding, feeding, and management and the care and grading of the product are vital matters. The reason why the Pacific Coast is maintaining the lead in the marketing of quality eggs is not the climate nor the type of producer, although these are important; perhaps the verv non-accessi-

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bility of the Pacific Coast producer is his aiding adversity. On the Pacific Coast I believe they have done things which would be impossible in any other section of the country. There is a limit to how good an individual egg may be. There is a limit to the accuracy of grading and the skill of salesmanship. The strength of unity and the forces which are unloosed when a great body of people are forced to work together for one common purpose, however, seems almost boundless. It is this force which is likely to maintain the Pacific Coast industry. The producers are remote from the consuming centers. They must work together, and working together makes for dependability and uniformity of the product, and it is this latter factor which is creating the market value for Pacific Coast eggs which has recently been reflected in eastern markets. The Pacific Coast producers have not opposed strict quality standards in the eastern markets. They have not opposed these even though they have felt that some of them were impossible of commercial fulfillments, so long as it was believed they represented real consumer demand. Only by the maintenance of such standards can producers who care obtain reward for their increased efforts, and it is the continual striving for a better quality which helps to increase consumption and make for a more satisfactory egg industry. The Pacific Coast industry is an institution setting an example for better quality and worthy of the appreciation and the desire for continuance on the part of the producers in other sections of the country.

FEDERAL-STATE EGG AND POULTRY GRADING PROGRAMS AT COUNTRY PACKING PLANTS ROY C. POTTS, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. A Federal-State egg and poultry grading problem is a program for the grading of eggs and dressed poultry at country packing plants by authorized Federal-State egg and/or poultry graders who have been examined and found competent to properly apply the U. S. standards and grades for eggs and dressed poultry. The program is set up and operated jointly by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in co-operation with a state agency, which usually is the State Department of Agriculture, the State Bureau of Markets, the State Agricultural College, or Experiment Station. The pro-

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gram is conducted in accordance with a memorandum of agreement between these agencies, and also a supplementary memorandum of agreement between the state agency and the person or firm which operates the country packing plant. The grading work is supervised by a FederalState supervisor, who is the joint representative of the Federal Department and the state agency. The grading of the product in the country packing plant is done by authorized representatives of the Federal Department and the state agency, who are either jointly employed or are employed by one agency and licensed by the other. The graders in the packing plants are authorized to issue grading certificates as authorized representatives of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the state agency; also to stamp the containers with the U. S. grade of the product and to label the product with its proper U. S. grade. At the present time there are more than 100 persons licensed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture who are authorized to grade eggs, and 10 persons who are authorized to grade poultry. The Federal-State grading of poultry and eggs at country packing plants is rapidly expanding, and at present IS states are co-operating with the U. S. Department of Agriculture in this work. FURTHER DATA ON THE INHERITANCE OF DWARFISM CHARLES W. U P P , Louisiana Agriculture ment Station, Baton Rouge

Experi-

Dwarfism in R. I. Red fowls has been previously reported by Landauer (1929), Mayhew and Upp (1932), and Upp (1932). Data were obtained this year from four pens headed by sires carrying the dwarf factor. Seventy-three dwarfs and 272 normal chicks were secured from seventeen carrier dams. Two hundred and fifty-six normal chicks and no dwarfs were produced from sixteen other dams mated to the same males. Of chicks deadin-shell (IS days or older) examined from the carrier hens, 60 were classed as dwarf suspects to 22S normals. Seventy-seven "normal" dead-inshells and no dwarf suspects were examined from the non-dwarf-producing hens. If dwarfism is a simple mendelian recessive as previously surmised by Mayhew and Upp, the expected ratios would be 259:86 as compared to observed of 272 :73, and 214:71 as compared to observed of 225:60. The fit is not close but is well within the realm of probability. It is possible that the number of recessives is deficient due to the lowered vitality of dwarfs and to the consequent

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mortality of some of them prior to accurate classification. Including data obtained from Warren (1933) from matings made during 1927 and 1928 (2 sires and 6 dams); data from Mayhew and Upp (1932), (2 sires and 4 dams); unpublished data from the Louisiana station in 1932 (2 sires and 6 dams), and the 1933 data noted above (4 sires and 17 dams), a total of 10 sires and 33 dams are involved. Totals of 464 normals to 123 dwarfs were observed as compared to an expected ratio of 440: 147. It is interesting to note that while the number of dwarfs is, in general, below the expected, and ratios of individual dams vary widely, in no case (of the 43) is the ratio outside the range that might be expected. It is concluded that dwarfism in the domestic fowl is a simple autosomal recessive. SOME SEX-LINKED CROSSES

SCIENCE

tor and of as much value as head color in sexing the chickens at hatching. To test the sex-linked rate of feathering factor, Cuckoo Leghorn cockerels were mated with R. I. Red hens. The flight feathers were used for sexing the chicks at hatching. This method showed possibilities. A study of the sex-linked silver factor within the Sussex breed was made by crossing the brown with the light variety. The same factor was studied by means of a cross between R. I. Reds and the Light Sussex. Both these crosses gave 100 percent accuracy in sex determination. This study showed that the use of shank color for sex determination was not of economic value; that no difficulty was experienced in accurately determining sex at hatching with gold and silver matings; and that the barring and rate of feathering factors can be used, provided the females are pure for the sex-linked factor involved. A new sex-linked factor, beak color, is reported.

RAYMOND T. PARKHURST,* HELEN M. MOLYNEUX, BARBARA CHAMBERLAIN and FRANK H. JONES,

THE ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC FOWL

National Institute of Poultry Husbandry, Newport, Shropshire, England

L. J. COLE, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Two crosses were made to test the sex-linked shank factor. A White Bresse cockerel was mated with White Leghorn hens and the color of the shanks of the chicks was observed. A second cross was made between a Black Minorca cockerel with White Leghorn hens. The differences between the color of the shanks in male and female chicks was not always distinct and not sufficiently accurate to be of economic value. Two crosses were used to study the sex-linked barring factor. A Leghorn cockerel was crossed with Barred Plymouth Rock hens, and a Black Leghorn male was crossed with Cuckoo Leghorn hens. With the first cross, in every case of sex determination at hatching, the sex was substantiated on re-examination later. Two matings were made between the Black Leghorn males and the Cuckoo Leghorn hens in subsequent years. Some mismarked chicks appeared and about 85 to 90 percent accuracy was obtained when using the head color. No relation was found between the shank color and the sex of the chicks, but a valuable discovery was made in connection with beak color. The accuracy obtained with the beak color was 91.47 percent with the males, and 94.21 percent with the females. Beak color is a sex-linked fac* Resigned. Now with National Oil Products Co., Harrison, N.J.

As with practically all domesticated animals, the origin of the fowl is clouded in mystery. It is generally considered, however, to be of polyphyletic origin, resulting from the crossing of two or more species. Judging from experimental results with pigeons this theory appears to have distinct limitations, which are discussed in their relation to the fowl. Species hybrids in animals are usually intermediate in character and such crosses do not ordinarily give rise to strikingly new characters. Even though different species may be mixed in the fowl, it is probable that most of the striking characters that differentiate domesticated varieties have arisen by mutation and have been preserved by selection. THE INHERITANCE OF SEXUAL MATURITY, AND RATE AND PERSISTENCE OF LAYING MORLEY A. JULL, Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. The 733 R. I. Red pullets were produced by 189 dams, which together with the sire's dams had each laid 200 or more eggs during their first laying year, and the 761 White Leghorn pullets were produced by 161 dams, which together with the sire's dams had each laid 225 or more eggs during their first laying year.

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From the standpoint Of the inheritance of the three characters, sexual maturity, rate, and persistence of laying, in both breeds it was found that on the average the daughters commenced laying later in life, laid at a slower rate, and were less persistent layers than their dams. All of the correlation coefficients are positive but low in value and not significant. When the dams, in each breed, were divided into eight groups, according to whether or not they were above or below the mean of each of the three characters for all dams used in each breed, it was found that the mean egg production of the daughters of each of the eight groups of dams varied considerably among themselves and that the results secured from the two breeds were not consistent. When the data were further treated from the standpoint of eliminating the influence of the male, it was found that in each breed there was little evidence to show that the dams differed materially in their ability to transmit any one of the three characters. The only conclusion possible in the case of the data pertaining to the two flocks in question is that the dams, selected on the basis mentioned previously, were relatively a homogeneous group and that the three characters studied are each apparently affected by a relatively large number of genes, some of which probably influence all three characters. THE INHERITANCE OF BROODINESS I N CROSS-BRED POULTRY E. ROBERTS and L. E. CARD, Illinois

Agricultural

Experiment Station, Urbana The inheritance of broodiness was studied in a cross between Dark Cornish and White Leghorns, involving a total of 655 hens. Records were obtained on 135 pure Cornish, 144 pure Leghorns, 133 Fi females from reciprocal crosses, 137 F 2 females, and 106 backcross females. In the Cornish stock, 90 percent of the females went broody one or more times, while among the Leghorns only 4 percent went broody. The average number of broody periods per year for the hens that went broody was 3.5 for the Cornish and 2.0 for the Leghorns. Among the F t females from Cornish males the percentage of broodiness was 88, and the average number of times broody per year for all broody hens was 3.7. The corresponding figures for Fj females from the reciprocal cross were 37 percent and 2.1 times broody.

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These results clearly indicate the presence of at least one sex-linked gene for broodiness in the Cornish males. On this hypothesis the Leghorn males do not contain sex-linked genes for broodiness and, therefore, their Fi daughters do not exhibit broodiness to such a high degree when measured either by the number going broody or the number of broody periods per year. SOME GENETIC ASPECTS OF HATCHABILITY THEODORE C. BYERLY, C. W. KNOX, MORLEY A

JULL, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Data on the time and relative frequency of embryo mortality in eggs from inbred and outbred matings within breeds, crosses between crosses, matings among ¥i individual from crosses between breeds, reciprocal back-crosses of F t individuals to individuals of the parental breeds, and matings of Fi individuals to individuals of unrelated breeds support the following conclusions: A large number of genetic factors affect the hatchability of hen's eggs. Some affect the embryo directly, others indirectly through effects on shell or interior egg quality. Inbreeding is likely to increase mortality very greatly during the last three days of incubation. Crossing breeds reduces the mortality during this period to a minimum determined by environmental conditions. Mortality during the first week of incubation may be somewhat increased by inbreeding, but is likely to be little affected by crossing breeds. Crossing breeds will improve hatchability only if the hatchability of eggs from matings within those breeds is below the limit set by their environment and their genetic constitution, in a strict sense. Embryos in eggs from F t females are likely to show lower first-week mortality than that characteristic of the parental breeds or the crosses between those breeds. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGE FECUNDITY AND HATCHABILITY J. HOLMES MARTIN and W. M. INSKO, JR.,

University of Kentucky,

Lexington

Fertility, hatchability, and production records of S. C. White Leghorn hens are given. These hens were selected on the basis of production, hatchability, egg size, vigor, and freedom from disqualifications. The minimum record for hens used in this test was 200 eggs in the pullet year and 450 eggs in the first three years. Most of the birds

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exceeded considerably these minimum requirements. Pullet hatching records are not available since no eggs were set until the yearling year. The records are given in the following table:

Chicks No. No. FertilHatchper Age hens eggs set ity Hatch ability hen

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

159 99 84 60 39 11 3

5,892 3,408 2,292 1,097 707 220 43

percent 89.1 86.8 77.4 83.1 77.8 85.0 62.8

percent 58.6 50.8 46.5 56.7 57.6 58.6 51.2

percent 65.8 58.5 60.1 68.2 74.0 60.0 81.5

21.7 17.5 12.8 10.3 10.4 11.7 7.3

While there was a trend toward lower egg records as age increased, yet in no case did the average production drop below 100 eggs. The three 8-year old hens averaged 103.3 eggs in their seventh year and the eleven 7-year old hens 118.3 eggs in their sixth year. AN ANAEMIC CONDITION CAUSING MORTALITY IN CHICK EMBRYOS J. Ross CAVERS and F. B. HUTT, University of

Minnesota, St. Paul A condition resembling anaemia was studied in embryos of White Leghorn fowls. Up to 96 hours of incubation most of the affected embryos were so deficient in red blood that even with a powerful candling apparatus the unopened eggs appeared to be infertile or the embryos to have died at a much earlier stage. Upon removal of the shell many of these were found to be alive, with hearts beating regularly. They were somewhat smaller than normal embryos of the same age and little or no red blood was present. In some instances, the heart-beats could be observed through the shell on the fourth day. The majority of such embryos died before the sixth day, but of those surviving to that age some subsequently assumed a normal appearance and a few hatched. When whole mounts of anaemic embryos were examined, the extra-embryonic blood vessels were found to be distinctly smaller in diameter and fewer in number than in the normal condition, being more retarded in development than the bodies of the embryos themselves. Anaemic embryos were most frequent in the fall and winter months, comparatively few being found during March and April. Since some hens produced

SCIENCE

this abnormality almost continuously for several weeks, while others, receiving the same ration and mated to the same males, produced none whatever, there may possibly be a genetic basis for its occurrence. By analysis of a large number of samples it was determined that the blood of hens which produced anaemic embryos did not differ from that of hens which did not, with respect to the numbers of leucocytes or erythrocytes, or in the percentage of haemoglobin. SOME OF T H E FACTORS INVOLVED IN EMBRYONIC MORTALITY OF T H E FOWL J. B. SMITH, Ontario Agriculture College, Gue'ph A six years' study of the hatching quality of eggs produced under variable dietetic and environmental conditions has supplied data from which the following conclusions have been drawn. All eggs were set daily over a six-month hatching period for six years. Fully 400,000 eggs have been incubated and supplied the data upon which these conclusions are based. Excessive embryonic mortality involves a number of factors, some of which appear to be of more importance than others. It also seems highly probable that many of these factors are interdependent. There may be one, two, three, or even four peaks in the mortality curve during the artificial incubation period. Under Ontario conditions the diet fed the breeding flock has a definite influence on the first and second week mortality, but only to a very limited degree on the last critical period which is the result of environmental and other factors. Malpositions cause approximately half of the last death rate under normal conditions of artificial incubation. The season of the year, owing largely to the. amount and quality of sunshine, has a very great effect on the first and second week peaks in the mortality curve. A diet showing a very low efficiency, in the winter months, with an excessive periodicity of deaths during the first and second week of incubation, may be termed a satisfactory summer diet largely resultant from an improved physical condition of the flock (recharged) by the action of direct sunshine. In this case all the peaks except the last one tend to disappear entirely along with anaemic and chondrodystrophic embryos. A mild infection of laryngotrachaeitis results

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in lowered hatchability which is reflected in increased mortality rates during the first and second week of incubation. A lack of or an overdosage of vitamin D, along with other factors, may produce excessive first and second week mortality. The percentage and periodicity of embryonic mortality from birds fed on single cereals, with a mixed protein supplement and cod liver oil, differs widely, apparently depending on the age at which the flock were placed on experimental trial, and with the cereal grain fed.

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egg to completely new substances, comprising a living bird. The transformation of yolk, albumen and eggshell into embryo and embryonic membranes— amnion and allantois—is revealed by several important physicochemical processes: (1) the transference of water from one part of the egg into another; (2) the changes in acidity ( p H ) ; (3) the changes in osmotic pressure. As the result of these physiochemical forces working within the developing bird's egg the following quantitative changes occur:

THE PRENATAL GROWTH OF THE TURKEY H. M. SCOTT, and J. S. HUGHES, Kansas

College,

State

Manhattan

A prediction equation of the type W=kt« was calculated by the method of least squares from a series of 350 observed wet weights recorded daily from the fifth to the twenty-sixth day of incubation. In this equation W represents the wet weight in milligrams, k is a constant, having the value of 0.1016, t is the incubation age in days, and n has the value of 4.06. The equation represents the general course of growth from the fifth to twenty-third day, but gives values considerably above the observed values for the remainder of the period. When Brody's growth formula (W=Ae*t) was fitted to the data by graphical means on arithlog paper, the resulting wet weight curve was divided into three well defined segments, during each of which the value of k (relative growth rate) remained more or less constant. In this respect the growth of the turkey embryo follows the same general course as that of the chicken embryo and of the pigeon embryo reported by Kaufman. The instantaneous percentage growth rate is much greater during the early growth of the turkey embryo and much less during the limits of the last segment of the curve than the values reported by others for the chicken embryo at corresponding segments of the curve. THE FERTILIZED BIRD'S EGG AS A PHYSICOCHEMICAL SYSTEM ALEXIS L. ROMANOFF, Cornell

University,

Ithaca, N.Y. A fertilized bird's egg is ever changing both physically and chemically. During the course of embryonic development there is a continuous transformation of the various inert constituents of the

Changes in the weight (fowl's egg) (grams) Parts of the egg

Fresh egg

1 week 2 weeks incuba- incuba- Hatched egg tion tion

Yolk Albumen Eggshell Embryo Amnion Allantois

18.4 34.6 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

20.0 13.4 7.0 0.6 15.0 0.5

18.0 6.8 6.98 9.7 6.0 5.52

Total

60.0

56.5

53.00

7.0 0.0 6.86 32.0

1 2.0 47.86

The treatment of the fertilized bird's egg as a physico-chemical system inevitably leads us: (1) to a better understanding of the complexity and the forcefulness of nature in the development of a new life, and (2) to an appreciation of the magnitude of possible biological influence of the hereditary and the environmental factors on the development of the egg. HATCHABILITY STUDIES WITH WHITE LEGHORNS I. T H E PHYSIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY OF T H E BLOOD OF H I G H AND LOW HATCHING LINES J. J. BRONKHORST and

G. O. HALL, Cornell

• University, Ithaca,

N.Y.

With the increasing demand for high-producing, quick-growing, quick-feathering strains of birds, it is found that in many flocks hatchability is far from satisfactory and that it is an important factor in limiting the supply of desirable stock. Is it not time to pay more attention to the individuality of birds and thus try to establish differences which might exist between high and low hatching hens? It was with this in mind that this study was undertaken. The birds used in this work consisted of hens of mixed ages from the Cornell University Experi-

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ment Station flock. The constituents of the blood considered were the number of erythrocytes, haemoglobin, glucose, and phosphorus content and phosphorus distribution in the blood. From the results of this work it is concluded that the number of red cells, haemoglobin, glucose, and phosphorus in the blood do not differ significantly between the high and low hatching hens considered in the study. T H E RELATIONSHIP OF JUVENILE PLUMAGE DEVELOPMENT TO RATE OF GROWTH AND AGE AT SEXUAL MATURITY D. R. MARBLE, Pennsylvania State College, State College A flock of Single Comb White Leghorn chicks, comprising 90 females and 73 males, was examined weekly from day-old until 20 weeks of age. Following the initial growth of the wing and tail feathers one complete molt occurred before the females reached sexual maturity. Two peaks of body molt were observed. Significant changes in the rate of growth did not occur during these peaks of body plumage development. Significant positive correlations were found to exist in both sexes between the body weight at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age and the amount of body molt completed at the respective age. Analyses of data obtained on 79 pullets in 1930, and 308 White Leghorn pullets in 1932, indicate that it is impossible to forecast the subsequent date of first egg by means of an examination of the primary feather development at 8 or 10 weeks of age. The data do show a definite tendency on the part of early maturing pullets to carry over one or more chick feathers throughout the first laying year. This fact may be helpful in culling birds during the pullet year of egg production. 4

TESTIS ENLARGEMENT AND THYROID ADMINISTRATION IN DUCKS R. GEORGE JAAP, University of Wisconsin,

Madison

During late winter and early spring months, the testis of Mallard drakes normally increase in size and spermatogenic activity. During this period an artificial increase, much greater than that of the normal drakes, is obtained by feeding daily doses of 0.25 to 1.0 gram of desiccated thryoid. This artificial testis increase resulting from thyroid administration is roughly proportional to the amount of the thyroid substance fed, and the testis size ranges

S C I E N C E

from 2 to 10 times that of the non-thyroid-fed controls. Microscopically, the testes of the thyroidfed drakes exhibit a marked increase in spermatogenesis, which is proportional to the size of the testis. The largest testes have a large number of fully formed spermatazoa in the lumen of each tubule, while the smaller testes may show only division figures. In accordance with the results of recent researches, the testis enlargement which follows thyroid administration is explained by a thyroidpituitary-gonad interrelationship. The thyroid substance ingested by the drake stimulated an increase in his metabolic processes, which results in a greater elimination of the testis hormone from the body. This loss of testis hormone allows an increase in the gonad-stimulating principle of the anterior lobe of the pituitary. As a result of the increase in the gonad stimulator, the testis becomes active and enlarges, probably in the same manner as that which occurs during the normal breeding season. Further experiments are planned to check this hypothesis. Castrate drakes molt profusely when as small a daily dose as 0.25 gram of desiccated thyroid is administered, while non-castrated drakes lose very few feathers under the same treatment. This inhibition of the molt in the thyroid-fed non-castrated drake is probably due to the activity of the testis. The normal molt of birds may be attributed to the regression of the testis at the end of the laying period, rather than the gonad regression being attributed to the molt. LABORATORY IMMUNIZATION EXPERIMENTS ON INFECTIOUS LARYNGOTRACHEITIS CHARLES S. GIBBS, Massachusetts State

College,

Amherst In the beginning it was necessary to find out whether susceptible birds could be artificially immunized to infectious laryngotracheitis or not. This point was finally settled by inoculating properly filtered tracheal exudates into selected pullets and cockerels in serial doses so that the virus came in direct contact with the blood. Since intravenous inoculation did not prove to be practical on a large scale, various attempts were made to modify the method of inducing immunity by inoculating different sites of the body of birds with living viruses. Up to the present the inoculation of the virusvaccine appears to give the best results. Success or failure with this method seems to depend upon the selection and cultivation of a virus free of contamination, and especially virulent to the mucous mem-

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brane of the bursa of Fabricius, care in the handling of the vaccine which is a living virus, and skill in vaccinating to insure a high percentage of takes. Complications such as obliteration of the bursal fold, adhesions of the oviduct, proctitis, and tumors of the vaccinated parts have been noted, but have not been sufficiently studied to warrant drawing any definite conclusions as yet. The plan for the eradication and control of infectious laryngotracheitis, which was presented at the Association meeting in Amherst last year, finds some supporters among practical poultrymen, and seems to offer the most encouraging solution of a difficult problem.

A STUDY OF PULLORUM DISEASE I N BABY CHICKS AS SHOWN BY T H E EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES I N BROODING

the virus, diluted 1 to 300, would live on egg shells for 12 hours at 25°C, and 5 hours at 38°C.) Filtration of fresh and dried virus suspensions were regularly successful through Berkefeld V and N, but not with W niters, using nutrient broth and yeast extract as suspending vehicles. The loss of potency due to filtration was from 10 to 100 times. Filtered and unfiltered virus in 1 to 300 suspensions remained infective for SO days at 8°C. Immune serum from "carrier" individuals subsequently treated with massive doses of virus neutralized four times its volume of a highly virulent (1-300) virus suspension and prevented the appearance of symptoms in susceptible birds inoculated as long as 44 hours previously with 10 infective doses of virus. The addition of testicular extract (the Reynal's factor) did not make the virus pathogenic for ducks, guinea fowl, pigeons, rats, or guinea pigs; nor did it increase the number of positive inoculations by the intravenous route in chickens. Serial passage of the virus through baby chicks did not alter the virulence for mature chickens.

W. A. HIGGINS AND CARL H. SCHROEDER, Larro

W. L. MAIXMAN, J. M. MOORE, AND L. R. ARNOLD,

Michigan State College, East Lansing Pullorum disease is a serious menace to either the producer or purchaser of baby chicks. One may blame either transmission from the parent stock or \ environment for the appearance of this disease during the first two weeks of brooding. The purpose of this work was to compare the Kvability of baby chicks under different brooding temperatures. The chicks were hatched from tested and untested stock. They were brooded together A REPORT OF SOME INVESTIGATIONS OF and separately. Temperatures of 96, 88, 80, and 72 °F. were used in an experimental compartment INFECTIOUS LARYNGOTRACHEITIS brooder and the chicks were held there for the first C. A. BRANDLY AND L. D. BUSHNEIX, Kansas State seven days, followed by seven days in a commerCollege, Manhattan cial battery brooder where optimum heat condiThis report is on certain investigations of the tions were maintained. influence of various agencies and factors on the All chicks which died were autopsied and an expathogenicity of the virus of the disease, and on amination of the heart, lungs and liver was made some of the possible sources and modes of infecfor the presence of B. pullorum. tion. It was found that the different temperatures inNegative results were obtained on duplicate tests fluenced to a marked degree the mortality of both to show the presence of an active virus on the infected and non-infected chicks. surface of eggs from a flock containing carriers and THE DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF T H E RAPID from a flock with the infection. These tests were TEST WITH STAINED ANTIGENS VS. made in 5 to 12 hours after the eggs were laid. T H E TUBE AGGLUTINATION TEST During this interval the eggs were stored at 20 to FOR PULLORUM DISEASE 25°C. (It has been found by subsequent tests that Research Farm, Detroit, Michigan A very close but not quite complete agreement was attained between the results from the tube agglutination test as compared with the rapid, wholeblood test when using stained antigens supplied by the U.S.D.A., the Michigan State College, and two commercial laboratories manufacturing the antigen under patent permit from the Bureau of Animal Industry. A third commercial antigen gave unsatisfactory results. Excepting the one lot of stained antigen which produced results at marked variance, the rapid, whole-blood test with stained antigen was of equal diagnostic value as the tube agglutination test for S. pullorum. IMMUNIZATION OF DAY-OLD CHICKS AND POULTS AGAINST FOWL POX R. C. DTJNN AND R. M. SHERWOOD, Texas A. & M.

College, College Station The chief objects of this experiment were to determine if day-old chicks and poults could be

324 successfully immunized against fowl pox, using fowl pox vaccine, and to determine a suitable method of applying the vaccine. Fowl pox virus was used. The vaccine was prepared by using one part of powdered fowl pox scab and two hundred and fifty parts of a dilutent consisting of forty per cent glycerine and sixty per cent .85 sterile saline solution. The fluff was plucked from a small area of the breast and the vaccine applied to the exposed skin and feather follicles with the aid of a small stiff brush and slight scarification of the skin. The feather follicles are quite small in this age bird and slight scarification of the skin is apparently essential to successful infection and uniform reactions. All day-old chicks appear susceptible when successfully infected. No constitutional or systemic symptoms were noted in birds vaccinated when reasonable care was used in applying the vaccine. Immunity against fowl pox was lasting, as shown by immunity tests run on lots of vaccinated birds at two, four, and six months following vaccination, and by the failure of fowl pox to make its appearance in vaccinated birds under flock observation. Healthy and vigorous day-old chicks or poults can be safely and successfully vaccinated against fowl pox using fowl pox vaccine without causing any apparent constitutional disturbance.

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the vinegar and water mixture. In order to test the effect of zinc acetate, which would result from a chemical reaction of vinegar on the zinc containers, in experiment No. 3 a fourth group of chickens, which was artificially infected, received 1 part zinc acetate in 79 parts of the drinking water. In the first three experiments the procedure was that advocated by the poultryman: vinegar was given on five successive days, on the sixth day sodium bicarbonate was substituted for the vinegar in the same proportion, and on the seventh day vinegar was again resumed and was continued for about a week longer. Judging from the amount of hemorrhage and oocyst production, it was found that sodium bicarbonate was of no value and that zinc acetate was apparentful harmful, therefore only vinegar was used for treatment of chickens in the fourth experiment. The vinegar used in these experiments was of several commercial brands, the acetic acid content ranging from 4 to S percent. The following results have been obtained up to date: In addition to reducing the mortality, vinegar also decreased the amount of hemorrhage and apparently prevented the formation of a cheesy mass in the ceca of chickens infected with E. tenella. The number of oocysts was considerably less in the cases receiving vinegar and, of those produced, a considerable percentage of the oocysts appeared unable to sporulate after being passed by the chicken.

THE USE OF CERTAIN CHEMICALS IN THE CONTROL OF COCCIDIOSIS IN CHICKENS \ EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED ^ F A C T O R S INFLUENCING T H E INCIDENCE (PRELIMINARY NOTE) OF PEROSIS IN BARRED ROCK CHICKS ENA A. ALLEN, Zoological Division, United States Department of Agriculture

P. J. SCHAIBLE, J. M. MOORE AND R. A. CONOLLY,

Information from a poultryman who claims to be able to control coccidiosis of chickens by putting vinegar in the drinking water, and the fact that some other organic acids appear to be of value in the control of this disease, led us to try vinegar, as well as other chemicals, in the treatment of coccidiosis. In a series of four experiments drinking water contained vinegar, 1 part in 79 parts of water, was given to chickens experimentally infected with pure strains of Eimeria tenella, and to others infected with mixed strains of coccidia, including E. tene'.la. Three groups of chickens were used in each of experiments 1, 2, and 4, as follows: Group No. 1 was artificially infected and was given vinegar; group No. 2 was infected, but received no vinegar; group No. 3 was not infected and had only water to drink. In the first experiment zinc vessels and, in subsequent experiments, glass vessels were used for

Observations made during the past year on approximately 1,600 chicks indicate that with a specific basal ration perosis can be produced by feeding high levels of bone meal, bone ash, c. p. Ca3(P04)2, MgCQ, or combinations of CaC0 3 with Na 2 HP0 4 and KH 2 P0 4 . Additions of 5 percent of oyster shell or 4 percent of NaJIPO^ to this basal did not cause slipped tendons. However, some chicks are occasionally hatched with this malformation or acquire it on rations of rather low mineral content. Except for the pheasant, other species placed on a perosis-producing diet did not succumb to this abnormality. Susceptibility did not depend on the size of the birds. Males were usually more susceptible than females. Variation in the acid-base balance, the Ca/P ratio, and in the source of protein supplement of a high mineral ration influenced the incidence of perosis. Soy bean oil meal comprising 10% of the protein of,a high mineral ration was

Michigan State College, East Lansing

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protective to a high degree against slipped tendons while pork cracklings under the same conditions showed a very high incidence of perosis with good growth and livability. EFFECT OF ROENTGEN RADIATION UPON SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS A. F. ROLF, CARL H. SCHROEDER AND W. A. H I G -

GINS, Larro Research Farm, Detroit, Michigan Roentgenographic exposure of 6-week old cockerels at the rate of 1,750, 2,200 roentgen units as well as two exposures of 1,750 roentgen units at intervals of 10 days reduced the development of the testes and of comb and wattles. The treated birds apparently lost their ability to crow, but otherwise showed the external characteristics of a "slip" rather than a capon. The results indicate that the x-ray exposure to which the birds were subjected in this test did not completely inhibit the production and action of the hormone responsible for the growth of comb and wattles. The treatment with roentgen rays significantly reduced subsequent weights gains. Lesser amounts of radiation but of a different quality may produce more satisfactory results. Such investigations are planned. THE VALUE OF THE HALOGENS CHLORINE AND IODINE AS DISINFECTANTS W. L. CHANDLER, Michigan State College, East Lansing A large number of disinfectants which readily kill fully exposed bacteria even in the presence of organic matter failed to kill bacteria imbedded in fecal matter voided from chickens with diseased intestines, and also failed to kill coccidial oocysts. Both iodine and chlorine in a free state and unhampered by solvents or adsorbents were, however, found readily to sterilize fecal matter from diseased birds, and also to kill coccidial oocysts within two minutes. The practical application of free iodine as a disinfectant has, in the form of colloidal iodine (Chandler), been employed for several years. A method for the practical application of free chlorine as a disinfectant has not as yet been worked out. CO-OPERATION WITH TRADE ORGANIZATIONS W. M. VERNON, Iowa State College, Ames Hatcherymen, produce dealers, managers of local elevators and other groups related to the poul-

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try industry contact poultry producers regularly, and they are usually interested in helping to promote better poultry production and marketing. The leaders in these trade organizations depend upon college extension poultrymen for co-operative educational programs. Such educational work should be extensively developed for the following reasons: 1. The number of extension teachers and funds for doing educational work are limited. Therefore, leaders in the various phases of the poultry industry help promote well-planned educational programs. 2. Large numbers of people may be reached through trade organizations maintaining regular contacts with poultry producers. 3. By securing co-operation of the leaders in various state organizations, rapid progress can be made in securing adoption of practices recommended in poultry improvement programs. 4. Such co-operation offers a good opportunity to acquaint leaders in different phases of the industry with the science of poultry production and marketing. 5. Educational work conducted in co-operation with poultry state organizations offers the best opportunity for encouraging a consciousness of interresponsibility of flock owners with hatcherymen, produce dealers, and others in the proper solution of problems affecting the industry. The conducting of extension teaching along these lines of co-operative effort is in keeping with modern methods of efficiency in securing general results. Many states are now doing much of their poultry extension work in this manner, and in developing this type of work the poultry specialist should keep in mind certain important principles. Some of the most important principles to be considered are as follows: 1. AH of the co-operative work should be educational in character but should definitely promote certain trade improvement which will be of mutual benefit to producers and the co-operating organizations. 2. Meetings or demonstrations conducted under this co-operative set-up should be presented principally by college staff members. Other features should be such as can be approved by the extension poultryman in general charge of this educational work. 3. The program of work should be especially prepared to fit into the general interests of the group of producers and the co-operating trade organization. 4. Each program should emphasize one subject that is seasonal and in which many poultry pro-

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ducers are interested. The secondary subjects presented at the same time should relate to the central theme. 5. Advance and follow-up publicity should be carefully planned and released at the proper time. 6. The follow-up of such co-operative educational work should be the adoption of a practical improvement program by the trade organization with all or a group of their patrons, or the improvement of a program previously adopted. 7. The poultry specialist should always explain the co-operative arrangement in order that the trade organization may be given full credit for their effort and that people do not misunderstand the work being done. PROBLEMS OF CHANGED CONDITIONS J. R. REDDITT, University of Nebraska,

Lincoln

Changed conditions have not only hit every social and economic structure; they have hit practically each known phase of them. Apparently none have escaped. In agriculture all lines of husbandry have suffered changes requiring all forms of readjustments. While the poultry industry has weathered the storm as well as any, it nevertheless has had its shake-up. Just as the industry has been jarred out of its complacency, so has the educational program been hurled into a state of uncertainty and, possibly, in some instances, its adequacy has been questioned. Correct Analysis Is Necessary Before we decide that pur present set-up of poultry extension is inadequate, it might be well to give it a pretty thorough examination. In all probability there are phases of work in our extension program that present conditions hardly justify. For instance, neither the farmer's ability to pay nor the price of poultry products are such that farmers are going to do much buying and building. It looks like the wrong time to advocate a building program, even though building material is priced low and many buildings are in need of repair. In analyzing our programs of work it might be well to check over our past experience and see if we can't discover the things that have seemed to please people most, and at the same time have been simple and practical. After all, human nature hasn't changed very much. Farm people appear in a more receptive mood about working together now than they have been for a long time. Poultry production on the general farm is suffering along with other enterprises during the depression. Poultry accounted for 11 percent

SCIENCE

of the farm income in Nebraska last year, but accounted for only abut 3 percent of the county agent's time. One of our greatest problems of changed conditions is that of unemployment. On this account largely there are more people on the farm today than ever. A somewhat related problem is that of the farm boys and girls who have recently finished high school but, because of conditions, cannot find jobs and cannot go to college. Do Our Programs Serve the Purpose? Since poultry is raised by practically every farmer in the nation, we who do poultry work should have the largest audiences and largest following, but we do not. Poultry extension programs can be more definitely outlined, efficiently conducted and beneficial in results when the work is among a class of interested people of large flock owners who regard the poultry business with respect and look upon it as a dependable source of income. Greater emphasis on the part of extension poultrymen toward large flocks for their producing a market surplus, and smaller home flocks for the average farmer, would help advance the industry. EGG LAYING TESTS AS AN EXTENSION PROJECT IN POULTRY HUSBANDRY R. C. OGLE, Cornell University, Ithaca,

N.Y,

There are approximately 34 laying test projects operating in the United States and a considerable number in Canada. The first laying test started in the United States some 22 years ago. The plan of organization and operation used in the first test is still followed to a considerable extent in present tests. As egg laying tests bring together birds of many different breeds, a large number of strains and originating in many states and, in some cases, other countries, the accumulation of a large number of data concerned with numerous factors of breeding and of egg production, and of food consumption, and of size of egg and of size of bird is made available during the year, and more comprehensible immediately after the close of each project year, thus supplying some of the most practical information for the use of our poultry raisers. The first laying test in New York State was established in 1918 on Long Island. This project is still in operation and in 1928 it was completely rebuilt, providing more up-to-date housing and equipment. Appropriations secured during 1928 from the legislature provided for the organization and construction of the Central New York State Laying Test

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Project located at Horseheads, Chemung County, N.Y., and the Western New York State Egg Laying Test Project located at Stafford, Genesee County, N.Y. Both of these projects are directly administered and supervised by the Poultry Department, College of Agriculture, and are definitely extension projects. The second year of the operation of these projects is now in progress and marked improvement in results is indicated over that made in the first project year. These plants are considered demonstrational in location, construction, feeding and management. Many visitors inspect them during the year for information pertaining to these factors of poultry management. Records summarized and issued frequently in report form, distributed to a large mailing list throughout the country, are of much value in teaching in the classroom and in the field for extension meetings. Weekly mimeographed reports are issued for both of these projects, printed monthly reports, giving in much detail the results of the month and the results for the entire project to date are also issued. Plans were developed some 10 to IS years ago for' the extension program to provide for the establishment of a number of these projects so located as to make them conveniently available to poultrymen in the various sections of the state, these to be administered and supervised through the office of the Poultry Department at the College of Agriculture at Ithaca, N.Y. OBSERVATIONS ON PRACTICAL TURKEY RAISING PAUL A. CUNYUS, Texas A. & M. College,

College Station Low prices are tending to change the aristocratic holiday bird into a truly democratic "national bird," as a familiar part of our menus, bringing it into sharp competition with beef and other cheaper meats. With little hope of the high prices of boom days, producers are cutting production costs by every means possible. Since feed is the biggest cost item, it is important to utilize it efficiently. Taking a tip from the beef cattle feeder, who deserted the inefficient lanky longhorn for the quick maturing blocky shorthorn, our far-seeing turkey raisers are also changing from the giant race horse type to the early maturing, meat-producing bird. Noticeable changes have been made in Texas and the Southwest. The same trend is noted in the increasing popularity of the Naragansett and other plumper breeds. Measurements on several hundred young toms

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indicate a correlation between various parts. More definite experiments are needed upon the influence of type on early maturity, efficiency of growth, percentage of meat, and other factors, in lowering production costs. EFFECTIVE POULTRY EXTENSION METHODS I N USE IN T H E UNITED STATES H. L. SHRADER, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. The manipulation of teaching devices in poultry extension work may be compared to a cabinetmaker who uses the right tools on the material available. Psychologists tell us that no learning takes place unless people are taught to recognize the problem and develop the want. The public as a mass presents resistance to new ideas because of fixed habits, prejudices and superstitions. One job of extension teachers is to change these fixed habits into improved practices. Teaching schemes depend on the tools in use, and oral talks, news items, charts, circular letters, and bulletins are cited as examples of tools. A continuity campaign involves the want, solution, action, satisfaction, formula, and consists of recommendations made after a joint study of conditions with local representatives. The "Increase Your Income with Poultry" project in Maine illustrates this type of extension methods. The evolution of the want, the tools used by the extension staff, the procedure, and the calendar are discussed in this paper. An important function of demonstration farm flocks is to furnish a fundamental background for sanitation, feeding, and disease control campaigns such as the work carried on in New Jersey, Texas, Florida, and Connecticut. Co-operating with outside organizations, such as the turkey program in California, the quality egg work in Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri, plays a big part in certain types of poultry extension programs. CONDUCTING POULTRY EXTENSION SCHOOLS C. M. FERGUSON, Ohio State University, Columbus Is extension teaching superficial? Do we underestimate or overestimate the capacity of extension audiences? What has been the training and experience of such groups? Are they interested in a more intensive study of principles which govern practices? Partial answer to some of these questions is indicated in the results of three series of schools held in Ohio in 1931 and 1932.

328 These extension courses were planned so that the specialists would meet the same group for a two-hour period once a week for five weeks. Enrollments were secured by the county agents and an attempt made to limit them to SO. A small charge was made for each enrollment sufficient to cover the cost of an inexpensive notebook cover and other costs, such as room rent, etc. A set of mimeographed notes was provided, giving an outline of each lesson. References were suggested and bulletins provided where possible. The plan of the course was to spend the greater part of the ten hours of teaching time in the discussion of poultry feeding and nutrition. This subject was covered from the standpoint of the principles of nutritional study of digestion utilization of different feeds and the building and compounding of rations. Nutritional diseases and disorders were studied. A pre-test was used in order to determine what the group already knew, and a final examination was given to see what improvement had been made. Enrollment cards requested information as to the age, years of farm experience, years of poultry experience, and as to the extent of the poultry enterprise being carried by the person enrolled. At the conclusion of the course they were asked to answer certain questions regarding their opinion of a course of this type. Of interest are the following facts: Three of these schools have been held. The average age for those enrolled was over 40; 27 percent of one group, 22 percent of the second, and 25 percent of the third were over 50 years of age. Years of farm experience ranged from an average of 20 in one group to 24 in a second group and 27 in the third. Years of poultry experience ranged from nine in one group, to ten in the second and eleven in the third. Thirty-five percent of those enrolled had only grade school training. Twentytwo percent had some high school, and 21 percent were high school graduates, and 13 percent had some college work, and over 8.7 percent had college degrees. Seventy percent of one group attended four or more of the five meetings. In reply to a question, "Do you prefer a course of this type to poultry extension meetings you have attended before?" two answered no, 331 said yes. When asked if they would prefer a course of ten lessons to a course of five, 99 said no and 270 said yes. Seven suggested courses were outlined and they were asked to state their preference by indicating a first, second, and third choice. Poultry plant management was the most popular. A course in

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disease and parasites second; marketing, third; feeding, fourth; breeding, fifth; judging and culling, sixth; and poultry plant engineering, seventh. T H E USE OF FILM STRIPS AND VISUAL OTHER AIDS I N EXTENSION TEACHING R. E. CRAY, Ohio State University,

Columbus

Education is largely a matter of experiences— visual education a matter of "seeing experiences." Since "seeing experiences" have been proven by far the most effective means of education, the importance of the use of visual teaching in extension work cannot be over emphasized, because in extension work the student is only met at infrequent intervals and much must be accomplished at each meeting. Three methods of visual education are commonly employed in effective extension teaching: (a) Objects in their natural setting—tours, field demonstrations, (b) Objects taken from their natural setting—exhibits, demonstration material, (c) Pictures—motion and still—charts, graphs, cartoons. ' i• Film strips are coming into more common use because they are more compact and less fragile than lantern slides. While film strip pictures lack the detail of lantern slides and cannot be readily rearranged, yet the cost and convenience far overshadow these disadvantages. Film strip projectors can be operated from a storage battery as well as from a farm lighting plant, or city current, and the projector itself is so small that it is no burden on field trips. Some criteria for judging the merits of a film strip a r e : (1) I t should be designed to educate rather than entertain; (2) I t should present material unfamiliar to the audience; (3) Titles and pictures should be arranged in proper sequence; (4) Pictures should be clear and distinct and should illustrate some point; (5) Titles should be short and concise; (6) Charts and graphs should be simple and clear; (7) Cartoons, if well done, are valuable. STUDY GROUPS—AN EFFECTIVE EXTENSION TEACHING METHOD WILLIAM C. MONAHAN, Massachusetts

State

College, Amherst The conduct of study groups composed of prominent poultry breeders has proved to be a most effective method for teaching such technical

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subject matter as breeding and incubation. These organized groups meet regularly with the specialist at fortnightly intervals during the winter months. At these meetings a systematic course of instruction is given, with home study assignments, reports, and opportunity for discussion. In the winter of 1931-32, 119 poultry men were enrolled as regular attendants of five study groups in five adjacent counties of Eastern Massachusetts. As a means of checking up tangible results of breeding improvement by members of those groups, a questionnaire, asking specific questions, was sent to those enrolled. Forty-one replies were received. These breeders, constituting approximately onethird the group, report having 71,675 hens and having sold last season 335,500 baby chicks, 59,700 hatching eggs, 600 pedigreed cockerels, and 6,200 pedigreed chicks and hens. Thirty-one of the forty-one breeders who replied mentioned specific changes or additions in their breeding practices which had been adopted as a result of participation in these studies. These significant improvements included such items as selection of breeders on the basis of family rather than individual excellence, and introducing such factors as egg size, non-broodiness, non-pause, intensity, persistency, early feathering, or standard qualifications into their breeding programs. Others reported adoption of better breeder selection but did not mention specific characters. SUBJECT MATTER CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION OF A FIRST COURSE IN POULTRY HUSBANDRY E. L. DAKAN, Ohio State University, Columbus The first course in poultry husbandry at the Ohio State University has been the subject for a study in methods, organization, and content for a period of nearly ten years. The teaching of poultry husbandry in the vocational agricultural classes of the high schools has created a problem which calls for solution. The student whose father is a successful poultryman is another problem. The majority of students in this first course are not going to be poultry majors and their knowledge of poultry husbandry is meager. How can these groups be handled in one class? If the instruction is on a level which will interest the largest number of students, will the exceptional student—the future poultry major, the boy who already knows something about poultry—be disappointed? An attempt has been made to make this course

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a continuation of required courses in biology. The following outline will illustrate this point: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII.

Introduction. Origin of the individual. Inheritance. Formation of the egg. Environmental factors for incubation. Development during the first four days of incubation. Development from the fourth day to hatching time. Environmental factors for growth. Growth from hatching to maturity. External characteristics. Structure and function of the skeletal system. Structure and function of the muscular system. Structure and function of the digestive system. Structure and function of the respiratory system. Structure and function of the circulatory system. Structure and function of the urinogenital system. Structure and function of the nervous system. The poultry industry.

METHODS OF CONDUCTING A CAPONIZING DEMONSTRATION H. H. KAUFPMAN, Pennsylvania State College, State College In conducting a caponizing demonstration among agricultural folks, the principles of teaching have a fundamental application to that in college classrooms. The first principle involved is to develop a receptive attitude in the audience. The first phase of preparation consists of creating a desire to learn to caponize. This is brought about to a large extent before the meeting by publicity, economic necessity, and personal aspirations. One other and a more important phase of preparation is to build up the mental fortitude of the people in order that they may be confident that caponizing can be done successfully. Furthermore, it is necessary for them to develop confidence in the one who is demonstrating and in their own ability to caponize. Confidence can be built up quickly if the demonstrator will caponize three to six birds before attempting to explain any of the methods and tech-

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nique of caponizing. The majority of those watching the operation will be agreeably surprised and astonished at the relative ease and quickness of operation, as well as the small amount of bleeding and slight discomfort of the bird. The calmness of the demonstrator is contagious and will help to relax the nerves of the people in the group. The demonstrator can now proceed with the exact technique of caponizing, explaining and demonstrating the various steps of the operation in proper sequence: (1) removing the feathers; (2) locating the place for the incision; (3) making the incision and placing the spreaders; (4) tearing the body membrane or peritoneum; (5) locating the gonads; (6) removing the gonads; (7) removing the bird from the table. The first step to teach is to remove the gonads. The person demonstrating should prepare a bird up to this point and ask a confident looking person of the group to proceed. There are two reasons why this should be the first step for the beginner. First, it is one of the easiest parts of the operation. Second, the beginner now feels that he has accomplished what he set out to do, and his courage is stimulated and strengthened to learn the more difficult part, that is, to make an incision at the proper place. To teach capon production to a community at least 25 birds should be caponized so that cost records can be kept on the flock. A poultry marketing and dressing demonstration should be given when the birds are ready to market.

AN EGG IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR INDIANA LEON TODD, Purdue University, Lafayette,

Indiana

This project can be used only when eggs are sold on a quality basis, and is especially useful when eggs are bought on quality for first time. Four or five producers are selected as demonstrators on improving egg quality. Suggestions are made for improving quality. Then the producer keeps a record of grade and prices, egg room temperature, and reported defects in eggs. A monthly record is also made of production practices in use. When the desired results are obtained, a meeting is held at the farm to discuss selling eggs on a quality basis, and the practices used to produce top grade eggs. Egg quality should be explained thoroughly when setting up the demonstrations. The county poultry extension program can and should be built around egg quality when these demonstrations are established.

SCIENCE

INDIVIDUALITY OF PULLETS I N BALANCING RATION J. C. GRAHAM, Massachusetts State College, Amherst Observations on the experimental flock of approximately 750 R. I. Red pullets the past six years, where free choice of whole corn, whole oats, and mash was allowed, show the average intake for the period was 43, 29, and 28 percent, respectively. Nor were the annual variations from these averages for the six years very great. Furthermore, the analysis of last year's (14 months) data showed the average protein intake level was 12.9 percent, and the bimonthly levels evidenced only slight variations. Although the number of birds involved in this test was small, yet the results are enlightening: (1) When pullets are fed ad libitum, whole corn, whole oats and mash, there is considerable variation in the intake of each by individual birds; (2) The intake of any one of these ingredients by individual birds varies considerably from day to day and week to week; (3) The variation, however, in protein level for individuals from day to day is very slight; (4) Some birds lay well and gain on a 12 to 13 percent protein level, while others will want or require a 14 to 15 percent level; (5) Non-laying birds thrive and prepare to lay on an 11 percent protein level; (6) Habit seems to play an important part in the diet of individual birds. EGG YOLK COLOR AS AFFECTED BY CERTAIN XANTHOPHYLL BEARING FEEDS L. F. PAYNE AND L. A. WILHELM, Kansas

State

College, Manhattan The effect of certain common xanthophyll-bearing poultry feeds on yolk color was studied with individual hens, farm flocks, and commercial flocks. The feeds tested were yellow corn, white corn, yellow milo, wheat, oats, kafir, meat and bone scraps; three grades of alfalfa hay; and wheat, rye, and afalfa pasture. Egg yolks from hens fed definite percentages of each of the above in rations otherwise free from xanthophyll were compared with those from hens fed a basal xanthophyll free ration. The Munsell formula, using the hue, brilliance, and chroma, was employed in making the comparisons. Biological tests showed only small amounts of xanthophyll in yellow milo, wheat, kafir, oats, and meat and bone scraps. Semi-bleached and fullybleached alfalfa leaves and hay produced yolks almost as dark as bright green alfalfa leaf meal and hay when fed at the same level. A ration consisting

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of 70 percent yellow corn increased the yolk color 2.36 units less than the expected amount when calculated from results obtained with a ration composed of 35 percent yellow corn. One-half ounce of green rye fed daily to individual hens on a colorless basal diet gave more color to the yolk than did an equivalent amount of either green wheat or alfalfa. All hens were apparently able to utilize about the same amount of xanthophyll when the feed intake mixture was the same. The hens did, however, show a wide variation in choke exercised when given an opportunity at free choice feeding, in which case there occurred a wide variability in yolk color. While confinement of the flock gave the most uniform yolk color, it was possible, by limiting and timing the hours spent on the range and regulating the ingredients in the ration, partially to control yolk color in the farm flock. A balanced ration practically devoid of coloring matter supplied birds on green range resulted in very few excessively dark yolks. The most uniform yolk color was obtained from confined flocks fed all-mash or mash supplemented with xanthophyll-free scratch grain. A well-balanced mash including 8 percent of alfalfa leaf meal and 24 percent of yellow corn, in addition to equal parts white corn and wheat fed as scratch, enabled hens to produce eggs of a very uniform light golden yolk color. WHITE CORN VERSUS YELLOW CORN IN GROWING RATIONS L. W. SMITH, South Carolina Experiment Clemson College

Station,

This study was made to determine the minimum amount of yellow corn necessary in a growing ration to give normal growth. The chicks were divided into equal groups at hatching time. Every possible precaution was taken to provide identical environment and management for all pens in each trial. Three trials were made, of eight, ten, and twelve weeks' duration. The feed was the same for each pen, with the exception of yellow and white corn meal. Amount of yellow corn in all-mash rations Pen Pen Pen Pen Pen Pen

1 2 3 4 5 6

Percent . None 3 6% uy2 25 451^

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331

The basal ration contained some skimmilk which did not furnish sufficient vitamin A to sustain life. The basal ration contained the following ingredients: 35 pounds ground corn meal, 5 pounds oat meal, 20 pounds wheat middlings, 7 pounds meat scraps, 3 pounds fish meal, 5 pounds dried skimmilk, V/z pounds oyster shells, and J4 pound salt. The basal ration when white corn was used resulted in a 100 percent mortality by the end of the eighth week. Normal growth and viability resulted when 25 and 45^4 percent of the total ration was made up of yellow corn. Indications point that the minimum amount of yellow corn in a growing ration is between 12 percent and 25 percent when other sources of vitamin A are lacking. STUDIES OF THE ESSENTIAL NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF SOME COMMON PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS I. T H E RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF T H E PROTEINS H. S. WILGUS, JR., L. C. NORRIS AND R. C. R I N G -

ROSE, Cornell University, Ithaca,

N.Y.

In initiating experimental work on this problem it was assumed that differences in the essential nutritive properties of the common protein supplements used in feeding poultry were due to variations in quality of protein and vitamin G content. Preliminary experiments confirmed this assumption. Therefore, the major part of the subsequent work was conducted in two phases. The first phase dealt with the quantitative evaluation of the proteins by determining their relative efficiency of utilization for growth, when ample vitamin G was supplied. The second dealt with the quantitative determination of the vitamin G content of these materials. Both of the experimental methods used were developed at this laboratory, White Leghorn chicks being used as the experimental animal. This paper presents the results obtained in the first phase of this study. The second part will be reported at a later date. The relative protein efficiency is an expression of the utilization of the proteins of a protein supplement for growth when combined with an equal quantity of protein from yellow corn meal and flour wheat middlings. It is obtained by determining the percentage of protein stored by normal chicks during the seventh week of age, dividing the percent storage by that of a standard casein diet and multiplying by 100. The results obtained show that the samples studied may be listed in order of their protein efficiency

332

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as follows: vacuum and drum-dried white fish meals, dried skimmilk, domestic sardine meal, flame-dried white fish meal, expeller-process soybean oil meal, Asiatic sardine meal, steam-dried menhaden meal, meat scrap, flame-dried menhaden meal, hydraulic-process soybean oil meal, whale meat, corn gluten meal, and dried blood. The efficiency of utilization ranged from 105 to SO when compared to casein as 100. The work on fish meal indicated that the efficiency was increased slightly when the "stick" was included with the meals. The results on the various grades of meat scrap favored those with a higher protein content. T H E RELATIVE VITAMIN-G CONTENT OF MILK SUGAR FEED (DRIED WHEY) AND DRIED SKIMMILK VICTOR HEIMAN AND L. C. NORMS, Cornell Uni-

versity, Ithaca,

N.Y.

An investigation on the relative vitamin-G content of milk sugar feed (dried whey) and dried skimmilk has been conducted, based on the fact that growth-promoting vitamin G is water soluble and therefore presumably not absorbed on or contained in the milk solids. If no obsorption occurs, then liquid whey, which is milk, freed of a large portion of its protein and certain other solids, would be a slightly better source of vitamin G than an equal quantity of the milk from which it was made. Furthermore, 15 to 16 pounds of liquid whey are required to make a pound of milk sugar feed, while only 10 to 11 pounds of liquid skimmilk are required for one pound of dried skimmilk. Thus milk sugar feed should represent about a 50 percent greater concentration of vitamin G than dried skimmilk. To prove or disprove this theory was the object of this work. A diet deficient in vitamin G, containing purified casein as the source of protein was used in the studies on this problem. Four samples each of dried skimmilk and of milk sugar feed were obtained from different manufacturing plants and fed in graded amounts to White Leghorn chicks. The results of this experiment confirmed the original assumption that milk sugar feed contained approximately 50 percent more vitamin G than dried skimmilk. It was further found that, when both dried skimmilk and milk sugar feed were fed in adequate quantities, the chicks grew normally, thus demonstrating that the vitamin G in these milk by-products differed only in a quantitative manner. In repeating this work dried skimmilk, ordinary milk sugar feed, spray process milk sugar feed, and Swiss cheese were manufactured from the same

SCIENCE

original lot of fresh whole milk, except that part of the ordinary milk sugar feed was prepared from the day's run of a similar lot of whey. These products, when fed to growing chicks, substantiated the results of previous work, that milk sugar feed was 50 percent more potent in vitamin G than dried skimmilk. Further evidence of the correctness of this conclusion was obtained from the failure of those groups which received graded quantities of Swiss cheese to make significant gains over the control group, showing that cheese contains little vitamin G. In work with laying hens, 5 percent of dried skimmilk, or 5 percent of milk sugar feed, made it possible for hens to produce eggs which hatched equally well, but where 2.5 percent of these products were supplied, the hatching results on the milk sugar feed were consistently superior to those on the dried skimmilk. Moreover, the chicks hatched from the eggs laid by the 2.5 percent milk sugar feed group of hens grew faster when fed a quiet deficient in vitamin G than the chicks from the comparable dried skimmilk group. These results indicated a greater storage of vitamin G in the eggs laid by the hens fed 2.5 percent milk sugar feed. In order to apply the results of this experimental work, growth studies were conducted, using meat scrap and fish meal in the basal diet. The results obtained were in agreement with those of the more fundamental studies and showed that milk sugar feed could be used as a source of growth-promoting vitamin G in practical chick rations. Other studies were carried on to determine a suitable means of compensating for the quantitative protein deficiency of milk sugar feed as compared to dried skimmilk without resorting to an increase in meat scrap or fish meal, since this would make the rations more likely to cause perosis. Soybean oil meal was found suitable for this purpose. RELATION OF T H E VITAMIN G COMPLEX TO HATCHABILITY AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF EGGS R. M. BETHKE, P. R. RECORD AND D. C. KENNARD,

Ohio Experiment Station, Wooster It was observed that the vitamin G complex as found in dried liver, autoclaved yeast, and milk sugar feed (dried whey) exerted a beneficial effect on hatchability. The feeding of shell-free eggs (hard boiled) from the differently fed pens of birds, to chicks on a basal ration low in the vitamin G complex, showed that the eggs varied in their vitamin G complex content. The growth response in the

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chicks was directly correlated with the hatchability of the eggs. Similar results were obtained on rats fed the dried shell-free eggs in addition to a vitamin G deficient ration. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT FISH MEALS FOR CHICKS P. R. RECORD AND R. M. BETHKE, Ohio Agri-

cultural Experiment Station,

Wooster

The basal ration contained 20.0 to 20.S percent protein. The different meals were added in such amounts as to keep the protein content of the rations similar. In each series, one lot receiving a ration supplemented with meat scraps was used as a basis of comparison. In this work, as in previous experiments, it was found that on some of the meals the chicks developed a type of leg paralysis. With the exception of flame-dried menhaden meal, shrimp meal 1, and tuna meal, there was a significantly greater growth than that obtained with meat scraps. The cod and haddock meal produced the best growth. Salmon, pilchard, and shrimp meal 2 gave very similar results and ranked next to cod and haddock. Crab meal and menhaden steam dried rank next. Tuna meal was slightly lower than meat scraps in growth-promoting value. Shrimp meal 1 and menhaden flame-dried were decidedly lower in value than meat scraps in this trial. The poor results obtained with shrimp meal 1 are in part due to an excessive salt content. The percentage of leg paralysis encountered was high in the lots receiving shrimp meal 1, the two menhaden meals, and tuna meal. In the lots receiving salmon, pilchard, and shrimp meal 2, there was a small percentage of the disorder. No disorders were noted in the lots fed cod and haddock, crab scrap, and meat scraps. In order to determine the effect of adding 5 percent dried skimmilk to the rations containing the various meals, another series of experiments were started in which White Leghorn chicks were also used. In these trials one lot was fed a ration containing the fish meal alone as a supplement with a corresponding lot receiving in addition 5 percent milk. The protein content of the rations was equalized by reducing the fish meal content to compensate for the amount of protein added with the milk. The weights attained by the chicks receiving rations supplemented by fish meal alone were similar to those of the previous series. Likewise, the occurrence of leg paralysis was similar in both instances. The addition of S percent milk tended to equalize the growth promoting value of the meals.

No.

5

333

However, only those meals of lower value were increased significantly. Leg paralysis was completely eliminated by the addition of milk to those meals which caused its occurrence. A third series was planned to study the effect of replacing one-third and one-half of the meat scraps protein in a basal ration of meat scraps and S percent dried skimmilk, with the different fish meals. The rate of growth was very similar to that obtained when a ration of fish meal and S percent milk was fed. There was very little difference in the rate of growth obtained with the different meals whether one-third or one-half of the meat protein was replaced with fish protein. In all instances the substitution of one-third or one-half of fish meal protein for meat scraps protein resulted in significantly greater growth. The results of these experiments show that the fish meals commonly available on the market vary greatly in their nutritive value. This difference in value is in all probability due to a variation in the biological value of the proteins and in the vitamin G complex content of the meals as affected by the method of manufacture. CROOKED KEELS I N RELATION TO WIDTH OF PERCH C. S. PLATT, New Jersey Agricultural Station, New Brunswick

Experiment

Forty-eight S. C. White Leghorn cockerels, raised in batteries, were separated at eight weeks of age into four lots of 12 birds each. All of the cockerels appeared normal in bone and body development and had straight keels. Lot 1 was placed in a battery section containing a perch 3 inches wide; lot 2 in a section containing a perch two inches wide; lot 3 in a section containing a perch one inch in width and lot 4 continued without a perch. At the expiration of one week's time the birds were examined for the presence of crooked keels. Six of the 12 birds having access to the three inch perch had a slight curvature of the keel. Six of the 12 birds having access to the two inch perch had a more marked curvature of the keel, while the keels of 7 of the 12 birds in the section containing the one inch perch had a decided crook, similar to the letter S, The birds in the control section without perch maintained straight keels during the same period. A line test at the hock joint indicated normal bone development in random samples of three of the birds having decidedly crooked keels. The all-mash ration was as follows: 20 lbs. yellow corn meal, 20 lbs. flour wheat middling, 20 lbs. wheat bran, 20 lbs. pulverized oats, 10 lbs. meat

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scrap (55 percent protein), 10 lbs. dried skimmilk, 10 lbs. alfalfa leaf meal, 3 lbs. oyster shell meal, }4 lb. salt, S lbs. mica grit, and 1 lb. cod liver oil (natural-tested).

SCIENCE

GOSSYPOL, A CAUSE OF DISCOLORATION I N EGG YOLKS FROM HENS FED COTTONSEED MEAL P. J. SCHAIBLE, L. A. MOORE AND J. M.

MOORE,

Michigan State College, East Lansing THE INFLUENCE OF BATTERY BROODING ON SUBSEQUENT EGG PRODUCTION G. DAVIS BUCKNER, J. HOLMES MARTIN AND W.

INSKO, JR., University of Kentucky,

M.

Lexington

Experiments have shown that pullets raised in colony brooders, having access to sunshine and a grass range, and those that were raised in battery brooders for the first six weeks before being placed in the colony brooder laid more eggs during the pullet year and during the four winter months than those that were raised in battery brooders without direct sunlight for 22 weeks. During the first laying year the mortality was considerably greater in the pullets raised in battery brooders. However, the fertility and hatchability of the eggs produced by the hens in the three lots were practically the same. A CHICK NUTRITIONAL DISEASE DEMONSTRATING A FEED DEFICIENCY IN DRIED EGGS W. C. TULLY, South Dakota State College, Brookings In a study to determine the differences in feeding values of eggs, from hens fed a "normal" ration and from those fed 65 percent of "alkalied" grain, a nutritional trouble similar to that described by Ringrose, Norris, and Heuser was encountered. All eggs used in these experiments were dried in an incubator at a temperature never higher than 11S°F. Fifteen percent dried egg and five percent dried buttermilk were the chief animal protein supplements used. The nutritional disease appeared when chicks were approximately three weeks old and affected the mouth, principally at the junction of the upper and lower mandibles, and the bottom of the feet. Three percent of Yeast-Foam tablet powder (dehydrated yeast cells not autoclaved) when used with the above supplements increased growth, but had no effect in controlling the skin lesions. Five percent of similar yeast, or five percent yeast plus three percent meat scrap did not control this trouble. Eggs are rated an excellent source of vitamin G, while yeast is a most potent source, yet neither prevented the appearance of this pellagra-like syndrome.

In preliminary experiments it was observed that egg yolks from hens fed cottonseed meal, when placed in an atmosphere of ammonia, changed in a short time to an olive, brown, or chocolate color, depending on the level of this ingredient in the ration. Therefore eggs from hens fed various fractions of raw cottonseed or cottonseed meal were examined before and after this treatment and after storage at 30°F. from 30 to 60 days. Cottonseed meal, cottonseed meal autoclaved at 20 lbs. pressure for 4 to 24 hours, acid extracted cottonseed meal, ether extracted cottonseed meal, raw cold pressed cottonseed oil, crude and purified gossypol produced yolks that were naturally discolored or developed that way during storage at 30°F. or in the atmosphere of ammonia. The addition of ferrous sulphate to cottonseed meal rations markedly reduced this discoloration. Quercetin, cottonseed hulls, refined cottonseed oil, acid extract of cottonseed meal, and ether extracted raw cottonseed did not produce discolored egg yolks. Since free or bound gossypol is present in those fractions producing discoloration and absent in those not producing this condition these studies indicate that free or bound gossypol is a cause of discoloration in yolks of eggs from hens fed cottonseed products. GROUND OATS AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR WHEAT BRAN AND WHEAT M I D DLINGS IN RATIONS FOR CHICKS ROY

E. ROBERTS AND C. W. CARRICK, Purdue

University, Lafayette,

Indiana

Six experiments involving a total of 1,241 chicks have been conducted to determine the value of ground oats as a substitute for wheat bran and wheat middlings in rations for starting chicks. The basal rations used in the different trials contained 43 percent or more of ground yellow corn, a combination of IS percent of meat and bone scraps and 5 or 6 percent of dried milk or 12 percent of meat scraps and 4 percent of dried milk, 3 percent of alfalfa leaf meal, 1 percent or no salt, and a source of vitamin D when the chicks were reared in confinement. In five experiments the chicks were brooded in confinement on wire floors and in the other they were reared in colony brooder houses on litter with access to range.

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In these experiments ground oats have proved satisfactory as a substitute for bran and middlings during the first 8 or 10 weeks. There were only small differences in the weights of the chicks on the two rations. In some cases the slight advantage was in favor of the bran and middlings ration and in others in favor of the oats ration. No more feed was required to produce a unit of gain with oats than with bran and middlings. There was no difference in the mortality on the two rations. PHOSPHORUS PARTITION IN CHICKEN BLOOD AS RELATED TO DIET AND BONE MALADIES V. G. HELLER, BEULAH ZIMMERMAN AND R.

B.

THOMPSON, Oklahoma A. & M. College, Stillwater Attempts to correlate the inorganic calciumphosphorus ratio of blood serum and the occurrence of perosis in chickens are subject to criticism because the inorganic phosphorus represents only one-fortieth of the total phosphorus of the blood and also because this fraction is increased during coagulation and centrifuging according to the usual procedure owing to hemolysis of the cells and the action of enzymes upon organic phosphorus esters. Data are presented to show the phosphorus partition of the blood as affected by various diets and also to compare the blood of normal chickens with the blood of those afflicted with perosis. Skiagrams of the bone formations were presented to demonstrate that there is a faulty bone formation which is not cured by the usual vitamin treatment but by a phosphorus correction of the diet. THE INFLUENCE OF CEREAL GRAINS ON BONE FORMATION H U G H D. BRANION, Ontario Agricultural

College, Guelph A three years' study of the influence of cereals —corn, wheat, oats, oat groats, and barley has shown that these cereals influence the quality of bone formed during the first twelve weeks of life. Chicks raised on an otherwise apparently adequate diet but with ground yellow corn as the sole cereal grain have a high percentage of abnormal leg bones, including bending or bowing as well as slipped tendons or perosis. This condition has apparently no association with the antirachitic vitamin as now understood, nor directly with the calcium-phosphorus ratio, nor with the total min-

No.

335

S

eral content of the rations, although the latter, if excessive, apparently aggravates the condition. The constituent of corn responsible for the production of this abnormality has not been isolated, but the development of perosis can be prevented to a considerable extent by the inclusion of wheat germ, or oat hulls and germ, or of complete oats in the ration. Brewer's yeast has apparently no influence on the condition. Further experiments have indicated that a high protein intake, per se, is not responsible and that a chemical determination of total ash does not give a true picture of bone quality. Barley tends to produce a porous, spongy bone similar to that produced by corn, but crooked legs are seldom observed unless the mineral content of the ration is excessive. Cod liver oil tends to produce a better bone, judged by microscopic examination, than does irradiated ergosterol, even when the latter is supplied in sufficient amount to prevent rickets. PULLET MORTALITY D. C. KENNARD, Ohio Agricultural Station, Wooster

Experiment

Demonstration poultry-farm records of many states show that 40 to 60 percent of ready-to-lay pullets fail to complete the first laying year because of mortality and culls, many of the latter being removed because of anticipation of death. In seeking light on the causes and remedies of this situation, a 12-year survey of the mortality of certain groups of pullets was made at the Ohio Experiment Station. No birds were removed as culls in these tests. Results and suggestions offered .by this study follow: The principal causes of mortality, 1921 to 1928, were colds, roup, and bronchitis; whereas the primary causes from 1928 to 1933 were paralysis, leucosis, fowl typhoid, and cholera-like diseases. The average yearly mortality of pullet layers, 1921-1925, was 13.2 percent; 1925-1929, 38.4 percent; and 1929-1933, 55.5 percent. During the first 4 years, hens were, for the most part, used for breeders. From 1925 to 1932, pullets were largely used as breeders. Two tests were conducted with hens versus promiscuous pullet breeders. In test one, 1931-1932, first-year mortality of laying pullets from hens was 35 percent; from pullets, 60 percent. Paralysis in pullets from hens amounted to 12.5 percent; from pullets, 20 percent. In test two, 1932-1933, gross mortality in pullets from hens was 40 percent; from pullets, 60 percent. There was 16 per-

336 cent paralysis in pullets from hens, and 30 percent in pullets from pullets. Imported pullets from three different sources were compared with the Station's pullets. Three groups of pullets were placed in adjoining pens —in the first, the Station's pullets; in the second, the imported pullets; and in the third, SO percent Station and 50 percent imported pullets. The mortality of imported pullets was decidedly less, and they were practically free of paralysis. There seemed to be no evidence of transmission of the complications affecting the Station's pullets to the imported pullets. Since the imported pullets did so well, hatching eggs were secured the following year from the same source. The mortality of these pullets as layers was S3.4 percent, due largely to paralysis. This indicated that the diseases causing the high mortality of the Station's flocks were contracted, for the most part, during the brooding and growing periods and that susceptible pullets not exposed to these diseases until after 5 months remained resistant or immune. A four-point program followed by the Station proved successful in the rearing of ready-to-lay pullets in 1933. (1) Use of hens for breeders; that is, the survivals free of, or resistant to, the diseases which caused 40 to 60 percent of their sisters to die before the end of their pullet laying year; (2) Elimination of pullorum reactors; (3) Ample room for chicks and growing pullet (1 square foot floor space per chick); (4) Henway brooding—heated hover with cool brooder room (40 to 60 degrees when weather permitted). Results to 20 weeks of age: Mortality 8 percent, practically no paralysis. In contrast to this, during the 3 years preceding,

POULTRY

SCIENCE

there was heavy mortality of chicks and growing pullets; also paralysis appeared at an early date and was responsible for heavy losses among the growing pullets. In many instances it would seem that, temporarily, the simplest way to avoid the losses due to paralysis, leucosis, fowl typhoid, and choleralike diseases would be to discontinue brooding and growth of pullets and instead to purchase pullets 5 to 6 months of age which are supposed to be free of such complications. For a permanent solution of the problem, breeding, selection, and management to produce birds resistant or immune to such diseases seem most promising. RELATION OF TIME OF LAYING TO HATCHABILITY E. M. F U N K , University of Missouri,

Columbia

Hatching results with 16,839 eggs laid at different periods of the day during 1931, 1932, and 1933 were analyzed. Eggs laid in the afternoon showed a significant increase in hatchability over that of eggs laid in the morning. Holding eggs in an incubator at a temperature of 101 °F. for six hours immediately after laying and before the eggs were cooled did not significantly increase hatchability. An extremely cold week in 1933 caused a wide variation in hatching results with a significant decrease in hatchability of eggs laid before 9 A.M. A longer day, as produced by all-night lights, decreased significantly the difference in hatchability between eggs laid at different periods of the day in 1933 but there was apparently no such decrease in 1932.