Egg-Laying

Mt Benger Mail, 1 April 1914, Page 4

Egg-Laying

THE LATEST THEORY

LONDON, February 13

Great interest attaches to the latest claim of the Mendelians which is to be able to eliminate the hens which do not lay well in winter (writes the London correspondent of the Christchurch Press). Dr. Pearl states that he has found two pairs of factor? operating. He found thai the two recessive factors were concurrent with the production of no eggs in the winter season, that when either dominant was present under thirty eggs were produced, amd that when i.oth don'inants were present over thirty eggs were produced. But he found that, in addition one of the recessive iaciors w a s coupled with femaleness, so lliul every good laying hen must always hand on a low-laying factor to hci daughters. The way out of this difficulty is in breeding only from males carrying the factors of nigh l.tying pure. The breeder's problem is to detect cockerels and them breed from them. That the characteristic of a pun' highest-grade male is that all his daughters are maximum-grade- layers -eeins to be the road to Mich detection. Where ten pullets have all turned out lavers of more than thirty eggs in the v'lnt'T following their toming to the tayinf nge, the cook bird should be of very great value.