We will now discuss the various methods by which a bird can be judged as to her egg laying ability. No one sign can be relied upon, but the different signs taken together should form the final judgment. One can usually tell something about the bird by her general habits. The good layer is a busy hen. She is happy, singing, and not as afraid of the attendant as is the loafer. As this hen usually eats more than the non-layer, she is usually found busily scratching in the litter for the food material with which she makes her eggs. The good layer is always the first off the roost in the morning, and the last one to go to roost at night. Watch out for the timid, crafty hen that stays on the outskirts of the flock. She is lazy, inactive, and the quicker she is sent to the butcher, the better. Another very good aid in forming judgment as to the ability of the birds, is to go around the roosts at night, after the birds have all gone to roost. Feel of their crops. The good layer that has been working hard to get together food material for her eggs will have a full crop, while her lazy companions, that are not so interested in producing eggs, will have a fairly empty crop at this time. Little items such as I have mentioned here will tell considerable about the ability of the birds. It is a fact that there are any number of birds in America that lay only a few dozen eggs per year, but are kept the year round, because the owner has had no way of knowing the producers from the non-producers. As has been already brought out, the heavy layers molt late. Often they continue laying up until October and November. If you have hens nearly naked of feathers in October or November, just rest assured that these are your most profitable birds, and that they did not quit laying to put on a pretty coat of feathers in the middle of the summer. You should mark these birds in some manner, so that you can use them as breeders for the coming winter, because, if they are mated with a cockerel, that is the son of a good layer, your strain will be greatly improved, because these birds will transmit their laying ability to their offspring. A good laying hen will have a long, broad, and deep, rectangular body, with top and bottom lines parallel. This large sized body is essential to the hen, so that she will have sufficient room to digest enough food to make her eggs. A broad back is also necessary for proper room for the reproductive organs that make the egg. The head of the good layer is always of a healthy appearance. The good layer has a short stubby beak, or bill, and gracefully curved, as compared to the long shapeless bill of the loafer. The eyes are prominent, and stick out similar to a shoe button, rather than sunken in. The combs and wattles are red, and not pale, as in the non-layer.