In the season of 1910 The Corning Egg Farm made a very interesting experiment, in a large way, so far as late hatching goes. We incubated two large batches of eggs, the first being set so that the chicks hatched from the 18th to the 26th of July; the second batch completed incubation August 15th. The resulting pullets from these two hatches were some fifty odd over twelve hundred. We carried them on Range until December 1st, and then placed them in a Laying House by themselves. They had not begun to lay on Range so far as we were able to discover, although many of the pullets had the appearance of eggs. Almost from the start, after they were placed in the Colony Houses, we fed them, in addition to the regular Range ration, a good supply of Sprouted Oats each day. This was done for the reason that of course the succulent green food had passed away, and we consider it of vital importance that growing birds be given the opportunity to gather a large supply of succulent green food. The records show that within three days after the pullets were placed in the Laying House we began to gather from one to three eggs a day. Before December was over the house was producing 10%; January saw 35% output of eggs, and before February was very far advanced we were doing better than 60%. There was a time in March when the House was yielding a 75% output. [Illustration: SPROUTED OATS CELLAR] These birds laid strongly all Summer, and we were interested in noting when they would start to moult. We had seen the statement made a number of times that late hatched pullets were very late moulters. In our experience, however, this did not prove to be true, for this pen of birds moulted at just about the same time, and in the same proportion, as the earlier hatches did. We had frequently seen it stated that birds hatched in the very last week of August, or the first week in September, would produce eggs at the same time that the June hatched pullets would begin to produce them. Our experience with June hatches, and we have had four years of it, disproves this statement absolutely. We find that the June hatched pullet, properly cared for, comes in quite as rapidly as those hatched in April and May. We do not wish to go on record as advocates of July and August hatching, but we simply wish to show what could be accomplished if a Breeder met with some misfortune, and was compelled to hatch late or not at all. CHAPTER X Succulent Green Food--Satisfactory Egg Production Impossible Without It A goodly supply of green food is necessary to all birds, the growing chicken as well as the yearling hen, for it is a great aid to digestion, helping to properly assimilate all foods as they are taken into the crop, and passed through the great grinding mill of a chicken.