The first year we mate A (White Leghorn cockerel) to B (White
Wyandotte hens) and produce C. In C we have first-cross pullets
and cockerels, each having half the blood of the mother and half the






blood of the father. The second year we mate the first-cross pullets
(C) to a White Wyandotte cockerel, and the result, E, is cockerels
and pullets having three-quarter blood. Now, by mating in the third
year E pullets, which are three-quarter blood, to F — a White Leghorn
cockerel — we get G, which are practically half-blooded stock or first-
crosses.
Abnormal Eggs. — There is no limit to abnormalities in eggs. I will
touch briefly on a few of them.
Blood clots in eggs are troublesome. They are usually caused by
the rupture of the blood-vessel in the ovary at the time that the ripe
ovum drops into the oviduct. This trouble is very common with
pullets when they commence to lay owing to the strain placed upon the
laying organs. A blood clot can easily be seen if the egg is tested in
front of a strong light. The red clot will be noticed to float on the
top of the yolk. A hen will sometimes lay what is termed a " bloody "
egg, the albumen being discoloured. Such eggs should be discarded
for marketing purposes and the layers should receive a strengthening
medicine, which should be the case with all egg-abnormalities. Some
hens have a tendency to produce these eggs, in which cases it may be
wise to kill the birds.
