The Question Box. 1G5 



TLnwht"^ f T ° f VGrmin ' aBd nCVer pam P ered or °™^ 

 lhen when the show season approaches we have something to 



b mid upon, a sound, healthy structure that will not topple over 

 when we put the finishing touches to it. 



How is this all accomplished, you will say? Well, I will stale 

 a few facts Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the famous 

 yards of Mr. George W. Mitchell at Bristol, Conn. Mr. Mitchell 

 has probably the finest poultry houses in the United States. Every- 

 thing is arranged for the comfort of his fowls — or, I might say 

 his pets — the buildings are kept scrupulously clean, and the pens 

 and training coops are in keeping with his ideas. Electric lights 

 illuminated the buildings; not a speck of dirt was to be found any- 

 where that visitors trod or looked upon. He breeds Partridge 

 Cochins, and we all know he breeds only the best that his brains, 

 skill and patience can produce. I saw over 100 birds on the place! 

 They were youngsters and all roosted on a bed of sand, except the 

 more forward ones, and they had pens especially prepared for 

 them. Their roosts were but a few inches from the soft sand. 

 Now, here is where the development of the Cochin comes in. 

 Leaving aside the feed, they were handled as all Asiatics should 

 be — quietly and close to the ground. But this is only the kinder- 

 garten stage. As soon as they are in good feather, they are placed 

 in the training coops and taught to pose and to be handled. That 

 involves labor, but it wins many prizes. 



I remember Mr. George Purdue, the famous Light Brahma 

 breeder, once telling me: "You can feed and condition a bird 

 and bring him up to the height of perfection in a physical sense, 

 but he is not finished for the show-pen." That is true and I saw 

 it illustrated at a New York show some six years ago by the same 

 Mr. Purdue. The latter won a prize with a bird that, when the 

 judge touched him, posed like a statue and hypnotized the judge; 

 another bird, equally good, when examined, went to pieces. It 

 was a case of fine handling, and that is a part of the secret of 

 showing birds. 



The above are but general illustrations of what can be accom- 

 plished by proper handling; but there are natural advantages in 

 producing birds for the show-room that must not be lost sight of. 

 Many of us recollect the fine condition and wonderful plumage of 

 the turkeys Mr. " Fred " Crangle used to show when he was with 

 Fisher's Island Farm. Those turkeys were allowed to run among 

 the bay berry bushes to feast on the fruit, and when they were 

 corralled in the autumn they fairly glistened in the sunlight and 



