382 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



half has not been told. I will consider (he subject iindei* two heads: 

 First, fancy breeding, and second, practical breeding. There are 

 many different plans for the breeding of fancy poultry which 

 have been followed out by dift'erent breeders, all of which have 

 been very successful. Some practice single matings, others double 

 matings and line breeding. T think I see the poultry fancier with 

 his flock of birds before him about to pick out his breeders for 

 the next year's crop. He stands scratching his head, realizing the 

 task he has before him. He selects his best male bird, and studies 

 his merits and defects. From past experience he knows that he 

 must select his females so as to "nick" (as it is called), with the 

 male bird, and by this means overcome, so far as possible, the weak 

 point? of one by the strong points of the other, and makes his selec- 

 tion accordingly. 



Several instances have come under my observation where breed- 

 ers, in trying to overcome some defect in their birds, would get some- 

 thing else as bad, if not worse. I have come to believe that the 

 best way to get a strain of birds that will produce a large per cent,, 

 of good birds, is in line breeding. But I also think that a breeder 

 must thoroughly understand his business in order to be successful 

 in line breeding, and would caution the amateur breeders to be care- 

 ful along that line, or he will lose the vitality of his birds. 



In regard to the practical side of poultry breeding, we find we have 

 a much larger class to deal with. While traveling in the Institute 

 work, in conversation with practical poultr}^ breeders, I found that 

 one of the greatest mistakes they are making is in the selection of 

 their breeders: A large number do not use select birds at all, but 

 simply gather eggs from the whole flock at the time w^hen they 

 wish to set. This is a very important point which I wish to impress 

 upon our Institute lecturers, that w^e should show the general poul- 

 try raiser the importance of breeding only from the best males 

 (as they are half the flock), and then using^only the number of the 

 best females that will give the desired number of eggs. We should 

 select only the early developing birds of standard weight, good, 

 healthy, active vigorous birds, of good form, with well developed 

 comb and wattles, a bright, keen eye, short, stout beak, good, 

 square head and short, stout legs, and to produce the best layers 

 the trap-nest should be used in the selection of our bi-eeder. Use 

 only the best layers for breeding, as like begets like. By this means 

 we maj' greatly improve our flock from year to year. In this way 

 I succeeded in getting a pen of twelve Silver Wj'andotte pullets to 

 lay an average of twenty-one eggs in the month of January and an 

 average of two hundred and thirty-seven for the year. 



In the selection of breeders, w'atch them from the time thev are 

 hatched. Give careful attention to their movements, their develop- 



