FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 415 



In mating^ my pens I choose a strong, well developed and vigorous male 

 with a short, broad back, full breast and as near the ideal Wyandotte shape 

 as possible, bay eyes and white plumage. Whatever defects the male may 

 have I try to overcome in the progeny by mating him with females espe- 

 cially strong in his defective sections. The comb is an important section and 

 we want the best one it is possible for us to get. I prefer to mate birds with 

 good shaped combs a little larger than medium in size. I know that several 

 successful breeders advise against this practice, but my observation has 

 taught me that females with combs a trifle larger than medium, as a rule, 

 lay more eggs than their sisters with the smaller combs, and besides if you 

 breed from the small combed specimens you are likely to get a large per 

 cent of single combed disqualified birds. 



In conclusion, I would say to the beginner that there is merit in every 

 breed in the standard, and each breed has its enthusiastic supporters as well 

 as its calumniators and detractors. There are '' boosters" and '' knock- 

 ers " in Poultrydom as well as in other avocations. Select your breed care- 

 fully, get the best stock you can afford, learn everything you can about 

 them, mate your pens to the best of your ability, treat your customers fairly, 

 and success will wait upon your efforts. Do not be led off by the extravagant 

 claims of the optimistic ' ' boosters " nor discouraged by the calamity howl- 

 ing of the pessimistic '' knocker." 



LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT WITH POULTRY. 



Wallaces' Fanner. 



Raising chickens has been looked upon as too trivial for a man's work. 

 Few farmers devote any time to it. The chickens are left to the good wife 

 when she can look after them, and to their own resources when she can't. 

 The fact that fowls have paid at all under such conditions as surround some 

 flocks goes to show that with proper conditions they can be made one of the 

 most profitable resources of the farm. It is the little things that count for 

 success or failure. 



The poultryman must have the roof mended before the rains come, he 

 must treat the hens and chicks for lice before they begin to droop, he must 

 kerosene the roosts before the hens are driven to the floor by mites, he must 

 provide shelter for chicks on range where they can run in from the sudden 

 shower, he must either have shrubs and bushes for shade or he must grow 

 sunflowers and rape. He must not omit a meal of the baby chicks and then 

 give a meal to gorge them; he must not give very cold water to baby chicks, 

 neither must he give the flocks access to the water from the ice cream 

 freezer. If he feeds at 7 o'clock in the morning on week days be should 

 either feed at 7 o'clock Sabbath mornings or scatter grain on the floor Sat- 

 urday night. Fowls are creatures of habit; regular feeding is one of the 

 essentials. 



