34 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



such birds as of more than usual value in his breeding 

 pens. 



A prepotent male or female fowl may transmit pre- 

 potent quality to successive generations and numerous 

 descendents so that, in the course of time, it becomes 

 the leading characteristic of a variety or breed of poul- 

 try. 



Prepotency in the transmission of certain valuable 

 characters is the quality which causes pure-bred male 

 birds to be purchased so extensively for use in cross- 

 ing upon common farm fowls for the improvement of the 

 latter. 



Because a bird is purebred, however, one should 

 not conclude that it is necessarily and always pre- 

 potent. There are degrees in prepotency. More than 

 one bird of good) pedigree has proved that its family 

 characteristic of prepotency may become latent. Ac- 

 tual testing of a bird by use in breeding, will alone de- 

 cide what degree of prepotency is possessed. When 

 a bird is found to be especially prepotent in transmit- 

 ting to progeny a certain desirable quality, such as large 

 egg-production, rapid growth, early maturity, easy fat- 

 tening, typical plumage, etc., such bird should be care- 

 fully controlled and kept for breeding as long as prac- 

 tically possible. The possession of a very useful qual- 

 ity and of prepotency in its transmission to offspring 

 is the most valuable combination in poultry breeding. 



Correlation. It is possible to develop the prepo- 

 tency of a prominent quality to excess. For example, 

 rapid and long continued egg-production may be so 

 encouraged that the bird bends all her energies to the 

 exercise of this function, becomes unbalanced and ex- 

 hausts her vital powers to such an extent that death 

 ensues. On the other hand early maturity and tha 

 fattening quality may become so developed in a strain 

 of fowls that the breeding powers are eclipsed, the 

 internal organs become coated with fat, globules of fat 

 replace the egg-clusters in the ovary and fatty degen- 

 eration goes on until the heart fails and the end comes. 

 Thus if the exercise of one function is pushed to the 



