266 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



sometimes obtainable in early summer at very reason- 

 able prices. The chickens raised from the eggs of these 

 birds the first year will be late hatched but should show 

 the quality of the stock. 



Well developed pullets may occasionally be bought in 

 the fall but are likely to be high in price. 



Good stock purchased at almost any season should 

 soon begin to bring returns in eggs. 



The experience of the first season in keeping the 

 fowls will be a good preparation for successful opera- 

 tions the following spring. 



If the poultryman has his buildings to construct, the 

 best season for starting is the early fall, unless the lo- 

 cality is subject to heavy or continuous rain storms. 

 Usually in the autumn the roads are in excellent con- 

 dition for carting the lumber. After the summer's heat 

 the lumber should be in dry condition. The early 

 autumn days are usually pleasant and sufficiently cool 

 for comfortable working. The houses become well dried 

 out, as they should be, previous to using them for shel- 

 tering fowls. 



If the poultryman constructs the poultry buildings 

 himself or wishes to aid, in their construction, he may 

 choose a season of the year for this work when he can 

 best attend to it. 



SELECTING THE BREED: The poultry keeper should 

 choose a pure-bred variety of fowls. Accurate descrip- 

 tions of the numerous accepted breeds are given in the 

 copyrighted Standard of Perfection published by the 

 American Poultry Association. There is ample oppor- 

 tunity for the choosing of a variety well suited to the 

 local conditions and the purpose of the poultryman. 



If the poultry keeper seeks to obtain eggs in large 

 numbers he will probably select some variety of fowl 

 of the Mediterranean class which includes the Leg- 

 horns, Minorcas, Black Spanish, Anconas and Ham- 

 burgs. Fowls of this class are naturally great layers 

 of white-shelled eggs and certain varieties and families 

 have been bred for egg production for a long time. 



