Dangers of Cross -Breeding 149 



upon a black one that is equally as well estab- 

 lished, is quite as likely to produce copper -col- 

 ored chicks as black or white, or a mixture of 

 the two. There seems to be a greater tendency 

 to reversion whenever violent crosses are made. 



There is a somewhat prevalent idea that if 

 a fowl that has certain good qualities be crossed 

 on one having other good qualities, the offspring 

 will have the good qualities of both. This is 

 a most serious mistake. In fact, the poor quali- 

 ties of both parents are even more likely to be 

 seen in the offspring than are the good qualities 

 of both. Some authorities state that the poor 

 qualities of both parents are more likely to be 

 seen in the offspring than the good qualities of 

 either. 



At the present time there is much controversy 

 over the influence of a preceding sire on the 

 offspring. Some breeders hold that in mammals 

 if a pure -bred female becomes pregnant by a 

 mongrel she is forever after incapable of bear- 

 ing pure -bred offspring. Poultry men, however, 

 do not hold such extreme views. It is doubtful 

 whether it has been clearly shown that the breed- 

 ing qualities of a pure -bred hen have been in- 

 jured by a previous mating. 



Cross-breeding has rendered a great service 

 in the formation of new breeds. The Plymouth 

 Rocks and Wyandottes are familiar examples of 



