The Business Breeds. ^ 



objectionable in damp or muddy situations. We are more likely to over- 

 feed the larger breeds, and make them too fat for good layers. The good 

 points of the Brahma are fairly stated by a leading poultryman as follows : 



"The Light Brahma is a very tame breed; will bear close confinement 

 and do well. They may be kept in a yard with a fence three feet high, 

 made of wire netting. The chicks will grow very fast; at the age of six 

 months they will weigh seven pounds, and will bring the highest market 

 price, because they have nice yellow meat and are well fattened. I sold 

 my chickens last Fall, and they brought me 18 cents per pound dressed. 

 I can fatten them up quicker than the lighter breeds. They are just thfe 

 breed for the city. They are one of the oldest breeds, and have come to 

 stay. They are good layers for Winter and Summer, good sitters and 

 mothers. For an all-'round breed they cannot be beaten. My objection 

 to the smaller breeds is that I live in a village and have not the 

 room. Any one who has little room ought not to keep Leghorns or the 

 like. They need more run, and more run means more feed. A breed 

 that does not run requires less feed, and that is the light Brahma." 



The Cochins and Brahmas have yellow legs and skin, while Langshans, 

 another Asiatic breed, have dark legs and white skin. There are many 

 other excellent breeds, such as Polish, Hamburg, Orpingtons, Redcaps, 

 Javas, Houdans and others. Some of them are profitable in the hands 

 of breeders who know and love them, but we do not class them here as 

 business hens. The Orpingtons are said to represent a cross between 

 the Langshans and the Minorcas. They are classed as excellent layers 

 and are gaining in popularity. They lack the yellow skin which is a 

 strong feature of the American breeds. The Dorkings are large birds, 

 fair layers, and good mothers, perhaps the first of all table fowls, but 

 not as hardy as others. The Games are active birds, and while of littk 

 value for business, when bred pure are often useful to cross with other 

 breeds, especially when the birds are to run at large on a farm. The half- 

 bred Games make good foragers and fair layers, and are able to defend 

 themselves against vermin . A half-bred Game hen has been known to fly 

 into the air and fight with a hawk in defense of her chicks. It is often 

 asked if the new colors which are constantly appearing in all breeds add 

 anything of practical value. It is safe to say that there is nothing in the 

 color of the plumage of any of the varieties (or strains), of the several 

 breeds that indicate superiority. The color is barely skin deep. Each 

 variety has its admirers, and each is claimed as something better than the 

 others. We have not found color to add merit to a breed, and the only 

 difference between varieties of the same breed is that the colors are not 

 alike. Breeds that are not very numerous are sometimes lacking in hardi- 

 ness by reason of being inbred, but this applies only to Javas, Dorkings, 

 Polish, Hamburgs, Redcaps, etc. 



