The Business Hen. 



than the White, and lays a smaller egg, except some families which have 

 been bred for large eggs. The Brown is thought to be hardier than the 

 White, and with us seems to stand confinement better, and on the whole 

 will lay a few more eggs. The Brown Leghorn, however, is more difficult 

 to breed true to color, and makes a poorer carcass when dressed. The ob- 

 jections to Leghorns are the small size of some families, the large comb, 

 which makes them tender in Winter, and to some extent the fact that 

 the hens rarely sit, so that incubators must be used. The White Leghorns 

 make good broilers, but are too small to make the size of poultry known 

 as roasters. A prominent breeder of Leghorns, speaking of the profit to be 

 made in young White Leghorn roosters, says: 



"In eight weeks I can make these birds weigh 3i/^ pounds per pair. 

 They look like a squab and bring $1.50 per pair. They make a more 

 attractive broiler, are meaty and of high quality. It takes the heavier 

 breeds longer to mature; it costs nearly twice as much to house them, 

 and fully double as much to feed them." One argument in favor of Leg- 

 horns, for town lots, is that they occupy less space in houses. A house 

 that will comfortably house 40 Leghorns would be small for 25 Brahmas, or 

 30 Plymouth Rocks, while eggs are the cfiief consideration for town 

 poultry. As a rule eggs from the Leghorns are more fertile than those 

 from larger breeds. The young Leghorn hen shown at Fig. 1 laid a clutch 

 of eggs and hatched them before she was five months old. 



AMERICAN BREEDS.— This class includes such breeds as Ply- 



mouth Rocks, 

 Wyandottes and 

 Rhode Island Reds, 

 produced by crossing 

 older breeds and 

 selecting birds true 

 to a fixed type 

 through a number of 

 years. For example, 

 the Plymouth Rock 

 resulted from cross- 

 ing the Dominique 

 and the Java with the 

 Brahmas. It is also 

 stated that the Pit 

 Games were used to 

 produce this breed. 

 The Wyandotte came 

 from a non-sitting 

 ^iG. 2. A 237-EGG PLYMOUTH ROCK. breed on one side, and 



