AMONG ANCONAS" 33 



A Few Remarks on Poultry Breeding 



ONE could write a book on the subject of Poultry Breeding, and then 

 not tell the whole story. It is a subject which is intensely inter- 

 esting because it is difficult to pin it down to cold, unchanging facts and 

 hold it [there. Just as you have some theory or other very comfortably es- 

 tablished in your mind, something happens that proves you were all wrong. 



We usually think of the scientific breeding of poultry as a more or less modern 

 practice. Yet it seems to be a fact that the ancients must have known some- 

 thing of the principles of breeding and followed them else how can one ex- 

 plain the distinct and different breeds which existed centuries ago? At 

 the beginning of the Christian Era the Romans possessed six or seven breeds. 

 The semi-barbarous natives of the Philippine Islands about fifty years ago 

 had no less than nine varieties of the game fowl. Darwin says that "not 

 only careful breeding but actual selection was practiced during ancient periods 

 and by barely civilized races of men". All that would have been necessary 

 he points out, was the occasional destruction of inferior specimens and the 

 occasional preservation of the best birds. 



I do not believe that poultry breeding has ever been, or will ever be, a 

 business of absolute mathematical certainty. The final result of the breed 

 ing is dependent upon the element of chance, and will probably always be 

 thus. Of course, the skill of the breeder also exercises a large influence, but 

 successful poultry breeding is more of an art than a science. The breeder 

 is bound by certain proved "laws", but always there is room and opportunity 

 for individual initiative and exceptional skill. 



The transmission of qualities or characteristics from parent to offspring 

 is controlled by the law of Heredity that like begets like. This, however, 

 is not an absolute Truth, for no two individuals are alike. Male chickens 

 all crow, but no two crow exactly alike. Most female chickens lay eggs, 

 but not only will they vary in size, shape, color but some will lay 300 eggs 

 a year, others will lay 3. 



We can discern here another law that of Variation. It is this variation 

 that spells Opportunity for the breeder who is constantly on the alert to 

 improve his strain. It gives him a chance to progress. 



