AMONG ANCONAS" 73 



The Last Lap 



AS soon as I conlcuded writing the foregoing chapters, which consti- 

 tutes our little iourney among Anconas, I handed the manuscript to a 

 friend whose advice is pretty good in matters of this kind, and asked him 

 to read it and criticize it. Of course I made a few changes which he suggested, 

 but what he said to me was something like this: 



"That's a very interesting little journey and you have done quite well 

 at telling the entire Ancona story without being scientific about it. It seems 

 to me as though this is going to comprise the world's leading text book on 

 Anconas for some years to come but this book doesn't seem quite complete 

 to me. You have painted very nicely the charm and beauty of Anconas. 

 You have emphasized conservatively but enthusiastically the absolute position 

 of leadership these birds occupy when it comes to egg yield. You have 

 pointed out one advantage after another and explained these merits so that 

 almost anyone could understand and appreciate them. 



"But it doesn't seem to me as though you have sufficiently emphasized 

 the general position of leadership Anconas are coming to occupy in the entire 

 poultry kingdom, nor have you stressed sufficiently how important it is that 

 thousands of poultry breeders throughout the country should recognize 

 that they are losing money, losing time and losing their patience and becom- 

 ing discouraged with chickens because of making the wrong start with the 

 wron^ kind of birds. 



"It almost seems to me as though it is intensely the common sense thing 

 to any man who owns poultry of any kind today, to sit down and write to 

 all of the leading breeders of Anconas and study into the merit of each respec- 

 tive strain and then, if he is thoroughly satisfied in his own mind that the 

 facts and reasons you have put down in this book, Mr. Sheppard, are correct, 

 let him stop losing money with poultry, let him stop losing valuable time, 

 let him stop losing his patience and courage, and start raising Anconas. 



"This will mean a decided economic gain in the country. It would en- 

 courage more suburbanites to raise chickens. Then, Mr. Sheppard, if you 

 could make the readers of this book realize the thrill of satisfaction and pleasure 

 it gives to receive a box from the express company marked 'Baby Chicks' 

 in great big type, eagerly take this package, cut the twine, raise the lid and 

 for the first time get a glimpse at beautiful, fluffy little baby Ancona chicks 

 lively as crickets, as soft and tiny and sweet as a bed of pansies and if 

 you could make them realize how simple it is with a little horse sense, to take 

 these baby chicks and successfully rear them and then carry the mental 

 picture a little bit further and make them see the low cost of breeding Anconas, 



