112 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



During the investigations of Professors Graham and 

 Rettger in Connecticut, while seeking the germ of white 

 diarrhoea, it was found, not only that the dead chicks 

 and the living chicks carried this germ, but that the 

 eggs also, and some of the breeding stock, were infected 

 with it. Some one said recently that he knew of 

 growers who, last year, lost as high as 1200 out of 1500 

 chicks hatched. I count it absolute folly even to hope 

 to succeed with poultry under such conditions; and as 

 absolute folly to expect to produce good chicks from 

 hens or eggs which harbor these destructive germs. 



Several years ago, Editor Robinson, in an article on 

 the waning health and productiveness of poultry, said 

 that some mysterious cause was at work, lowering the 

 vitality of our flocks in general, year by year. He 

 seemed to have no inkling as to the real cause; but I 

 do not think it is necessary to look farther than the 

 unnatural conditions under which very much of our 

 breeding stock is kept, to find this undermining cause. 

 It is exceedingly difficult, even with the best of han- 

 dling, to hold breeding stock in permanent confinement, 

 or to raise stock for future breeders in confinement, and 

 still to bring to maturity the best of vigorous, well- 

 grown progeny from such stock. It means the use of 

 every device known to make unnatural conditions to 

 approach the natural, and, in addition, it means con- 

 tinued selection for vigor and constitution. Theoreti- 

 cally, the great " first aid to the injured" would be fresh 

 blood from stock raised on juicy, fully nutritious range ; 

 but, practically, the fancier finds this too detrimental in 

 other directions. 



