FANCY POULTRY AS A PASTIME 109 
possible advantage and so will not force his breed- 
ing stock for eggs. He will, on the contrary, try 
to keep his hens in the best possible condition, so 
that the eggs will have a high percentage of fertility 
and produce robust youngsters. 
Matings should be made soon after the first of 
January and only a few hens kept with each male. 
While the utility poultryman may keep his fowls in 
a single large flock, the fancier will need several 
pens, so that it will be easy to keep his matings 
separate. It would be a calamity if occupants of 
the different pens should become mixed, even for a 
day. 
After the breeder acquires something of a repu- 
tation, he finds it an easy matter to sell his eggs 
for hatching purposes and at a much higher price 
than they would bring in the market. Hundreds 
of amateurs with no more than a local reputation 
have no difficulty in disposing of a considerable 
number at a dollar for thirteen. Indeed, if a man 
has a flock of particularly good looking hens of an 
attractive breed, he usually finds a local demand for 
hatching eggs, even though he does not pretend to 
be a fancier. Indeed, one dollar a sitting is com- 
monly paid for eggs from a strain bred solely for 
