PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 53 



or the pair of birds that laid the foundation of the line depending 

 entirely upon the number of generations produced and the mode 

 of breeding. 



In-Breeding and Line^Breeding. The terms "line-breeding" 

 and "in-breeding" are often confused or misunderstood. From 

 the foregoing, it will be understood that line-breeding may be 

 in-breeding or may not. In case that the line is built upon the 

 foundation of the blood of one pair of birds, line-breeding is 

 in-breeding. Line-breeding may be practiced without in-breed- 

 ing in its broadest sense by using blood of the same lines that 

 is but distantly related. 



In-breeding might be described, strictly, as the breeding of 

 related birds, or birds that trace back to a common ancestor, 

 but whether that is in effect in-breeding or not, depends entirely 

 upon the closeness of such relationship. In-breeding in the mind 

 of the average poultry breeder consists in mating the parent with 

 the progeny, or the progeny of one common parent, at least, 

 together. 



Injudicious In-breeding. There exists, without a chance for 

 denial, a tendency among poultrymen to in-breed as long as the 

 desired characteristics are maintained; and, if the desired char- 

 acteristics are but "hobbies" of the breeder, the pleasure of pro- 

 ducing these sometimes so blinds his perceptive faculties that 

 he fails to notice defects so grave in character that they nullify 

 the excellent qualities to which he has become wedded. This 

 fault in such an instance must not, however, be attributed to the 

 systems of in-breeding or line-breeding, but to the blindness of 

 the breeder as to these faults. 



Stud-Matings. Stud mating or stud breeding is practiced 

 sometimes to prevent the male from consorting too much with 

 favorites to the neglect of the other females, and sometimes to 

 obtain as many chicks as possible from a male of more than 

 average quality. The result of this neglect, in the first instance, 

 is to restrict the number of females actually mated, and in the 

 second, is an unnecessarily large proportion of infertile eggs. 

 Stud-mating assures the impartial distribution of the male's 

 powers of reproduction. A larger number of females may be 

 fertilized by the same male by following this method, which is to 

 allow the male and each female to mate only at stated intervals. 

 In order to thus restrict the number of services each female shall 

 receive, the males and females are kept separate, and at given 

 intervals the females are placed in the male's pen or yard, one 



