262 AMERICAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION 



The chicks from both these lines must be toe-marked for 

 identification. The males and females from the one line must 

 be used for breeding cockerels and cockerel-breeding pullets; 

 the males and females from the other line for producing exhibi- 

 tion females and pullet-breeding males. 



Whenever it may be necessary to introduce new blood into 

 either one of these lines, the best hen that can be secured from 

 an outside strain that produces good specimens can be intro- 

 duced into the flock. She can be mated first with the male breed- 

 ing line and a clutch of eggs secured, which can be hatched and 

 reared by a mother hen. The best females produced from this 

 mating should be mated back to the male that produced them. 

 If good specimens of both male and female come from the sec- 

 ond mating, it will be safe to breed this new line into the cock- 

 erel line that has been established. From the same hen mated 

 to the best pullet-bred cockerel eggs may be secured and hatched 

 in like manner, and the best pullets from this mating re-mated 

 to the male that produced them. The offspring produced 

 from the second mating may be bred into the pullet-bred line. 

 (T. F. McG.) 



CHAPTER V. 



PLUMAGE DEFECTS AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM 



The influence of the Partridge Cochin that was bred years 

 ago into the Dark Brahma, and that of the Partridge Cochin 

 bred into the Penciled Wyandottes have cast their shadow over 

 the plumage of all American varieties of silver-penciled fowls. 

 Although the cross of the Partridge Cochin was made with the 

 Dark Brahmas almost fifty years ago, the shading of reddish- 

 brown continues to come into the plumage of both the male and 

 the female of the Dark Brahmas, and while there is much less 

 now than formerly, it still exists. 



The cross of the Partridge Cochin with the Penciled Wyan- 

 dottes came in the original process of the penciled varieties. A 

 female of the Golden-Penciled or Partridge variety was crossed 

 into the Silver-Penciled variety to improve color and markings. 

 This was the mistake that was made by one of the most success- 

 ful breeders, and the one who is credited really with the best 

 accomplishments toward the establishment of Silver-Penciled 



