SECTION II . 



THE EXHIBITOR'S PART 



CHAPTER I. 



EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR SHOW 

 HONORS. 



CHAPTERS upon this topic are generally written under 

 the title of "Selecting for the Show Room," but selection 

 is always accomplished by examination; in reality it is 

 the result of several examinations from different angles, the 

 candidate for show honors passing successfully through at 

 least four successive examinations before it is finally crated 

 and shipped to the show room, where it is to undergo final 

 examination at the hands of the official arbiter, whose decision, 

 should it be final as it usually is, will determine whether this 

 particular specimen was worth while, or whether it was a 

 "misfit" in that particular select company, and whether your 

 energy was well directed or misspent. Chances of misdirected 

 effort or of selecting to little purpose increase with com- 

 petition, but so do also the benefits you derive from winning 

 in such competition and in such proportion as the competition 

 is keen. Your interests demand that misdirected effort in all 

 directions be as far as possible eliminated. That basic law 

 of success is just as applicable when selecting for the show 

 room as at any other time and in any other place. To select 

 wisely and well, your best candidate means much to you and 

 something to the poultry-loving public. To you it means the 

 saving of labor, expense and perhaps chagrin. To the public, 

 the elimination of poor and mediocre specimens means a better 

 impression and increased interest, attitudes worth cultivating. 



The Processes of Selection. The process of selection of 

 show birds as it is practiced by the experienced exhibitor, if 

 analyzed, consists of four steps : the candidates are quite loosely 

 selected, then examined closely, and carefully and critically 

 compared one with another, after which the selection by casual 

 observation is confirmed or rejected. 



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