Selecting for Egg Production 149 



versa. From the laying record of an individual hen 

 it is quite impossible for any one to tell whether 

 its progeny will be good layers or poor layers.' 7 



However, the more conservative breeders are 

 still pursuing the methods that have been pro- 

 ductive of greatest good in the past. 



Americans look very much closer to the color 

 and feather markings than do the English. So far 

 as meat and egg production are concerned, the 

 English, without doubt, have the advantage. As 

 shown in a previous chapter, it is undoubtedly much 

 more difficult to develop two unrelated character- 

 istics to the highest state of perfection than to 

 develop a single characteristic. The Englishman, 

 therefore, who seeks egg production without special 

 regard to the color of the plumage finds it easier 

 to reach the highest state of perfection than does the 

 American who desires to breed fowls for egg pro- 

 duction and, at the same time, have them true 

 to feather. 



If one must select fowls for exhibition purposes 

 and breed them for fancy points, it will undoubtedly 

 be best to choose some solid-colored breed or va- 

 riety whose tendency to depart from the standard 

 color is not strong. It should not be inferred that 

 all solid-colored fowls are easy to breed true to color; 

 in fact, some of the so-called solid colors, notably 

 the buffs, are the most difficult to breed to perfection. 



The question of securing fertile eggs for incu- 



