240 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



ten pounds, or producing twelve to thirteen dozen eggs 

 yearly, is not an accident. She has been evolved out of the 

 brain and hand of man, through centuries of breeding. 

 Place before the mind's eye a selected representative of any 

 breed, and then try and imagine what was the type when 

 only the wild bird existed, and through what stages of 

 development the flocks have been rising since man was given 

 dominion over the beasts of the fields and fowls of the air. 

 Left to their native state, the product would be only what 

 was necessary to perpetuate the species, as seen in the quail 

 and partridge; but man — restless, unsatisfied, aspiring 

 man — began the work of subjugation. There came to 

 him, in the caves and fields, dim visions of what might be ; 

 and he began building upon this foundation, and through 

 the ages has labored patienth^ and persistently, until we have 

 entered into all the fruits of the past. Why, the horse, cow, 

 sheep or hen of to-day is a monstrosity, when viewed in the 

 light of even fifty years ago. 



No man breeding for possible profit can realize the most 

 unless he seeks continually to come into a knowledge of the 

 growth of the centuries. Present standards are not fixed. 

 The law of reversion is underneath ; and, unless we put our- 

 selves into the work, and by steady application seek to ad- 

 vance, there is sure to come a falling away from the full 

 measure of what otherwise might be ours. Hence the claim 

 is made that here is the corner-stone upon which we must 

 build, and evenj breeder must come into a knowledge of the 

 principles involved. The great law of compensation per- 

 meates everything, and in the poultry yard w^e receive in 

 proportion as we give. The large per cent of profit possible 

 to the breeder is contingent upon a knowledge and observ- 

 ance of certain conditions, the first being this one of heredity. 

 Success is not an accident ; and to you engaged in poultry 

 breeding, I want to present this one underlying thought as 

 of supreme importance. Know the steps leading to present 

 standards, and patiently labor to improve. Observing these 

 in all their details, it is possible for any breeder to realize, 

 from every hen kept, a net profit yearly of two dollars per 

 head, at prices realized in the market during the current year. 

 To substantiate this, let us consider first the egg question. 



