1890.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 241 



I venture this, that not one in one hundred can give any 

 adequate idea of the cost of keeping. The necessity for the 

 itemized account is not appreciated. It must be resorted to 

 in order for success to follow. Pencil and paper are tlie 

 first requisites for the practical poultry keeper. 



Towering far above the question of breeds is that of care 

 and feedino;. Our breeds are what we make them. Tliev 

 adapt themselves to their environments, and partake in 

 a marked decree of the traits and characteristics of their 

 owners. You have in Massachusetts a host of l)reeders who 

 have stamped their own individuality upon their breeds. 

 Any man acquainted with Light Brahmas could select a 

 Felch, Williams or Comey bird, if seen in California, before 

 it had adapted itself to its new surroundings. So long as 

 the controlling influence of these breeders was upon them 

 they told the "Story. To-day may be seen specimens of 

 Drake Plymouth Rocks, though he who fixed the type has 

 long been at rest. So I might run through the list and name 

 scores of breeders ; but this will suffice as an illustration of 

 my thought. 



Judged by the standards of the market for poultry and 

 eggs, discarding the so-called fancy issue, these men have 

 realized great things from their poultry yards. I do not 

 doubt Mr. Felch has secured two hundred eggs yearly from 

 individual Light Brahmas ; for no man can dream of the 

 possibilities of this industry until he buries himself in the 

 work, and with cautious steps looks carefully after all details. 

 The average of production is with the breeder, though the 

 hens produce the eggs. That is, the development of eggs is 

 dependent entirely upon the food question. What is an 

 eirg? It is an ounce and a half of concentrated food, made 

 up of lime, soda, sulphur, iron, phosphorus, magnesia, oil 

 and albumen. The hen is the mill to grind, the crop the 

 hopper, and the egg the grist. Feed the hopper, and the 

 grist will be forthcoming. I am aware that this is a very 

 business-like view ; but I am measuring the hen as a machine, 

 aiming to make clear the claim for profit in poultry breeding. 

 The great want everywhere is an appreciation of the laws of 

 feeding, and the digestibility and assimilation of food. Every 

 particle of the egg — yolk, albumen and shell — must come 



