256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



and exhaustively treated in former papers, l)y men of long 

 experience and recognized ability. At the request of your 

 Secretary I have attempted a plain, unvarnished tale, from 

 the stand-point of the average farmer. The notable exam- 

 ples to be seen all over this State, showing what men can do 

 when they put themselves heartily into this industry, are 

 proof positive of its value. The line of operations I have 

 attempted to outline will not give the returns secured l)y 

 these specialists ; but it will surely lead to results perfectly 

 satisfactory to him who patiently works out the problem. 

 There is money in the poultry yard, and it is not so much 

 a difference in breeds as it is in men. Breeds, as I have 

 attempted to show, are what men make them. Men make 

 themselves. Success here, as everywhere, hinges on earnest 

 effort, intelligent appreciation, and patient, i^ersistent appli- 

 cation. 



Men who reach out after the grandest possibilities, and 

 who labor earnestly and faithfully in any honorable occu[)a- 

 tion, will realize success. It is not in Arizona or Dakota, 

 but upon the farms of New England, that sure returns come 

 to him who applies himself to this chosen field, confomiing 

 his work to the demands of the day, keeping his ear open to 

 the calls of the market, throwing all liis energies into the 

 balance for better culture and improved breeds, and himself 

 being builded up in all the essentials of a noble life. 



QuESTiox. I would like to ask the speaker to give us a 

 little more in detail the history of the Plymouth Rocks. 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. They originated from several crosses. 

 It is claimed that three or four parties brought them out 

 about the same time. The cross was with the Hamburgs, 

 the Dominiques and the Brahmas. They appeared about 

 1865. The first exhibition of Plymouth Rocks was, I 

 think, in that year. 



Mr. Fuller of Lancaster. Is it a fact that more esrgs 

 can be produced by having male l)irds with the hens? 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. I don't think that makes so much differ- 

 ence as the food. Some of the most successful breeders that 

 I know of are not in the hal)it of keeping males with their 

 hens until perhaps ten days before the breeding season opens. 



