30 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



Pure-bred, thoroughbred, and standard-bred. A pure-bred 

 animal is, strictly speaking, one having the blood only of the 

 variety to which it belongs. From what has been said of the 

 making of breeds and varieties it is plain that absolute purity of 

 blood is not a universal attribute of well-bred domestic birds. 

 A thoroughbred animal is one that is thoroughly bred for some 

 purpose or to some type. A standard-bred animal is one that 

 is bred especially to conform to requirements agreed upon by 

 breeders and exhibitors. 



A great deal of misapprehension and confusion in the use of 

 these terms has been caused by the attitude of those who main- 

 tain that the term " thoroughbred," having been used as a name 

 for highly bred running horses, cannot properly apply to any 

 other kind of live stock, and that "pure-bred" should apply to all 

 thoroughly bred races. The noun "Thoroughbred" is the name 

 of a breed of horses. The adjective "thoroughbred" is com- 

 mon property. Writers on aviculture who wish to be accurate 

 prefer it in many instances to " pure-bred " because absolute 

 purity of blood is rare and is not of the importance in breeding 

 that novices usually suppose. Not only are many new varieties 

 made by crossing, but in long-established breeds out-crosses are 

 regularly made to restore or intensify characters. 



To illustrate the use of the three terms in application to a 

 single breed : A stock of Light Brahmas might be kept pure 

 for half a century, yet at the end of that period might have 

 changed its type entirely. It might be so deteriorated that it was 

 worth less than common mongrels ; yet it is pure-bred stock. An- 

 other stock of the same variety might be bred for table qualities, 

 egg-production, and the same principal color-characteristics of 

 the variety, but without attention to the fine points of fancy 

 breeding. Such a stock is thoroughbred but not standard-bred. 



