10 



THE PEOPLE S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 



In giving our own, and the opinions of others on the general principles of 

 breeding and mating fowls, it will not be out of place to give here an illus- 

 tration and description of 



THE DIFFERENT POINTS OF A FOWL, 



go that the reader may be able to name them, and judge therefrom, in his 



selection of stock for breeding 

 purposes : A, Neck-hackle ; B, 

 Saddle - hackle ; C, Tail; D, 

 Breast; E, Upper Wing Cov- 

 erts ; F, Lower Wing Coverts ; 

 G, Primary Quills ; H, Thighs ; 

 I, Legs ; K, Comb ; L, Wattles ; 

 M, Ear Lobe. 



SELECTION OF COCKS AND HENS 

 FOR BREEDING PURPOSES. 



A desirable thing in breeding 

 is the selection of the cock. This, 

 as all should understand, is a very 

 important matter to be looked 

 after ; another is the proper pro- 

 portion of hens to be given to 

 the cock. To breed a good fowl 

 of any kind requires thought, skill, observation and study. The cock in all 

 cases should be of good size, perfectly healthy and vigorous ; carry his head 

 high, and have a quick, animated look, a strong and shrill voice; the bill 

 thick and short, the comb of a fire red, bright color ; a membraneous wattle of 

 a large size, and in color resembling the comb. He should be broad-breasted, 

 with strong wings ; the plumage dark, the thighs muscular, and spry and 

 trim on his legs ; free in his motions ; crow often, and scratch the earth with 

 constancy in search of worms, not so much for himself as his mates ; when 

 he is brisk, spirited, ardent and clever in caressing them, quick in defending 

 them, attentive in soliciting them to eat, in keeping them together in the 

 day, and assembling them at night, he will prove as a general thing, just the 

 bird to breed from. The good qualities of hens, whether intended for laying 

 or breeding, are of no less importance than those of the cock. The hen is 

 deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal love. When her passion 

 of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed by the failure or separation of her 

 own brood, she will either go on sitting, till her natural powers fail, or she 

 will violently kidnap the young of another fowl, and insist upon adopting 

 them. But all hens are not alike. They have their little whims and fancies, 

 likes and dislikes, as capricious and unaccountable as those of other females. 

 Some are gentle in their manners and disposition, others are sanguinary ; 

 some are lazy, others energetic almost to insanity. To succeed in the matter 



