CHAPTER XIII 



GENERAL INFORMATION 



NO matter for what purpose kept, the con- 

 dition of the adult fowls lies at the very 

 foundation of the success or ultimate 

 failure of a poultry plant If the hens are kept 

 merely to produce a large number of eggs, they 

 Healthy stock must be forced with this idea in view 

 is a Prime in order to yield maximum profits, and 

 Requisite no Qw j w jjj stanc j forcing unless in a 



condition of maximum thrift and vitality. If the 

 fowls are kept for breeding purposes, that is, to fur- 

 nish eggs for hatching, it is even more important 

 that their physical condition be of the best, because 

 here the laws of heredity play an important part. 



In selecting breeding stock, the most important 

 point to be looked after is to see that the fowls are 

 all perfectly sound and healthy ; it is not only essen- 

 tial that the fowls themselves be healthy, but they 

 must have been bred with a well-established habit 

 of health. To paraphrase a famous saying of 

 Oliver Wendell Holmes, it may be said that " the 

 physical training of a chicken should begin with 

 its great-grandparents " ; that is, if we are to pro- 



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