202 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



and they fatten well for a table bird. They are also excel- 

 lent layers. 



There are three varieties of Orpingtons; white, buff, and 

 black. They are beautiful to look upon, having fluffy feath- 

 ers somewhat looser than the American breeds. They have 

 a single comb, but it is not large and thus not exposed to 

 the cold. 



Improvements. Probably the most desirable improve- 

 ment to be sought on the farm is strong, healthy birds with 

 a maximum of egg production, especially during the winter 

 months. There is no reason why as great an improvement 

 in egg production should not and may not be secured by the 

 poultry keeper as the dairy keeper has secured during the 

 past few years in the production of milk. The dairyman 

 found out that a large proportion of the herd did not pay 

 for their feed. The same is true with poultry. Weak, un- 

 healthy birds are always the centers of disease, because 

 poultry is kept in larger numbers and the individuals are 

 not so directly under the eye of the keeper. There is more 

 danger of starting diseases in a flock than there is with other 

 kinds of domestic animals. By weeding out the unhealthy 

 birds one may be saved much loss and disappointment. 



The relative value of feeding and breeding in egg- pro- 

 duction. If we regard fowls, as we do our other domestic 

 animals, as machines whose business it is to convert as profit- 

 ably as possible the produce of the soil (the feeds) into high- 

 class, desirable, animal products, then, first, it is to the inter- 

 est of the poultry keeper to make sure that his machine is 



