62 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



lem of developing meat qualities will command attention. 

 There is an inviting field here for the breeder, one that has 

 barely been touched upon in this country. Notwithstanding 

 the great consumption of poultry, there is only one reason 

 why this is not double what it now is : namely, the poultry 

 that goes to market has not been bred for market ; or rather 

 not much consideration has been given to market qualities 

 in breeding. An inspection of the poultry that goes to the 

 average city market amply demonstrates the fact that more 

 attention has been given to breeding for weight than to 

 amount of edible meat on the carcass. There is too large a 

 proportion of bone to meat. What the breeder should aim 

 at, is to increase the amount of edible meat on the carcass 

 without increasing its weight. To accomplish such result 

 would be a worthy achievement for American breeders. The 

 growing demand for greater perfection in meat qualities in 

 the fowl must be met, and one of the developments of the 

 poultry industry that is bound to come in a few years will 

 be a keen competition among poultry breeders to meet the 

 ideals for a perfect table fowl. 



PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN BREEDING 



Poultry breeding will never be a business of mathematical 

 certainties. The final result of the breeding must rest large- 

 ly on the skill of the breeder himself. In other words, poul- 

 try breeding is more of an art than a science. The success- 

 ful breeder, however, follows, consciously or unconsciously, 

 certain laws or principles that have been established or 

 proved by science. A brief explanation of some of these laws 

 follows : 



Heredity. The transmission of qualities or characteris- 

 tics from parent to offspring is controlled by the law of 

 heredity. Brahma chickens may be hatched from eggs of 

 the same size as Leghorn chickens ; the chicks may be the 



