PRINCIPLES OF POULTRY BREEDING 75 



Wright says, * ' There can be no doubt that too close inter- 

 breeding has greatly injured the Spanish fowl, and that not 

 only size, but also constitution and prolificacy have been 

 sacrificed to the white face alone. ' ' 



Other examples could be given where close breeding for a 

 fancy point has removed breeds from the arena of practical 

 poultry-keeping. The Buff Cochin is another that now gets 

 little consideration from practical poultry breeders, largely 

 because it has been sacrificed by close breeding to the fad of 

 profuse leg feathering. The Brahma has been similarly in- 

 jured. The Plymouth Rock was in danger from the fad of 

 giving the prize to the bird showing the best barring, other 

 points being given slight consideration, but owing to its 

 wide distribution on the farms of the country and to the fact 

 that there were enough breeders to ignore the extreme de- 

 mands for barring, it has not suffered as some other breeds 

 have. 



The present popularity of the Rhode Island Red is largely 

 due to its vigor, which came from its outgrowth origin, and 

 it would have been better, as McGrew intimates, if many 

 other breeds had been bred on the same plan. 



' ' The effects of too close interbreeding on animals, judg- 

 ing from plants, ' ' says Darwin, ' t would be deterioration in 

 general vigor, including fertility, with no necessary loss of 

 excellence of form." That is, there will be a loss in vigor, 

 but this may not be evident in the form or appearance of 

 the fowl. 



1 'The evidence convinces me," he says again, "that it is 

 a great law of nature that all organic beings profit from an 

 occasional cross with individuals not closely related to them 

 in blood." Again, "The crossing of varieties adds to the 

 size, vigor, and fertility of the offspring. ' * 



Edward Brown, in "Poultry-Keeping for Farmers and 

 Cottagers," says: "Recrossing very largely remedies this 



