PRINCIPLES OF POULTRY BREEDING 87 



ing. The subject of inbreeding is a much debated one, and 

 until there is a better and more perfect understanding of 

 its effects the debate should continue. It is unquestionably 

 a most important problem. 



There are those who steadily maintain the ground that 

 inbreeding is necessary to breed improvement. It is prob- 

 ably true that most of our breeds of poultry, as well as of 

 live stock, were largely inbred in the making. It may be 

 open to doubt whether this was not largely due to cir- 

 cumstances or to the fact that in the making of new breeds 

 there were not at hand two or more families unrelated by 

 blood lines from which to draw upon, rather than to the 

 merit of the system itself. 



It is undoubtedly true that close breeding or inbreeding 

 has been a costly blunder, and it is playing with a danger- 

 ous weapon when inbreeding is held up to poultry breeders 

 as always desirable or necessary. It is a problem that can 

 be solved only after long experiment, and it appears to the 

 writer that the data is not at hand upon which to base final 

 judgment. In the meantime a common-sense view should 

 be taken by the breeder, which should prompt him to avoid 

 close breeding and suggest that where it seems necessary to 

 fix or maintain some desirable characteristics, the breeding 

 together of distant relatives may possibly be practiced to 

 advantage. 



The purpose of the breeding should be considered in 

 discussing the effect of inbreeding. The evil effect of in- 

 breeding may not 1*3 apparent in the form or beauty of 

 the fowl, but may result in reduced vigor and lower breed- 

 ing power. It may show in the egg yield, in the fertility 

 of the eggs, and in the vigor or mortality of the chicks, but 

 not necessarily in the type or prize-winning qualities. 

 Again, it may be possible to breed a larger proportion of 

 prize winners through inbreeding than by outcrossing, but 



