SYSTEMS OF POULTRY FARMING 157 



of exhibitions. The breeding of fancy show specimens is 

 a business in itself, requiring special fitness, and when by 

 superior knowledge and skill in the mating of fowls the 

 breeder is able to produce specimens so near perfection in 

 exhibition points that others are willing to pay from $10 

 to $50 for single birds, he is not receiving more, probably, 

 than reasonable recompense for the labor and skill ex- 

 pended in their production. Prices as high as $500 and 

 more have been reported paid for single birds. 



The standard followed by the fancier is not altogether 

 based on points foreign to utility, but from the utility 

 standpoint the fancier's standard emphasizes too highly 

 many points of color and shape that have no correlation 

 with useful qualities. So long as the leading poultry shows 

 are judged according to this standard there will be a 

 profitable business for the fancier, who has the necessary 

 skill, in breeding prize-winning show specimens, even 

 though he may not find a strong demand for his stock from 

 the commercial poultry-keepers or farmers. 



When the fancy standard is brought more in line with 

 the utility viewpoint and show birds are judged more on 

 a utility basis, the fancier will readjust his breeding 

 practices and produce stock that is in demand not only in 

 the show room but on the commercial farm. The business 

 should then be more profitable and need not lose any of 

 its fascination. If this is not done a double standard will 

 be needed one for the purely fancy, another for the 

 utility. 



A Financial Statement. The following table gives the 

 actual results secured on three different types of farms in 

 the Willamette Valley, Ore., in one year. Similar types of 

 farms could be found in any state of the Union. 



Farm A represents that type of farming, mixed hus- 

 bandry, which produces most of the poultry and eggs of 



