POULTRY-CRAFT. 63 



70. Relative Merits of Pure Bred Fowls. It was said of situation 

 that fowls could be kept wherever men could live. It might be said of the 

 different varieties of fowls, that there is hardly one that could not be made 

 commercially profitable even by market poultrymen and farmers. People 

 who keep fowls for profit want not profit merely, but the greatest possible 

 profit. The common experience of poultry keepers has sifted from the great 

 number of varieties the few which with ordinarily good care and housing will 

 yield the largest and surest returns. These are usually spoken of as the 

 " practical breeds." It will be seen as the varieties are described that often a 

 single feature makes a variety objectionable for some purposes. This point 

 will be considered more fully in the next chapter. It is mentioned here that 

 the reader may keep it in mind when making comparisons of varieties. He 

 will thus better understand how it is that the money making ranks of some 

 excellent varieties are lower than their merits seem to deserve, and why it is 

 that of two varieties nearly equal in average merit one may be very much 

 better adapted to some special purpose than the other. 



71. Terms Explained. A few terms used in describing varieties need 

 explanation. 



Fowls are often classed according to 'economic qualities, as *' egg breeds," 

 " meat breeds," " general purpose breeds." Such terms describe the prom- 

 inent characteristic of the common type of a breed, and indicate the purpose 

 for which flocks of the breed are commonly kept. Of so-called " egg breeds," 

 the most typical examples are Leghorns and Minorcas ; of the " meat breeds," 

 there are three distinct types represented by the Brahma, the Dorking and the 

 Cornish Indian Game ; of " general purpose breeds," Plymouth Rocks and 

 Wyandottes are familiar illustrations. It must not be thought that fowls of 

 the * 4 meat breeds " are not good layers ; or that good poultry cannot be pro- 

 duced from the egg breeds; or that " general purpose breeds" unite in 

 perfection all the good qualities of domestic fowls. The " general purpose 

 fowl" is a combination fowl of a type intermediate between the "egg " type 

 and the Brahma "meat" type. General purpose breeds combine a high 

 degree of excellence as egg producers with great merit as table poultry, and 

 especially with adaptability to being fitted for the market at any time after 

 reaching broiler size. Some breeders of Brahmas and Cochins breed fowls 

 which for profitable egg production crowd the best " egg breeds," and some 

 breeders of the Mediterranean varieties prefer a type of fowl which is easily 

 made profitable as poultry. Thus the choice of breeds is not always as 

 limited as the general descriptions would imply. 



Very hardy is applied to the breeds best able to resist exposure and 

 unfavorable conditions. Hardy is applied to breeds which under ordinary 

 conditions are generally free from disease. Fairly hardy is used to describe 

 breeds requiring a little extra attention to keep them free from disease. 

 Rather delicate, delicate, and very delicate, are used to express, as nearly as 



