86 POUL TR r- CRA FT. 



not half that number could be kept. To many farmers the kind of poultry 

 their stock makes is of little consequence, provided the hens lay plenty of 

 eggs. For in many places where eggs are as good as cash at the grocery, 

 marketing poultry profitably is, for a farmer who comes to town but once a 

 week, and then has only a few hours in which to do a score of errands, a 

 mighty troublesome problem. 



107. Fowls for the Village. When fowls are kept on large village 

 lots, farm conditions are reproduced on a small scale, and the considerations 

 affecting the choice of a breed are nearly the same. Fowls that roam widely 

 are more objectionable in these relatively narrow quarters than on a large 

 farm, for here they are continually trespassing. A right minded poultryman 

 will not permit his fowls to annoy his neighbors. When it is desired to give 

 the fowls liberty as long as they remain " at home," the Asiatic and American 

 varieties are preferable ; an ordinary fence will keep them within bounds. If 

 the fowls while confined can be given ample yard room, the additional cost of 

 higher fences for the high flyers is not so great as to overbalance a possible 

 preference of the poultryman for one of the smaller breeds. 



108. Breeds for Close Quarters. For a City Lot. Nearly all 



varieties do well in confinement if well cared for. Because of their contented 

 dispositions Asiatic are best adapted to close confinement. Nervous, restless 

 fowls are more apt to acquire such vices as feather pulling and egg eating, and 

 to cause trouble by frequently breaking bounds. Minorcas and Houdans will 

 generally take more kindly to narrow yards than will Leghorns. Though 

 contentment in confinement is to some degree a matter of training and habit, 

 chicks that are reared in confinement are not fretted by it as are those which 

 have had free range. 



Black and dark fowls are best suited to city lots, where there is much smoke 

 and soot. 



109. Breeds for Fanciers. The choice of a breed, or breeds, for a 

 fancier must depend much on the nature of the pleasure sought. If it is the 

 pleasure of possession of a uniform flock of handsome fowls, the novice-fancier 

 should choose a well established variety easy to breed. He does not want to 

 be obliged to rear a large flock in order to get a few that he will not be 

 ashamed to show. The difficulties in breeding which made a variety objec- 

 tionable to that one would make it suitable for another, who sought pleasure 

 in the development of skill in producing rare specimens. A fancier who 

 wants oddities can make choice of a variety much more easily than he can 

 learn where to buy stock so rarely are the oddities met in poultry yards. 

 One who wishes a collection of a small number of each variety of a breed finds 

 the breeds most numerously sub-divided just what he wants. Many find 

 pleasure, and some profit, in the production and development of new breeds 

 and varieties, or the development of new types of old varieties. This pleasure 



