68 POULTRY CULTURE 



well grown and well developed for its age and kind, free from 

 serious faults, and of fair quality according to American Poultry 

 Association standards. The descriptions of breeds and varieties 

 in Part III will enable him to estimate the quality of stock with 

 sufficient accuracy for his purpose. He should on no account ac- 

 cept a bird that shows any indication of ill health. If buying 

 young birds, he should take only those that are full grown, espe- 

 cially avoiding birds said to be late hatched. Such birds are most 

 likely to be undersized specimens from early hatches. In any case 

 the novice should avoid the late-hatched birds ; some of them make 

 valuable breeders in their second breeding season, but they are of 

 little service during the first season. As a rule he will find it better 

 to buy near home, as he would buy a horse or a cow. The com- 

 paratively low cost of transportation for poultry tempts many to 

 buy at a distance, of breeders who advertise extensively, but one 

 is much surer of getting good stock of the kind under considera- 

 tion if he buys the best that he can find in his vicinity. Without 

 being extravagant the novice should be willing to pay a fair price 1 

 for suitable stock, not only because it is designed to be foundation 

 stock, but also for the following important reasons : 



1. He cannot do good work without good stock. An expert 

 may. Every problem of the poultry keeper is made more difficult 

 when the stock is weak or in any way unsuitable for the purpose 

 for which it is used. 



2. Rugged, vigorous stock will stand mishandling when weak 

 stock will not. With the best of intentions a novice is likely to 

 make some mistakes tending to the detriment of his stock. From 

 humane as well as from economic considerations the beginner 

 should select stock of great vitality. 



1 The price will depend much on the reputation of the breeder. A breeder 

 with no general reputation will often sell at a dollar each birds that could not be 

 bought from a breeder of wide reputation for less than five dollars. Those figures 

 fairly represent the range of relative prices. One who finds birds to suit him at 

 the lower price is fortunate, but if the low-priced birds do not suit, he had better 

 pay the higher figures and, if his means are limited, take a smaller number of birds. 



