54 



THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



When I came to Petaluma, I found whole flocks of thousands of 

 hens with crooked bones; now they are very rare. The poultry breeders 

 soon caught on to my straight-and-thin-pelvic-bone idea; and I think 

 the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should recognize 

 my services in relieving millions of hens of the agony of parturition. 



The reader will please bear in mind that Fig. 34 represents 100 

 per cent pelvic bone and holds the same relation to pelvic bones in gen- 

 eral that a bird that scores 100 in the showroom holds to all other high- 

 class birds. 



A 250-egg type cock bird or cockerel with pelvic bones like Fig. 

 34 would be of inestimable value. The writer has cock birds like the 

 above that he would not part with for any money, for the reason that 

 it would take several years' breeding to produce their equals. 



FIG. 34 Most perfect pelvic bones, "C, C." Hens with pelvic bones like this 

 will lay about 20 per cent more than those having bones like Fig. 33. 



If the reader has male birds whose pelvic bones are far enough 

 apart that he can grasp the ends with thumb and finger when measuring 

 the thickness, he should be satisfied until he can do better. 



So long as the pelvic bones are comparatively straight after leaving 

 the frame and do not curve abruptly toward the ends, the birds may be 

 used as breeders, with the assurance that some of the offspring will 

 show a wonderful improvement in this respect. Figs. 32, 33^ and 34 

 are extreme cases. 



