THE CALL OF THE HEN. 77 



ings from this type of head would not produce very fertile eggs, and the 

 progeny would deteriorate each year if they were bred from stock with 

 heads like this. If the parents were 200-egg type, their egg-yield and 

 vitality would be reduced each generation of breeding. If they were of 

 the beef type, their vitality and ability to produce flesh economically 

 would diminish with each generation. If they were a fancy type, the 

 breeder would be up against a stone wall of discouraging experiments. 



FIG. 40 Thumb even with forefinger; indicating she has prepotency small. (See 

 Skull No. 3, Fig. 35.) 



I would advise the reader to take special notice of Fig. 43, as this 

 cut shows the method of determining prepotency plainer than any of 

 the others. 



Fig. 41 shows a hen with prepotency full i. e., thumb l / of an 

 inch behind forefinger. Sometimes a poultryman will be lucky enough 

 to mate up a lot of pens of the right type for his purpose with heads like 

 Figs. 41 ,.42, and 43. His business prospers, and his neighbors call him 

 "lucky." While others are going bankrupt raising poultry, he holds 

 his own and is making a good living. Figs. 42 and 43 show a hen with 

 an excellent head for breeding purposes. The thumb in this case is 



