BREEDS OF FOWLS. 57 



per head profit per annum ; and last, but not least, the banner 

 statement of Mr. Whitman in 1873. With fifty-one Leghorns, 

 which laid two hundred and seven eggs each, which he sold 

 for thirty-one cents per dozen, the cost of keeping the fowls 

 being $1.13 each, showing a profit of $4.04 per head, proves 

 conclusively that these small flocks pay much better with care 

 than do other farm stock. 



All the different breeds will pay a handsome profit if fur- 

 nished quarters suitable for their condition, and properly cared 

 for; and, generally, it is best for the breeder to make a 

 specialty of the kind his taste shall dictate. But with my 

 twenty years' experience with all the so-called thoroughbred 

 varieties, I am led to advise, that, taking into consideration 

 the individual merit and associate worth, the selections of Light 

 Brahmas, Leghorns, and Plymouth Rocks will be found to pay 

 the best for extra care. 



The Brahma is a superior winter layer, producing the larger 

 number of her eggs from October to May. As poultry, the 

 chicks have to be killed quite young, — say eight to ten weeks 

 old, as broilers; the most profitable time, as roasters, being 

 at eight months. This makes them late as poultry ; but to 

 make up for it in a measure, the virgin cocks are tender 

 enough for roasting: at even twelve to thirteen months, more 

 so than the native at seven and eight months, and in early 

 spring sell next in price to capons. 



The Plymouth Rocks are good average layers, and excel- 

 lent mothers, their special merit being that they are rapid 

 growers, and make fine poultry for summer and early fall ; 

 and so Ions: as the breeders are content to have them fill this 

 middle ground between the small and the Asiatic breeds, so 

 long will they grow in public favor, and remain one of the 

 three best breeds for the farmer's use. 



The Leghorns are a non-setting variety, and one of the 

 largest producers of eggs, being most prolific during the 

 warmer months of the year. Their chicks make nice early, 

 though small, broilers, and should be killed as such; for, as 

 roasters, their skin is tough and carcass too small, their chief 

 merit being in egg production alone. They are very quick 

 growers, many pullets commencing to lay at foiir months and 

 8 



