THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



been numerous for at least a year before I had 

 any for sale. So the first year there was 

 no occasion even to advertise. An article writ- 

 ten by A. A. Brigham for the Young Poultry- 

 man of Rhode Island in 1899 was so helpful 

 to me that I asked for and received permission 

 to quote it at length: 



" INBREEDING 



" ' Breeding in and in ' is a term which sig- 

 nifies the breeding together of animals of close 

 consanguinity, but the closeness of blood re- 

 lationship is not defined. The idea is to fix 

 and concentrate any desirable quality by breed- 

 ing together closely related animals possessing 

 that quality. It is always easier to find one or 

 two animals possessing the desired character 

 in a marked degree than to find a whole flock 

 possessing the same quality, e. g.> every pen of 

 fowls has its 'best bird.' 



" If, then, we would seek to develop a 

 family, flock, or breed possessing the proper- 



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