No. 4.] POULTRY CULTURE. 39 



produce exhibition cockerels. You have to have in double 

 mating one mating to })roduce sUmdard pullets, and another 

 to produce standard cockerels. Now, that is all caused by 

 the fact that man establishes a standard which is different 

 from the standard of nature. We can get as good birds by 

 breeding by the natural plan of single mating as we can 

 bv breeding according; to double mating. 



Ml". H. A. Turner (of Norwell). I come from the south 

 shore, which is noted as a good poultry section, but we do 

 not know it all yet. It seems to me that there are a good 

 many discouraged parties in our vicinity now, and, although 

 some are successful, others are not. I was talking recently 

 with one of my neighbors, who had been successful in rais- 

 ing a good many thousand chickens in a few years, and he 

 makes that a specialty. He tries in every way to find out 

 the best method of raising chickens, and he told me he had 

 three lots of chickens, recently hatched, that were dying 

 off like everything, and he didn't know but tliat they would 

 all die. Some succeed, and others fail and go out of the 

 business. I suppose that if all who go into poultry keeping 

 were successful, there would be very little profit in the busi- 

 ness. I wish to ask the lecturer if he thinks that the per 

 cent of incubator chickens is on the increase? Is life long 

 enough to find out how to raise chickens ? 



• Professor Brigham. I think the per cent of incubator 

 chickens is on the increase, but we are a long way awa}^ yet. 

 As to whether life is long enough to learn these things and 

 apply them, I think it is not. That is Avhy I advocate the 

 experiment station. One thing is certain, we have not 

 learned it all yet. 



One thing you have not brought out, and that is, that in 

 the first year one may be successful, while in the fourth 

 year success may be slight, if any. Y^ou will find that this 

 usually comes from keeping the chickens in the same quarters 

 without freshening the quarters. The south shore people 

 have learned this fact, and at times have nothing in their 

 pens but fresh sand and plenty of ventilation. Another 

 thing beginners learn by sad experience, and that is, that 

 they cannot breed lice and be successful in poultry keeping. 



