6 



a different breeder each season, where some care is taken as to 

 general vigor and type, will generally give fairly good results as far 

 as visible characteristics are concerned, because one is practically 

 producing in a more or less degree the first cross. This plan 

 must, in most instances, be continued. 



Where one desires to make a product quite distinctive it will 

 usually best be done by inbreeding the crossbred strains, 

 watching for the divisions, selecting the individuals which meet 

 the ideal and then inbreeding these. 



The perfect specimen probably does not exist, hence, ordi- 

 narily speaking, one is forced occasionally to introduce new 

 blood. This is best done by means of a new female, and then 

 trying the offspring sparingly until such times as you get what 

 you want. 



Our pedigrees indicate that the male has much more to do 

 with the pullets laying than does the female. It is, therefore, 

 obvious that we should buy and select males from good laying 

 hens that have been mated to good males, and I would con- 

 sider it worthy of a trial to buy the new males annually from 

 some one reliable breeder year after year so long as the resulting 

 offspring is satisfactory. 



Where eggs are wanted, especially during the first year of the 

 hen's life, it is of importance to select birds, particularly males, 

 which mature to nearly the desired weight at about five or six 

 months. Closely associated with this, in our experience, is the 

 question of early feathering over the back. Slow back feather- 

 ing generally means slow maturing, which in turn is late laying. 

 Our best layers usually begin la^'ing at five, six or seven months 

 of age. 



The next side of the triangle refers to environment; that is, 

 age of stock, housing, feeding and range. These conditions 

 must be first class. 



Late-hatched pullets seldom mature early enough to lay 

 during the period of the high prices of eggs, neither do yearling 

 hens commonly lay as well during the period of high prices as 

 early hatched pullets, and hens two years old and over pay only 

 as special breeders. Our records show, yearly, that birds that 

 lay well during the winter are equally as good layers for the 



