140 



BREEDING 



than for the live weight, and about 50% greater than 

 for the plucked weight. This increase in the selling 

 price is due, of course, to the removal of the waste 

 parts and also to the labor entailed. The table furnishes 

 a guide to decide the price to be fixed on the plucked 

 or drawn weight of any grade of poultry. 



BREEDING 



The most important systems of breeding poultry for 

 exhibition are line breeding, inbreeding, strain breeding, 

 and cross-breeding. In any system of breeding, only 

 the best breeding fowls obtainable should ever be used 

 in the breeding pen. All fowls having defects should 

 be promptly discarded, even if this leaves only two or 

 three fowls in the breeding pen. Fully enough poor 

 specimens come from the best matings, and so few 

 good specimens come from matings in which either of 

 the fowls are defective that time and money is wasted 

 in such breeding. Only fowls having the proper size, 

 shape, and color required for the 

 variety can produce satisfactory 

 offspring. The plan of mating 

 fowls defective in one section 

 with other fowls having excel- 

 lent quality in the correspond- 

 ing section usually results in 

 the production of offspring hav- 

 ing not more than medium 

 quality in that section. 



Line Breeding. Line breeding 

 is a system of breeding from a 

 limited number of original 

 fowls, in which the fowls mated 

 SILVER LACED WYANDOTTE are not so closely related as in 

 inbreeding; line breeding is really a modified form of in- 

 breeding. Line breeding is often continued for a number 

 of years without the introduction of new blood into the 



