31 



The hens bred should be the best you have. Select the hens that 

 are active and look thrifty. Avoid the narrow-headed ones, and 

 those that are lazy and awkward. 



HOW TO MATE AND LINE BREED. 



To make the right start in building up a strain that will repro- 

 duce the good qualities desired, you should buy or select the very 

 best male and female you can find. For this purpose, we prefer a 

 cock and a hen, as they show whether they are able to retain their 

 good qualities the second year after being used one year as cockerel 

 and pullet. The best is none too good from which to start, and you 

 should breed from an ideal, as well as up to an ideal. Stamina and 

 vigor should be one of the first requisites looked for in the original 

 sire and dam. Line breeding is the only sure way to establish an ideal 

 or standard type and color. We should always mate from opposite 

 lines, and breed from those farthest away in relationship. 



The longer this system is followed in your breeding, the farther 

 and farther you get away from inbreeding and from the relation- 

 ship of the original sire and dam. 



HOW TO MATE YOUR PENS FOR FIVE YEARS. 



S. C. Rhode Island Red. 



If the instructions below are followed, they will aid you in your 

 line breeding. They show you just which pens to mate each year, 

 which pens to select your male birds and your females from for each 

 succeeding year, and also show you what the result of the mating is, 

 i. e., how much blood the offspring contains of the original male and 

 original female. \Ve feel that specific instructions like these are 

 much better, plainer and safer for the beginner than is a chart with a 

 lot of confusing lines, dots, etc., which makes the whole thing look 

 like a Chinese puzzle. It is necessary that you mark your chicks each 

 year and keep accurate records of each pen and its offspring. The 

 plan to follow is as follows : 



