BREEDING .161 



flock, but in such cases great care is taken to breed 

 from only the healthiest and most vigorous members 

 of the flock. To maintain the vitality of the flock, 

 only mature hens in their second or third year of laying 

 are bred from. The success of any work in line breed- 

 ing depends on the quality of the original fowls that 

 are selected as breeders, and the judgment with which 

 the later breeders are selected, both for their quality 

 and for their vitality. 



Inbreeding. Inbreeding is a system of breeding in 

 which the fowls mated are very closely related, being 

 direct descendants of a very few original fowls. In- 

 breeding differs materially from line breeding on account 

 of the closeness of the relationship of the fowls. The 

 best fowls produced each year are mated with breeders 

 of the previous season and with each other, even to the 

 extent of pairing brother with sister. Inbreeding is 

 carried on chiefly with a view to improving color in a 

 flock. Shape may be improved by this system of breed- 

 ing, but this is not usually the case. Loss of size 

 and deterioration of shape are undesirable features 

 that usually attend inbreeding, and the maintenance 

 of vitality is also a serious problem. The undesirable 

 consequences of inbreeding can be avoided only by the 

 most careful attention to the details of breeding and 

 to the selection of the breeding fowls. In most cases, 

 the introduction of new blood into the breeding stock 

 will be necessary. 



Strain Breeding. Strain breeding is a system of breed- 

 ing consisting in breeding fowls of one variety in line 

 for a number of generations from a few original fowls; 

 this breeding must also be conducted by one breeder, 

 or his successors. A strain cannot be said to be estab- 

 lished, even after three or four generations of breeding, 

 unless the indications are plain that the original fowls 

 selected for the foundation of the strain have been able 

 to transmit their characters through the series of gen- 

 erations, and also to cause the production of offspring of 

 better quality than themselves. 



