THE CALL OF THE HEN. 27 



the hen will be a paying proposition or not (this may depend 

 on your market) ; whether she will be able to transmit her 

 predominating characteristics to her offspring or not. Also 

 you must be able to judge accurately the value of the male 

 bird as to what you want him for and as to his ability to 

 stamp his offspring with the desired qualities. All the above 

 you can learn from this book. You should also know how 

 to operate incubators; how to feed and care for little chicks; 

 how your hen-houses should be built to suit your climate ; 

 how your growing pullets should be fed and housed; and the 

 best way to feed to get the most eggs at the smallest cost, 

 and how to feed and mate to get fertile eggs and vigorous 

 chicks. There are numerous books published on all of these 

 latter subjects that you can buy from the publishers of any 

 poultry paper; so we do not take up the matter in this work; 

 we give only what you cannot get elsewhere. 



Following is a series of half-tones and explanations 

 representing the method we have used in instructing hun- 

 dreds of poultrymen and women in California and other 

 States and the managers of poultry plants in a number of 

 State institutions in the State of California. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE VARIOUS STEPS IN THE APPLICATION OF THE METHOD 

 OF THE SELECTION FOR EGG-PRODUCTION. 



There are four characteristics that it is absolutely nec- 

 essary for a hen to possess for the economical production of 

 eggs or meat. The first is capacity, the second is condition, 

 the third is type, and the fourth is constitutional vigor. The 

 reader must bear the first three in mind in studying the next 

 few chapters, as we will dispose of these before taking other 

 matters into consideration. 



First. What Is Capacity? Capacity means the ab- 

 dominal capacity to consume and assimilate the amount of 

 food necessary to produce the number of eggs or amount of 

 meat necessary to make the individual hen under considera- 

 tion a paying proposition. We measure the capacity of 

 the hen by placing the hand across the abdomen between 



