THE CALL OF THE HEN. 39 



is of the nervous temperament. The hen which uses one- 

 half of her vitality in producing eggs and the other half of 

 her vitality in producing meat in other words, the dual- 

 purpose hen is a combination of both the sanguine and 

 bilious temperaments and is called "the hen with the sanguine- 

 bilious temperament." The hen that produces the largest 

 amount of flesh and the smallest amount of eggs consistent 

 with her capacity is of the lymphatic temperament. 



In a fowl all the different temperaments and their differ- 

 ent degrees of combinations are indicated by the pelvic 

 bones In the horse they are indicated largely by the breed. 

 The Arabian, the ideal running and trotting horse, is a good 

 type of the nervous temperament, the coach horse is a good 

 type of the sanguine-bilious temperament, and the Clyde is 

 a good type of the lymphatic temperament. In cattle we 

 have a good example of the nervous temperament in the 

 Jersey, and of the lymphatic in the beef family of Durham, 

 also Hereford and Polled Angus, while the Holstein and 

 Ayrshire cattle are good types of the sanguine-bilious com- 

 bined. 



I have made this deviation so I could offer to my poultry 

 friends this thought: that there are certain laws in Nature 

 that have no regard for our theories, and the better we under- 

 stand these laws, the less liable we are to make mistakes. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CAPACITY. 



In the preceding chapters we have given the reader an 

 idea of the method we use in judging the value of a hen for 

 the purpose we wish her for. In the succeeding chapters we 

 will explain the method in detail. 



First, we will take up "Capacity." 



Fig 12 shows a hen with only one finger capacity ( 3 /4 

 of an inch) between the two pelvic bones and the rear of the 

 breast-bone. 



Fig. 13 shows a hen with two fingers capacity (I 1 / 2 

 inches) between the two pelvic bones and the rear of the 

 breast-bone. 



