THE CALL OF THE HEN. 117 



In judging the poultry show at Inglewood the manage- 

 ment made the rule that all birds were to be judged according 

 to the condition they were in at the time they were judged, 

 and while this rule may be all right in judging the fancy bird 

 and the beef- type bird, it will never do for the egg- type bird, 

 as the reader will see when I relate an incident that occurred 

 during the show in Inglewood, which was held in March. A 

 gentleman had entered a White Leghorn hen that he had trap- 

 nested a year up to the previous November, and had her 

 record with him. The hen scored (as near as I can remember) 

 two ringers abdomen, two fingers out of condition, and 3 /16- 

 inch pelvic bone, and according to the rules of the show I was 

 obliged to give her credit for 78 eggs her first laying year, 

 when, according to his trap-nested record, she had laid 180 

 eggs. He said she had been sick and had just commenced 

 to improve shortly before he sent her to the show, and he 

 wanted to prove whether or not I could tell how many eggs 

 she had laid her first laying year. I told him I could not 

 tell how many eggs she had laid, but I could tell how many 

 she could have laid if she had been fed arid cared for right, 

 barring accidents and sickness; that her capacity was 190 

 eggs her first laying year. He then showed me her record, 

 which was 180 eggs. 



In the autumn of 1911 George D. Holden, ex-president of 

 the American Poultry Association, judged the fancy and the 

 writer judged the utility birds at the Pajaro Valley Poultry 

 Show, held at Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California. 

 In judging that show full credit was given each bird, both male 

 and female, as td what they were capable of doing, whether 

 in meat or eggs, and for prepotency, without any regard as 

 to how their owners cared for them or, in other words, 

 without regard to their condition. And the owners of the 

 birds who were interested in knowing were instructed how to 

 rectify any deficiency there may have been in the birds. It 

 seems to me this is the best way to encourage and develop 

 the poultry industry. I am sure the American Poultry Asso- 

 ciation could formulate a code of rules that would greatly 

 aid in judging utility poultry and thereby add greatly to the 

 interest of our poultry shows; in fact, I am advised that such 

 a proposition is being considered at the time I am writing 

 this (July 25, 1913). 



