146 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



trap-nesting hens can be ruinously upset in a day by crossing 

 with an inferior male, that it would reflect upon our estima- 

 tion of the reader's intelligence to say more about it. 



I have found Leghorn roosters that measured ! 3 / 4 inches, 

 but they are rare and priceless. A good matured bird should 

 measure l l / 8 inches and a pretty fair one 1 inch. I would not 

 use one that measured less, if I could possibly help it. Many 

 fine-looking birds measure only 1 /z inch, but such ones will ruin 

 the offspring of the best layers and should be discarded, what- 

 ever their qualities in feather, tip of comb, or anything else. 



Now and then the objection reaches us that the high-type 

 roosters referred to cannot be found. I have found them, as 

 others have, and I believe there are nearly or quite as mariy in 

 proportion as there are of the 250 and above hens; but we do 

 not save all the roosters as we do all the pullets, and they are 

 correspondingly scarce among mature males. By selecting 

 always from large numbers of males before they are killed off 

 this objection will be largely and quickly overcome. 



The fact that males of this class can be selected is of it- 

 self a discovery sufficient to revolutionize the whole poultry 

 business without the examination of a single hen were time 

 enough taken; but the two together bring absolute and imme- 

 diate results. 



In the hands of a slightly experienced or an at all compe- 

 tent person the element of chance is entirely removed by this 

 method of selecting layers and males; and one is just as sure 

 of the results sought as that a hen will die if her head is cut 

 off. 



We ask but one thing: that judgment be withheld till 

 method be tried. If the tests are fairly conducted, there can 

 be no failure. 



Crude infringements and imitations of this discovery and 

 System as of everything else of value that has cost years of 

 investigating and experimenting are liable to spring up, but 

 the safety and economy of going direct to the fountain-head 

 need scarcely be suggested. 



Dated November 20, 1904. 



