16 THE CALL OF THE HEN- 



poultry papers give their experience for your benefit. That's 

 all. 



To further impress on your mind the difference between 

 poultry and other stock, I would say that while some in- 

 dividual cattle of the various beef breeds will not be a paying 

 proposition, the only safe plan is to select your feeders from 

 the beef family, and as some Jersey cows will not pay as but- 

 ter producers, still, as a breed, they are among the best for 

 that purpose. As some trotting horses do not make good, as 

 a rule they will carry you over the road in good time, and as 

 some draft type teams are not sure pullers, they are a success 

 as a class. 



The. same general laws apply to all animal nature. The 

 hen is no exception, only in this respect, that while cattle 

 and horses have been bred so that as a rule novices can select 

 the type they wish by selecting' the breed, hens have not been 

 bred that way. We have what purports to be egg breeds and 

 dual purpose breeds. The first are supposed to be a paying 

 proposition as a whole for egg production. The latter are 

 supposed to be a paying proposition for both eggs and meat 

 combined, some breeders claiming that their breed will give 

 you the very largest number of eggs per year, and the greatest 

 weigh. t of flesh all in one bird. Now these claims are mis- 

 leading. It is an utter physical impossibility for any hen to 

 be a t\ pical egg type and at the same time be a typical meat 

 type. It is against the laws of nature. We have the Leg- 

 horns, Mmorcas, Spanish, and a number of other Mediter- 

 ranean breds that are called egg type. While the truth is 

 that while they have been bred as best the breeders knew 

 how along the lines of egg production, you can find vast 

 numbers that will not lay eggs enough to pay for the feed 

 they eat. Great numbers in some flocks have all the char- 

 acteristics of the beef type and will lay about three or four 

 dozen eggs per year and some times not over a dozen. The 

 Plymouth Rock, Orpington, W r yandotte and Langshans are 

 classed as dual purpose breeds. That means hens that will 

 lay a medium number of eggs and give a good large carcass 

 for the table, and while this is true in a majority of cases, 

 1 have seen numerous specimens that laid over two hun- 

 dred and fifty eggs per year, while some would lay little 

 or nothing. In fact, while I have bred Leghorns for more 



