THE CALL OP THE HEN. 131 



der is worth keeping; particularly is this true if the birds have 

 oeen well fed and stimulated to about their full capacity. No 

 hen of any value for egg production will have an egg in her at 

 this time and measure so small unless she is a slow, infrequent 

 layer at her best. Sometimes this kind of a hen with very 

 small measurements will be found laying an occasional egg late 

 in the season. 



SELECTING ROOSTERS. 



We have said how important it is to have males of the 

 right formation, to mate with the great layers for breeding 

 purposes. We need not emphasize this. It is so evident that 

 we can not trap nest a rooster, and equally so that years of 

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

 with an inferior male, that it would reflect upon our estimation 

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



I have found Leghorn roosters, that measured one and 

 three-fourths inches, but they are rare and priceless. A good 

 m-uured bird should measure one and one-eighth inches and 

 a pretty fair one an inch. I would not use one that measured 

 less if I could possibly help it. Many fine looking birds meas- 

 uie only one-half inch, but such ones will ruin the offspring of 

 the best layers, and should be discarded whatever their quali- 

 fications in feather, tip of comb or anything else. 



Now and then the objection reaches us that the high type 

 roosters referred to can not be found. I have found them as 

 ethers have, and I believe there are nearly or quite as many 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 al- 

 ways 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. 



