CHAPTER XIII. 
SOME POPULAR BREEDS. 
The agricultural interest owes much to poultry-fan- 
ciers. ‘Those who devote their attention to fancy poul- 
try are too often misunderstood by farmers as well as 
by others. As in many other cases where people devote 
themselves to some special pursuit—or hobby, as it is 
considered—the poultry-fanciers are generally looked 
upon as enthusiasts, who simply amuse themselves, with- 
out conferring any benefit upon the public; an error 
which does the poultry-breeder great injustice. In 
nearly every farmer’s yard may be seen either some pure- 
bred or some crossed fowls that are much superior to 
the ordinary run of ‘“‘barn-door” poultry. ‘The com- 
mon fowls may weigh three pounds at maturity, and 
may lay two or three dozen of eggs in the summer, and 
none in the winter. But the improved fowls, now kept 
by the majority of farmers, will reach an average weight 
of four pounds, and produce eggs, if not in the winter, 
at least very early in the spring, and continue late in the 
fall. The product of flesh and eggs is at least doubled. 
This result is due to the labors of poultry-fanciers, who 
have ransacked the world for new varieties, until per 
haps there are none worth having that are not now to 
be found in this country. 
No one can become a successful breeder of poultry— 
indeed one can hardly succeed in anything—unless he 
is an enthusiast; therefore enthusiasm, when usefully 
directed, is something to be commended rather than 
blamed. The profit derived by small farmers from 
poultry is usually an important item in their income. 
We therefore advocate the improvement of poultry 
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