86 POULTR?Y-CRAFT. 
not half that number could be kept. To many farmers the kind of poultry 
their stock makes is of little consequence, provided the hens lay plenty of 
eggs. For in many places where eggs are as good as cash at the grocery, 
marketing poultry profitably is, for a farmer who comes to town but once a 
week, and then has only a few hours in which to do a score of errands, a 
mighty troublesome problem. 
107. Fowls for the Village.— When fowls are kept on large village 
lots, farm conditions are reproduced on a small scale, and the considerations 
affecting the choice of a breed are nearly the same. Fowls that roam widely 
are more objectionable in these relatively narrow quarters than on a large 
farm, for here they are continually trespassing. A right minded poultryman 
will not permit his fowls to annoy his neighbors. When it is desired to give 
the fowls liberty as long as they remain ‘“‘ at home,” the Asiatic and American 
varieties are preferable ; an ordinary fence will keep them within bounds. If 
the fowls while confined can be given ample yard room, the additional cost of 
higher fences for the high flyers is not so great as to overbalance a possible 
preference of the poultryman for one of the sinaller breeds. 
108. Breeds for Close Quarters.— For a City Lot.— Nearly all 
varieties do well in confinement if well cared for. Because of their contented 
dispositions Asiatic are best adapted to close confinement. Nervous, restless 
fowls are more apt to acquire such vices as feather pulling and egg eating, and 
to cause trouble by frequently breaking bounds. Minorcas and Houdans will 
generally take more kindly to narrow yards than will Leghorns. Though 
‘contentment in confinement is to some degree a matter of training and habit, 
chicks that are reared in confinement are not fretted by it as are those which 
have had free range. 
Black and dark fowls are best suited to city lots, where there is much smoke 
and soot. 
109. Breeds for Fanciers.— The choice of a breed, or breeds, for a 
fancier must depend much on the nature of the pleasure sought. If it is the 
pleasure of possession of a uniform flock of handsome fowls, the novice-fancier 
should choose a well established variety easy to breed. He does not want to 
be obliged to rear a large flock in order to get a few that he will not be 
ashamed to show. The difficulties in breeding which made a variety objec- 
tionable to that one would make it suitable for another, who sought pleasure 
in the development of skill in producing rare specimens. A fancier who 
wants oddities can make choice of a variety much more easily than he can 
learn where to buy stock —so rarely are the oddities met in poultry yards. 
One who wishes a collection of a small number of each variety of a breed finds 
the breeds most numerously sub-divided just what he wants. Many find 
pleasure, and some profit, in the production and development of new breeds 
and varieties, or the development of new types of old varieties. This pleasure 
