THE CALL OF THE HEN. 65 
ings from this type of head would not produce very fertile eggs, and the 
progeny would deteriorate each year if they were bred from stock with 
heads like this. If the parents were 200-egg type, their egg-yield and 
vitality would be reduced each generation of breeding. If they were of 
the beef type, their vitality and ability to produce flesh economically 
would diminish with each generation. If they were a fancy type, the 
breeder would be up against a stone wall of discouraging experiments. 
Fic. 40—Thumb even with forefinger; indicating she has prepotency small. (See 
Skull No. 3, Fig. 35.) 
I would advise the reader to take special notice of Fig. 43,.as this 
cut shows the method of determining prepotency plainer than any of 
the others. 
Fig. 41 shows a hen with prepotency full—i. e., thumb '/, of an 
inch behind forefinger. Sometimes a poultryman will be lucky enough 
to mate up a lot of pens of the right type for his purpose with heads like 
Figs. 41, 42, and 48. His business prospers, and his neighbors call him 
‘ucky.’’ While others are going bankrupt raising poultry, he holds 
his own and is making a good living. Figs. 42 and 43 show a hen with 
an excellent head for breeding purposes. The thumb in this case is 
