14 



SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



Bandy soil of the Pacific coast, they grow and thrive, and 

 sing and lay, bringing pleasure and profit wherever they ^re. 



The Silver Wyandotte is of medium size, the Standard 

 calling ior the following weights: Cock, eight and one-half 

 pounds; hen, six and one-half pounds; cockerel, seven and 

 one-half pounds; pullet, five and one-half pounds. One of 

 th« largest buyers -and shippers of poultry in the St. Louis 

 market says these weights are the most desirable for adult 

 fowls, and that poultry of that weight would always be as- 

 sured 'of top prices in any market in this country. As spring 

 chickens they are equally desirable. The chicks grow rapidly 

 arid feather out quickly, giving them a plump appearance. 

 At eight to ten weelcs they will weigh one and one-fourth to 

 one and three-fourths pounds; that is they will- dress at 

 these weiguis, making the very best of broilers. Their meat 

 is tender and juicy, and in this respect they surpass their 

 only rivals, the Ban>ed Rocks, for public favor. 



As layers of eggs they are in the front ranks. Their low 

 rose comb and medium sized wattles enable them to stand 

 the severe winter better than most breeds, and at the season 

 of the year when eggs are bringing the highest prices they 

 will lay mere eggs than any other breed under the same con- 

 ditions. They will get broody once or twice a year, but lose 

 very little time that way. They are naturally quiet and 

 gentle, but appear just a little more so when sitting. They 

 make no fuss, break no eggs, desert no nests, but just go_ on 

 attending strictly to business, and afterward rear their 

 young in a sort of " That 's-what-I 'm-here-f or " way. 



MATING SILVBK WYANDOTTES. 



The most interesting study in the poultry world is the 

 mating of birds to produce certain results, and in no breed is 

 this so much of a study as in the case of the Silver Wyan- 

 dotte. When they were first brought forth for public favor 

 we were aatisfiied with a Hamburg comb and narrow centers, 

 but later on the call was for a distinct Wyandotte comb and 

 for more open lacing. To produce such birds has required? 

 the experience and patience of the best breeders in this 

 country, and it is extremely gratifying to know that at next 

 winter's show we shall see better Silver Wyandottes than 

 have ever before been shown in this country. 



In mating for open lacing it is of the utmost importance 

 that the male bird be strong in that respect. The open 

 lacing should show the white center, shaped something line 

 an almond, but not quite so pointed. The black lacing 

 should encircle the white entirely — the stronger the black, 

 the better, as it will hold color, not fade in the "wash" 

 (molt). He should not only be open laced' in the breast, 

 but should also show this same characteristic in his back and 

 in his thighs clear up to the fluff, and the wing bars should 

 be clear and distinct. The under-color of the bird should 

 be slate or dark slate, as this as the color that will hold. 

 Birds with white or cotton under-color generally go to pieces 

 after the first molt, no matter how evently and clearly laced 

 as cockerels or pullets. 



In selecting breeders it is desirable to have them with 

 feathers free of mossy or frosty edging. This is a fault 

 hard to control and care should be used not to mate such 

 birds. We can never breed good Silver Wyandottes where 

 this fault is predominant in both sexes. 



It is very desirable to have birds with a clear, silver 

 white hackle and saddle, properly laoed, but such birds, with 

 all other sections good, are rare, and we are disposed to be 

 lenient where these sections are simply a little cloudy or 

 smoky, but most severely condemn the bronze or copper 

 color, or a streak of red or rust here. or there. The tail must 



be solid black in the male, and as much so as possible in the 

 female. 



I would also advise that close attention be paid to the 

 comb and eyes. The iormer should be of medium size; well 

 serrated, and shaped closely to the head, coming to a spike 

 point behind. A good Wyandtte comb is peculiar to itself 

 and adds materially to the beauty of the breed. The eyes 

 should be a bright bay. Pale blue or pearl eyes are quite 

 common in this breed, but they can be bred out with good 

 . cafe, and we hope to see less of them in the future. 



In conclusion, I should like to strongly recommend the . 

 use of only such breeders as are full standard weight. I do 

 not mean birds so large that they are unshapely, but a male 

 weighing seven to seven and one-half pounds, of square and 

 bldcky build, with a good broad breast and a broad back, 

 with legs set well apart. The female should be trimly built, 

 weighing five and ene-half to six pounds. She should be full 

 breasted and her back should be broad, with a slight cush- 

 ion. Avoid, so far as possible, the narrow breasted, narrow 

 backed, pinched tail, long legged birds. Such stock will 

 breed nothing but disappointment. On the other hand, use 

 birds sucii as are called for by the American Standard. Get 

 the best, start in right, and your anticipations will come 

 pretty near being realized, in my opinion, just a little more 

 so with Silver Wyandottes than with any other breed. 



HENBY STEINMESCH. 



LIGHT BRAHKtAS. 



A Grand Breed— Kind, Gentle, Productive, Profitable— Their 



Proper Shape, Color, Markings— Also How to Mate 



Them for Best Results. 



BY MR. H. S. BABCOCK, JUDGE. 



(Note— W here the Light Brahma is well known, we need 

 say little in its behalf. The standard weight of the hen of 

 this noble breed is nine and one-half pounds, while that of 

 the eock is twelve pounds. Think of it! They weigh like 

 turkeys. They are splendid table fowls, lay extra well in 

 the winter time, do not suffer from severe cold, and for home 

 use are unexcelled. We have handled no breed of poultry 

 with a greater degree of satisfaction than the Light Brah- 

 maa. Out of on^ hundred Light Brahma chicks that eom( 

 from choice stock, from eighty to ninety of them will make 

 good biras. Herein lies one chief source of the profit in 

 breeding Light Brahmas. Of this breed it may be said with 

 reasonable assurance that "like produces like." One objec- 

 tion to the Light Brahmas, as compared with some of the 

 smaller breeds, is their feathered legs, but owing to the 

 marked vigor of the chicks this objection is not a serious' 

 one. There is a gentleness about the properly treated Light 

 Brahma that wins the human heart. They respond to kind 

 treatment with evident affection. Like many another breed 

 they learn to know their friends and to trust them. They 

 will learn to respond to a name like a dog. We had 

 some years ago, an especially responsive yearling hen named 

 Rachel. She would come promptly when called by name, 

 leaving the flock at the far end of the yard. We ornamented 

 her with a blue ribbon and a silver bell tied 'round her neck, 

 and seldom failed to parade her intelligence before visitors.) 

 The typical Light Brahma, from the American point of 

 view, is a large fowl, with moderately abundant plumage, 

 the feathers lying much closer than in the Cochin. In fact' 

 along the back of the Light Brahma it is desirable that the 

 feathers should lie so smoothly as to suggest a back cut out 



