SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



oompaied with what it has grown to be at the present day, 

 ,. the great change being due very largely to the work of fan- 

 ciers, so-called, in breeding to a standard, that is, to different 

 types and ideals, founded, as a rule, on the secure basis of 

 combined utility and beauty. By "fancy" in poultry is 

 meant, that which is pleasing to look at — the beautiful in 

 form and feather. By "utility" is meant size, vigor, color 

 or skin, egg production, etc., and the ability of a type to 

 reproduce in its progeny those qualities that are especially 

 desirable in market poultry. Persons who are not posted on 

 the subject of standard-bred poultry can have no idea of 

 what is meant when we say that there are over one hundred 

 distinct varieties of standard poultry, ranging in weight all 

 the way irom a few ounces in the case of bantams, to Mam- 

 moth Bronze turkeys weighing, in exceptional cases, as higii 

 as forty-five to fifty pounds. The writer once saw and lifted 

 a Mammoth Bronze turkey torn (gobbler) which weighed 

 fifty-two pounds. 



So far as egg yield is concerned, the average American 

 hen, as set forth by the census of 1890, lays less than 100 

 eggs per year. On the other hand, as a result of the work, 

 done by the intelligent fancier or breeder, flocks of lieg- 

 horns running fifty to a pen, including 600 fowls in all, have 

 been made to average 194 eggs in 365 days, while in other 

 cases smaller flocks consisting of from eight to twenty-four 

 hens have averaged, according to what were believed to be 

 reliable reports, from 220 to 288 eggs per hen in 365 days. 

 Many hen-men are disposed to dispute these last stated aver- 

 ages, but that is a common failing with mankind. That 

 which a man tries hard to do but fails to accomplish, he 

 is prone to deny when credited to others. A man whose" 

 hens lay only three or four clutches of eggs a year, and this 

 means the average farmer, will be as quick to dispute the 

 statement that 600 hens of any variety could possibly aver- 

 age 194 eggs per year as is the average man to dispute the 

 statement that eight White Plymouth Eocks ever succeeded, 

 in laying an average of 288 eggs in 365 days. . Possibly, just 

 possibly no eight hen ever did this, but we have enough faith 

 in mankind to recall a Biblical admonition to the effect that 

 the man who hath said in his heart all men are liars is — 

 mistaken. We leave this subject, for the time being, simply 

 referring the reader to a chapter in this book entitled 

 ' ' Feeding for Eggs, ' ' which gives an account of an actual 

 egg contest conducted by a well-known and highly respected 

 stock and farm paper, in which are given the results accom- 

 plished by six different pens of fowls, together with an 

 interesting and valuable account by the respective owners 

 of how these fowls were housed, fed and cared for. We also 

 call the reader's attention to a table printed in this book 

 entitled "Characteristics of Breeds." It will be of help to 

 investigators of the poultry subject when they come to select 

 the breed or variety they desire to handle. Suffice it to add 

 that in numerous well authenticated cases individual hens 

 have averaged from 200 to 230 eggs each per annum. 



THE STAIJDAED OF PEBFBCTION. 



The American Standard of Perfection, a book of some 

 250 pages, is often referred to as the national guide of poul- 

 trymen. This book is published under copyright by ^;ie 

 American Poultry Association, a national organization de- 

 voted to the advancement of the poultry industry. In this 

 book each class, breed and variety is set forth, and each and 

 every variety is described with great care as to size, form 

 and color, and every breeder is aiming to produce fowls freJm 

 year to year that will come as near as possible to the stand- 

 ard requirements; Wonderful progress has been made by 



intelligent and persevering breeders, and the choicest speci- 

 mens from year to year are placed on exhibition at the 

 annual poultry shows by the breeders themselves, or are 

 sold to other breeders for exhibition purposes. At these 

 poultry shows (some 300 or more of which are held every 

 winter in the leading cities of the country, in addition to 

 hundreds of poultry departments that are run in connection 

 with annual district, state or county fairs), so-called poul- 

 try judges, or men who are well versed in the standard re- 

 quireuieuts and who make a business of judging poultry 

 .either of what is called the score card, judge the fowls on ex- 

 hibition and -cash premiums or ribbons are given to the birds 

 that come nearest to perfection, that is, to the standard re- 

 quirements. Comparison judging, as it is called, is the pop- 

 ular method at the fall fairs, mainly from the fact that poul- 

 try at this season of the year is not in the pink of condi- 

 tion for exhibition purposes. The young stock is too young 

 to be in full feather and the old stock is in the molt, that 

 is shedding its old feathers and putting on the new plumage 

 with which to go into the winter season. On the other hand, 

 from November 1 to February 15, the season of the winter 

 poultry exhibitions, both the young and old fowls are in 

 fine feather and show up to best advantage. At these win- 

 ter shows the score card is generally used. We present here- 

 with a form of score card provided by the American Poultry 

 Association: 



A. P. A, STANDARD 



SCORE CARD 



Specimen Scored. Ps?.:l?\ igo6 



For. 



Reliable Poultry Farm 



Variety ;.Jy?M.?™^.'?».'?. Sex..., Cockerel 



Entry ....:rzz:.... Ring No. 7?£ Weight. .M.. 



..9:..4.:.^rv.' Judge 



This is a duplicate of an actual card made out for a par- 

 ticular bird belonging to the Eeliable Incubator & Brooder 

 Company, which scored 94% points, that is, in the estimation 



