CHAPTER II 

 ANALYZING THE DIFFERENT BREEDS 



Best Breed. — No inquiry comes to hand more frequently than : 

 "Which is the best breed of fowls?" "Which variety of chickens 

 is the most profitable?" 



These and similar questions are entirely pertinent ones, of 

 course, yet none are so difficult to answer, except at great length, 

 accompanied by much explanatory matter. I have always held 

 that there is no one BEST breed of chickens. And I am still of 

 the same opinion. 



To be sure, there are best breeds for a particular purpose, and 

 there may be superior breeds for a given locality, also, there are 

 varieties better suited to a special taste for ornamental fowls; 

 but, these qualifications make the subject more or less specific, 

 which is the only way that it can be discussed intelligently. Let 

 us consider it from this impartial standpoint. 



Standard Varieties. — It may surprise the layman to learn that 

 there are upward of no standard and a large number of non- 

 standard varieties of chickens. See Table V. By non-standard 

 breeds is meant those that are well established, but not as yet 

 admitted to the American Standard of Perfection, which is the 

 authority on poultry in this country, just as the American Kennel 

 Club is the authority on dogs. The American Standard of Per- 

 fection is a very illuminating work, by the way, gotten up by the 

 American Poultry Association, and should find a place on every 

 poultryman's bookshelf. No fancier should attempt to raise 

 fowls for exhibition purposes without this authority, and even 

 for commercial ends it will be found decidedly helpfoil. 



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