COCKER S MANUAL. 23 



besides these which must be considered as well as plumage, althougk 

 it is one of the main objects in judiciously mating for breeding to 

 feather, yet we have other well known points that we must not over- 

 look but have an eye on form, size, vigor and action, as while we are 

 breeding to feather none of these other qualities should be lost sight 

 of Select only your best birds, mate them carefully for color, avoid- 

 ing as much as possible breeding brothers and sisters together, keeping 

 our selected stock closely by themselves. By carefully following the 

 course suggested you will succeed in getting a larger number of chick- 

 ens of the right color and the more valuable for breeders. 



BREEDING IN-AND-IN. 



It has long been a disputed point whether the system of breeding 

 in-and-in or the opposite one of crossing had the greatest tendency to 

 maintain or impvove the quality of the breed. Both systems we find 

 here have able and earnest advocates, each confident of being in the 

 right. As a general thing in-and-in breeding is not looked upon in 

 this country with as much favor as in England, still we now and then 

 find some old cocker who perhaps brought with him a trio or pair of 

 some favorite breed of games, and has kept breeding them together 

 ever since in order to keep his breed pure, and to his sorrow he gives 

 them up as worthless for fighting. There has been much written upon 

 this subject the past season. We find one English breeder of some repu- 

 tation holding to it as if it were his only hope, showing how it worked in 

 animals, why not the same in game fowls ? No doubt they can be in- 

 bred for a number of years, but in doing so intelligence on the part of 

 the breeder is required, also great care and study in the selection of 

 his breeding stock. It is almost impossible nowadays to obtain a breed 

 of games pure. You will find when you breed them that they have 

 one or more crosses, and sooner or later this will show itself, and yet 

 this in-and-in breeding will produce bad results when practiced by an 

 inexperienced breeder, and to do it successfully must understand his 

 fowl. It is a well known fact that some of our finest horses, cattle 

 and sheep have been produced by this inand-in breeding. To pre- 

 serve certain characteristics an amount of close breeding is necessary, 



