FANCY POULTRY AS A PASTIME 107 



gan writing him for eggs and stock. Now his 

 bank account is annually swelled to a substantial 

 degree — being a minister, it was never very large 

 — by the profits he receives from his fancy fowls. 



However, it takes skill and experience to breed 

 prize winning poultry. Some people never acquire 

 the knack, while to others it seems to come naturally. 

 The best way to begin is to buy a trio of carefully 

 bred birds of the breed decided upon from a man 

 who has a well-earned reputation at stake. Fifty 

 dollars is not too much to pay for a male and two 

 hens of really first-class stock. If that is more than 

 the beginner can afford, he can buy less high priced 

 birds, of course. An even less expensive way to 

 begin is to buy a setting of eggs from a pen of 

 high-grade birds. Starting with the best stock one 

 can afford, simply puts one that much farther ahead. 



Having secured birds from a good strain, the 

 amateur who works intelligently will seek to per- 

 petuate the qualities of that strain. To carelessly 

 introduce the blood of another strain would be rank 

 folly. If a trio of birds has been purchased from 

 a breeder who is wholly dependable, the amateur 

 may be reasonably sure that the mating will pro- 

 duce good chickens. The pullets hatched may be 



