Emkryoi^ooy. 97 



work in antagonism to litr teachings more than we can 

 possibly help. As an instance, we will take the case of 

 a fancier with a valuable old hen. A bird of marvel- 

 lous structural properties, or, maybe, excelling in 

 colour and feather — a bird which, for some seasons, has 

 held her position as the acKnowledged chamiiion of her 

 variety; she has bred for several seasons and produced 

 good stock, but now the parental cares of past years, 

 and the effects of spending many days and nights in the 

 show baskets and pens are telling upon her constitution, 

 and although still healthy, she has lost the virility and 

 vivacity of her early days. A year of two a.go she 

 would be in fit breedin.g condition early in February 

 possibly, but with age and the artificial life she has led 

 it is now absohitely impossible for her body to recuper- 

 ate itself from the exhaustion and fatigue of the show 

 season till the end of March, or the beginnin.g of April. 

 Her heedless, thoughtless owner pairs her up at the end 

 of January with a very vigorous, full-blooded young 

 cock. What is the result ? This youn.g mate natur- 

 ally wishes to commence the work of setting up house- 

 keeping; he gets anxious and worries his lady love be- 

 cause she will not respond to his advances — she would 

 if she could. He gets more and more persistent, and 

 so excites his mate that he stimulates her feelings, and 

 her powers of reproduction are hastened instead of be- 

 ing allowed to develop naturally and quietly. Tender 

 such circumstances can one expect the best results .•" A 

 moment's careful thought must, from the veriest tyro 

 and most inexiierienced of fanciers, give an unequivocal 

 negative. 



CONSIDER THE VETERANS. 



This being so, is it wise to attempt to rush our 

 old warriers? They are, indeed, the flowers of our 

 flock, and should be most carefully tended. A hen 

 such as I have described, paired at the proper time, 

 could go on for vears delighting the fanciers at shows 

 by her marvellous beauty, and her owner by her home 

 bringing of firsts and specials, and the production of 

 progeny which should even excel their parents m 

 beauty and value. On the other hand, should she be 

 paired up too early ere she is ready to respond to the 



