72 POULTRY CULTURE 



fowls, and especially the feathering on the feet, makes them un- 

 suitable for many situations. The Mediterranean fowls, with their 

 large combs, are ill suited to cold latitudes. The general-purpose 

 type of fowl, which is vastly more popular than all others com- 

 bined, was developed objectively as a dual-purpose type with ten- 

 dencies toward meat and egg production well balanced, but also 

 subjectively as a type free from eccentric features, and so adapted 

 to the widest range of circumstances. 



In the kinds of poultry other than fowls, class distinctions are 

 less sharply drawn. Breeds and varieties are not so numerous, and 

 breed and class types may more nearly coincide ; yet, as breeds and 

 varieties multiply, the tendency to the creation of classes similar to 

 the recognized general classes of fowls becomes apparent. 



All breeds and varieties in a class are substantially alike. They 

 require the same conditions and treatment and serve the same 

 practical purposes. Hence in all questions relating to these points 

 only class differences need be considered. If one variety of a class 

 is adapted to certain purposes, or thrives under certain conditions 

 and treatment, any other variety of the class may serve well the 

 same purpose and will thrive under like conditions and treatment. 

 If individuals do not, the fault is in the individuals or the keeper. 



Necessary differences in conditions and methods are slight. The 

 general-purpose type of fowl is adapted to the widest range of con- 

 ditions and requires least attention, but the differences between 

 conditions and methods for this type and the Asiatic meat type, on 

 the one hand, and the egg type, on the other, seem, when stated, 

 quite trivial. The Asiatics do best on sandy soils and in cool 

 climates, and require, to make good development, more food than 

 a good range affords and, to keep in laying condition, closer and 

 more judicious attention than the ordinary poultry keeper gives. 

 Fowls of the egg-type class, particularly the males with large combs 

 and crests, need special protection from cold and dampness ; but 

 this class requires less attention to feeding than any other. In a 

 comparison of classes the class characteristics are in a sense equal- 

 ized, but this does not enter into the question as considered in any 

 particular undertaking. What each poultry keeper has to consider 

 is that, if he selects a breed requiring special attention, his buildings, 

 yards, fences, appliances, and methods must be adapted to that 



