134 POULTRY CULTURE 



per cent, fertility; third generation, 41 per cent, fertility; 

 fourth generation, 18 per cent. 



PEDIGREE BREEDING 



Meaning of Pedigree. — -The pedigree of a fowl is its an- 

 cestry. The term is also used to cover the record of this an- 

 cestry. In this latter sense, the pedigree of a fowl shows the 

 foundation stock of the breed that enters into his line of an- 

 cestry, and then sets forth the various links in the chain of 

 life, including all the various strains introduced by the use of 

 new blood for certain definite purposes. 



What Such a Record Will Show. — ^A study of such a record 

 will often serve to explain cases of reversion to type, as, for 

 instance, how a black feather now and then api^ars in a white 

 plumage, or blue or yellow legs where they should be white. 



Keeping an Accurate Record. — When once the principles 

 of breeding have been mastered, and their importance thor- 

 oughly understood, the next step is to apply these principles 

 and keep a complete and accurate record of all the work done. 



A Descriptive Record of Each Fowl. — It is important to 

 study each fowl in your breeding pens, point by point, and to 

 write a full description of each bird somewhat as follows: 



1. Name or number, sex, date of hatching, weight. 



2. Head — size, shape, how held. 



3. Beak — ^length, shape, color. 



4. Eyes — ^color, expression. 



5. Face — ^color. 



6. Comb — diagram, kind, lopped or straight, size, color. 



7. Wattles — 'size, color. 



8. Ear-lobes — color, size, shape. 



9. Neck — ^length, arch, color. 



10. Back — shape, length, color. 



11. Tail — ^length, angle, spread, color. 



12. Shoulders — 'form, size, color. 



13. Breast — breadth, depth, shape. 



14. Wings — ^size, setting, color of various parts, how carried. 



15. Legs — length, size, distance apart, feathering and color 

 of all parts from thigh to toes. 



