Guide for Mating and Breeding Exhibition Poultry. 
91 
in contemplating the purchase of stock birds of a variety, make a stipulation that the birds must in no way be 
related to each other, believing that in-breeding is fatal to success. This is, no doubt, based on the generally 
accepted theory that in-breeding is of itself injurious, and is productive of the most evil results. This is 
entirely founded upon the ignorance of the actual facts regarding Show or Exhibition Poultry. The majority 
of the breeds as at present known are the decided results of artificial selection, the latter course being 
followed in most breeds and varieties for a great length of time ; for instance, the Exhibition bird of nearly 
every variety is of quite a different type to its ancestors of a former period. Certain characteristic points 
which are now recognised as points of excellence in the breed have been strongly developed by artificial 
selection, and as long as the parent birds are composed of members of the same family (no matter how far 
apart in actual blood relationship) these points, which have been created artificially, will continue to exhibit 
themselves, and the more in-bred the stock is from birds which possessed the characteristic points, the more 
definitely will the points become fixed in the progeny. Immediately foreign or alien blood is introduced 
these same points will in part, or wholly, be lost, owing solely to the natural tendency to reversion. At the 
same time, possibly, one or other of the parent birds may possess extraordinary powers of prepotence, and 
some of the stock bred may be good in the fixed points ; but it will be found that the stock thus bred, 
though, perhaps, being fairly good themselves, will be worthless to perpetuate the desired points of the 
breed, being lacking in prepotency. 
The " Fancier," that is, one who breeds stock to an ideal standard of excellence, and for the purpose of 
Exhibition, places little value upon the egg-producing and table qualities of the birds. The more difificult it 
is for him to attain perfection or anything approaching it in Fancy Points, the more fascinating the object 
becomes, and for his purpose in-bree ding in some measure is compulsory. 
By following out the system of in-breeding (we do not mean the mating of brothers and sisters together, 
though this is often preferable to introducing alien blood), mating the stock each year as far apart as possible, 
the very highest results will be obtained, and when once a strain of Fowls is thoroughly well established and 
bred to a high standard of excellence, the introduction of entirely fresh blood becomes a serious question. 
An excellent plan, when fresh blood is urgently required, is to procure a bird from some one to whom you 
have disposed of some of your stock in previous years. By this means you may, comparatively speaking, 
obtain fresh blood which will counteract the tendency to reversion certain to arise if the bird has none of the 
home blood in its composition. 
Again, an axiom that should never be neglected when selecting birds to mate for the season's bleeding, 
is to choose birds whose comparative faults or failings will counteract one another, as, if two birds are mated 
together which both possess the same glaring faults, the progeny so bred will be inferior to either, as, on the 
same principle as selecting birds to perfect given points desired, the obvious result, if this is neglected, is to 
aggravate or increase the faults. Moreover, the beginner must always bear in mind that the progeny of a 
breeding pen of birds has an equal tendency to resemble their more remote ancestors as their parents, and 
this may to a great extent vary the successful results of a well-matched and selected team of breeding birds, 
so that, to look forward to the progeny turning out good in the desired qualifications, the pedigree of their 
ancestors should be well studied. For instance, a bird may with fair results be bred from, even if defective 
in any given point in which the stock from which it is bred is excellent, whereas another bird failing in the 
same degree, and being bred from a strain of birds whose whole family were defective, would court disaster. 
Even in the first instance, a bird of exceptional merit in a point in which the strain from which it is bred 
is defective, could not with reason be expected to produce much improvement in the offspring until 
in-and-in breeding had been resorted to, so as to firmly establish the quality without fear of reversion. 
A great deal of experience is necessary before a team of birds can be selected to mate together, the cock 
first being chosen, and the hens to accompany him require to be carefully and thoroughly examined point by 
point. Any one fault in the cock requires those hens to be chosen which excel where the cock is deficient, 
otherwise the progeny will have the fault aggravated to a greater degree, as it is positively astonishing to note 
