THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
February  20 
1  26 
Poultry  Yard. 
Is  There  a  “Combination  Fowl  P” 
Any  one  who  engages  in  poultry  keep¬ 
ing  with  an  eye  to  profit  has  in  many 
cases  to  decide  between  broilers,  roasters 
and  eggs  as  a  specialty,  or  else  he  com¬ 
bines  some  or  all  of  these  in  the  business. 
When  running  on  the  latter  plan,  he  nat¬ 
urally  casts  about  for  the  “  combination 
fowl.”  For  generations  the  advent  of 
the  combination  or  general-purpose  fowl 
has  been  anxiously  awaited.  Its  arrival 
is  announced  periodically,  but  after  a 
long  or  short  trial,  each  new  breed  fails 
to  make  good  all  that  is  claimed  for  it. 
It  is  my  belief  that  the  combination  breed 
has  not  been  or  ever  will  be  found.  There 
are  limits  outside  of  which  Nature  re¬ 
fuses  to  assist  man  in  combining  good 
qualities  in  new  breeds. 
It  is  hardly  possible  for  an  Asiatic  of 
immense  frame  to  arrive  at  a  laying  age 
as  soon  after  it  is  hatched  as  a  Mediter¬ 
ranean,  for  example,  a  Leghorn. 
While  cows  can  be  so  managed  that  the 
“dry”  period  preceding  calving  will  occur 
almost  any  desired  month,  it  seems  to 
be  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  prevent 
hens  from  “going  dry”  in  the  fall.  The 
man  can  secure  a  fortune  who  will  dis¬ 
cover  and  keep  to  himself  the  process  by 
which  hens  can  be  persuaded  to  put  off 
moulting  vfntil  the  market  is  filled  with 
the  new  crop  of  eggs,  and  prices  are 
down.  All  who,  like  Mrs.  Partington, 
have  detected  the  curious  fact  that  when 
eggs  are  high  hens  never  lay  much,  must 
have  noticed  also  that  these  periods  occur 
about  the  same  time  each  year. 
Granting  that  a  fowl  of  the  largest  class 
will  produce  as  many  eggs  as  one  of  the 
small,  non-sitting  varieties  (which  is 
seldom  the  case)  there  is  a  large,  heavy 
body  to  support  and  an  abundance  of 
frame-work  upon  which  fat  can  be 
stored,  while  the  eggs  will  average  but 
little  if  any,  larger  than  those  from 
mature  White  Leghorns,  or  White  Minor- 
cas  at  the  outside.  It  is  impossible  to 
cause  a  hen  to  incubate  and  lay  eggs  at 
the  same  time.  A  hen  that  has  been  sit¬ 
ting  will  lay  longer  into  the  fall  in  con¬ 
sequence,  but  about  the  time  when  other 
hens  which  have  not  been  sitting,  begin 
laying,  she  will  stop  for  moulting.  There 
is  then  a  period  of  rest.  She  will  prob¬ 
ably  go  broody  again  in  the  spring  be¬ 
fore  she  has  laid  half  as  many  eggs  as 
the  other  hens  have  laid  since  moulting. 
Hut  if  small  breeds  are  kept  altogether, 
one  of  the  birds  is  hardly  sufficient  for  a 
large  family  when  served  upon  the  table, 
and  when  sold  brings  but  a  small  price. 
Again,  the  hen  will  never  be  produced 
that  can  be  made  to  incubate  at  any  de¬ 
sired  season  of  the  year.  It  will  be  a 
difficult  matter  to  settle  upon  a  breed 
that  gives  satisfaction  from  all  stand¬ 
points.  The  advantages  of  breeds  kin¬ 
dred  to  the  Leghorn  have  been  repeatedly 
set  forth  in  the  columns  of  The  Rural, 
as  giving  a  maximum  of  profit  for  a 
minimum  of  feed  and  labor.  The  quality 
of  Leghorn  flesh  is  unsurpassed,  and  if, 
when  sent  to  market,  the  fowls  weigh 
less  than  one  of  the  heavier  breeds,  they 
have,  if  two  or  three  years  old,  paid  in 
eggs  for  the  difference  in  weight. 
Many  attempt,  by  crossing  breeds  of 
opposite  characteristics,  to  obtain  a  fowl 
that  will  answer  the  general  purposes  of 
a  farm.  The  curious  notion  is  often  en¬ 
tertained  that  in  such  crosses  all  the  good 
qualities  of  the  parent  stock  will  be  ab¬ 
sorbed  and  the  bad  rejected,  but  this  is 
not  by  any  means  the  case.  Some  of  the 
birds  may  be  of  good  size,  and  some  of 
these  may  be  excellent  layers  and  non¬ 
sitters,  while  another  lot  may  be  quite 
inferior  in  size,  and  some  of  them  in¬ 
ferior  layers  and  inveterate  sitters.  By 
long  periods  of  careful  breeding  the  char¬ 
acteristics  of  the  leading  breeds  have  be¬ 
come  fixed.  When  crossing  is  begun 
these  are  in  danger  of  being  lost.  Some 
of  the  resultant  crosses  may  be  excellent 
birds;  but  they  have  some  of  the  wrong 
blood  in  their  make  up,  and  if  used  to 
breed  from,  their  progeny  may  exhibit 
undesirable  qualities  which  they  them¬ 
selves  do  not. 
For  roasters  the  heaviest  breeds  are 
wanted,  such  as  Brahmas  or  Cochins,  al¬ 
though  Plymouth  Rocks  are  excellent 
and  rapid-growing  birds.  The  most  al¬ 
luring  feature  of  the  roaster  industry  is 
the  almost  fabulous  price  said  to  be  ob¬ 
tained  for  this  class  of  poultry  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year.  To  obtain  these 
prices  the  eggs  must  be  hatched  in  mid¬ 
winter,  a  very  difficult  time  for  obtaining 
fertile  eggs.  The  large  breeds,  always 
sluggish,  are  especially  so  at  this  season. 
Expensive  buildings  are  required  if  the 
fowls  are  to  be  kept  warm  and  active  and 
the  eggs  unchilled.  An  extra  amount  of 
expense  must  be  incurred  for  buildings 
and  heat  in  hatching  room  and  brooder 
house.  Unless  these  conditions  are  com¬ 
plied  with,  and  unless  the  roasters  are 
raised  within  reach  of  the  large  cities, 
extra  prices  can  hardly  be  expected.  And 
if  roasters  are  not  put  on  the  market  by 
May  1,  most  poultry  keepers  who  have  to 
sell  in  local  markets  or  to  dealers  on  the 
road,  will  have  to  take  up  with  the  cur¬ 
rent  prices  per  pound  for  common  live 
or  dressed  poultry,  and  9  to  14  cents  is 
the  range. 
If  raising  market  poultry  as  a  specialty, 
I  think  I  should  raise  White  Leghorns  in 
preference  to  any  larger  breed,  and  sell 
broilers  only,  for  what  they  will  bring. 
Last  year  I  sold  White  Leghorn  broilers 
for  50  cents  each.  They  were  hatched 
the  first  week  in  March.  They  did  not 
weigh  over  1  %  pound  when  sold.  At  the 
same  time  in  the  market  (Rochester) 
were  hirds  of  about  the  same  age — Ply¬ 
mouth  Rocks,  Wyandottes,  mongrels, 
etc.,  which  were  ragged  and  draggled  in 
appearance,  being  of  course  at  that  age 
only  partially  feathered,  a.  i>.  warner. 
In  writing  to  advertisers  please  always  mention 
The  Rural. 
The  attention  of  manufacturers  is 
invited  to  the  following : 
The  Escola  Agronomica  is  newly  es¬ 
tablished  on  a  fazenda  of  500  acres  in 
the  State  of  Sao  Paulo — the  richest  agri¬ 
cultural  region  of  Brazil.  It  is  organized 
in  the  interest  of  progressive  agricul¬ 
ture,  provides  a  scientific  course  of  four 
years  with  daily  labor  for  students,  and 
sets  apart  the  first  Saturday  of  every  month 
for  the  entertainment  of  visitors.  It  is  the 
first  college  of  the  kind  in  South  America, 
is  endowed  by  wealthy  and  influential 
citizens,  and  is  attracting  widespread 
attention. 
Among  other  things,  the  institution 
aims  to  introduce  better  implements  for 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil — especially  the 
tenacious  red  clays  of  the  rolling  lands — 
and  for  harvesting  and  handing  crops ; 
but  it  desires  first  to  ascertain  what  are 
best  suited  to  the  conditions  that  prevail. 
To  this  end  the  college  makes  the  fol¬ 
lowing  offer  to  the  manufacturer  of  any 
farming  tools  likely  to  succeed  :  If  you 
will  donate  the  sample  or  samples — made 
precisely  like  those  for  the  regular  trade 
— wre  will  pay  all  cost  of  transportation, 
and  afford  every  facility  for  trial  and  ex¬ 
hibition,  the  tools  to  remain  the  property 
of  the  college. 
Shall  not  the  United  States  secure  her 
share  of  the  trade  sure  to  follow  this 
stimulus  to  the  introduction  of  improved 
machinery  ?  The  college  knows  of  no 
better  way  than  this  to  enable  her  to  do 
so  nor  to  give  all  an  equal  chance  to  dis¬ 
play  the  excellence  of  their  goods. 
Any  manufacturers  accepting,  please 
mark  goods  “For  Escola  Agronomica, 
Piracicaba,  S.  P.  Brazil,  care  Sr.  Louiz 
Queiros,”  and  ship  to  the  Thompson  & 
Houston  Electrical  Company,  115  Broad¬ 
way,  New  York,  who  will  receive,  pay 
freight  and  forward.  Also  please  advise 
the  subscriber  by  letter  of  such  ship¬ 
ment,  and  of  terms  on  which  orders  will 
be  received. 
EUGENE  DAVENPORT,  Director. 
■ 
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