184 

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by JosEPpH M. 
WADE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 
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Saroms J OURNAL AND i OULTRY (Fxcuanes, 
si 
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SHERMAN & Co., PRINTERS, PHILADELPHIA. 
(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
CULLS. 
To the beginner in the poultry fancy, or in any other 
fancy for that matter, we would say, don’t buy culls. When 
you buy, buy the best, and leave the culls for those who have 
no taste. We talk ‘“‘by the book” in this matter. Years 
ago, when first taken by the fever, we invested in some cheap 
Light Brahmas. It was our first purchase. We found them 
advertised in the American Agriculturist, and sent for them. 
They came in good condition, but there seemed to be some- 
thing about them which did not quite come up to our idea 
of what the fowls ought to be. One hen had a comb which 
made a struggle to be a pea-comb, but it ended simply ina 
wrinkle. The second was without any color but pure white, 
and would, with her single comb erect and nicely serrated, 
have passed for a fair specimen of White Cochin. The third 
had a single comb, but a dark neck-hackle, and the cock had 
every mark of a good White Cochin, except that he had 
long legs. Nota particle of black was to be found on him 
anywhere. The neighbors thought them grand birds. They 
were everything that could be desired in size, and we felt 
proud of them when we saw passers-by stop and look over 
the fence and admire them; but still we had an uncomfort- 
able feeling that there was something wrong somewhere, 
and inwardly, though we didn’t acknowledge it, made up 
our minds that there was a double sell in this transaction. 
Nor was this the last time we were misled by the idea of 
buying something cheap. We have, however, learned by 
all our misfortunes in this direction that good broadcloth 
cannot often be bought at shoddy prices. 
But not alone is the advice as to buying culls good advice; 
we would add the equally important suggestion, never sell 
culls. If you have fowls in your yard. that have a single 
disqualification (one at least which will affect their value as 
breeders or as show birds), consign them at once to the stock 
which you keep for: eating. Even the best birds will now 

FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
and then, on the principle of reversion, throw some faulty 
young. These are just as good as the handsomest for eating 
purposes, and should be used for this only; for although 
their direct progeny may not show the same faults, they will 
be produced at some time when least expected. 
There is a second and important reason why we should 
not sell culls or inferior fowls: there are parties in poultry 
breeding who will take advantage of such sale to show what 
your stock consists of. A year ago I turned two Partridge 
Cochin pullets among my common hens for hatchers: Shortly 
after a neighbor, who had fowls of the same breed, came 
and bought them at very low rates. During the breeding 
season he never failed to exhibit one of them to all his cus- 
tomers as a sample of my stock; and yet I am told, by one 
who knows, that he bred from these fowls himself, but kept 
them as a standing advertisement against mine, knowing, 
too, that I had rejected them. It was unfair, but I could 
not help myself, except when parties came and reported his 
work. AN 
Lock HaveEn, Pa. 

(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
THE PREMIUM EXTRAORDINARY. 
In No. 8 of Fanciers’ Journal, George W. White, writing 
of the premium extraordinary offered at the Buffalo Show, 
says: ‘¢Then should he’’—that is, the winner of this pre- 
mium— invest the one hundred dollars in gold in the best 
cock that can be procured, he would have a breeding pen of 
Dark Brahmas that would be the envy of every lover of this 
beautiful and valuable variety.” 
One might collect in this way a pen of very choice birds, 
but it would by no means follow that they would be all that 
could be desired tor breeding stock. A half dozen of hens 
might be selected, from as many different yards; all of them, 
measured by the standard, might be nearly perfect, and yet 
they may differ greatly in the shade of coloring and style of 
penciling. Suppose the hens were of different shades. of 
gray, as silver-steel and blue-gray, and a cock should be 
chosen for his excellence, as measured by the standard, bred 
from stock the hens of which were dark brown, the result 
would not probably be satisfactory to the breeder; in fact, 
no experienced breeder would expect good results from a 
breeding pen made up in this way. 
A prominent breeder recently said to me, ‘*I know but 
one man with whom I would be willing to exchange Dark 
Brahma fowls, and he has bred from the same stock as my 
own, and kept it free from outside admixtures.”’ 
Many breeders, who have not had large experience with 
Dark Brahmas, purchase fine birds at high prices, and from 
different parties, without regard to the markings of the stock 
from which they come, and the result is disappointment, 
both to themselves and to those who purchase their fowls. 
As arule, those beautiful steel-gray hens, so much admired 
at shows, if mated with cocks which will produce pullets of 
the same color as the hens, will throw a very small propor- 
tion of solid black-breasted cockerels; hence, in order to 
supply enough of these to meet the demands of the trade, 
some breeders have a yard or two of much darker hens; so 
dark, indeed, in some cases, as to show but little penciling. 
These hens, mated with a solid black-breasted cock, will 
usually produce a large proportion of dark cockerels. The 
buyer who purchases these, mated with beautiful steel-gray 
pullets, is well pleased with his birds, but sadly disappointed 
in the offspring. 
