Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1880-08-19

each bird it would have paid as it was, it
did not pay, and he had to give it up.
Now, 80 far as know at present. such a
laying stock cannot be purchased. The
poultry that are bred for exhibition have, to
some extent, lost their laying qualities, and
other fowls have not been systematically
cultivated for them. Bnt the fecundity is
there, and it can be cultivated. Let any
man breed for eggs, and he will get eggs;
and that good laying stock, which will lay
the prescribed quantity, should thus be
gradually built up for stocking the farm. is,
in my opinion, necessary preliminary to
any real success.
That the thing can be done is certain
Cases are known i'll which 200 eggs in year
have been exceeded, and not in one breed
only. Such numbers have been exceeded in
Brahmas, Minorcas, Andalusans, and.
believe, in Houdans also in Leghorns and
Hamburgs, though the eggs of these fowls
are unfortunately small. 1t is found that
fecundity is more or less hereditary like
other peints-it only needs cultivation. BY
setting persistently only eggs from the best
layers and from cocks which also come of
good laying families, the end will be secur-
ed; and in this way no one need lose any
time while going through even long ap-
premiership to poultry keeping. He can
be doing work which has to be done before
he can possibly succeed. The nee,lful selec-
ton cannot well be made from large num-
bers ana in large yards; it can only be done
where the eggs Of each bird and character
are known and this is a weighty reasoR
why even people who have experience and
knowledge, and do not need to wait for
these, would probably still think it adyis-
able to begin in small way. They wou,a
want to make the stock with which to work
on small way.
Ihe stock must of course be the best for
laying purposes that can be got. AS a rule,
III the large breeds, these will be rather
spare in body. l have in my own expert
ence come across about dozen Dark Brah-
mas that We're really remarkable LAYERS.
AS far as remember, nearly every one was
rather legsy and thin. an very hard feath-
cred, such AS should have killed without
hesitation. The est'laying Houtlans, SINH
lazy, are not likely to be found among thow
birds, but in the lighter framed ones. with
modern crests. The regular laying breeds"
Spanish and Hamburgs-are notoriously
light in build, and it seems reasonable to
suppose that there would be some antayon-
ism generally between the production Of
nesh aud eggs. Having got together, then,
the best laying stock he can, from observa-
tion and inquiry, in moderate numbers, the
poultry farmer has to do the rest
OF the work himself. He will be lucky IL
his average exceed 10 or l2O eggs, which
is not paying number. He must find out.
by careful observation, which hens Law the
best, and which the worse; raise all the
chickens he can from the former. and kill All
from the latter, and SO on. This will take
time and money that no immediate results
can pay for, no doubt; but so do the pre-
liminary stages Of any business, and see
no reason why poultry farming should dit
Ter in this respect from other business un-
dertakings. 10 the neglect of such essential
prellnlinaries | think we may distinctly
trace at least some of the past failures.