The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-11-01
POULTRY YARD.
Limits of Impregnation


I have noted what has been said IN
this paper about five days being long
enough separation of different breeds
to secure purity in breeding, writes
Theo. Sternberg in Colorado Poultry
Journal.
Now one, two, three, or quite a num-
Der of instances where five days or ten
days separation apparently were suf-
fcient, will not do to base a universal
rule upon.
myself quite recently had an ex-
perience quite the other way.
/ have once published this, but II
will do no harm to re-publish it,
In the spring of 1893 I bought sew
eral settings of Brown Leghorn eggs.
The chicks were Matched in May. Now
/ had no other Brown Leghorns on the
place. Among other chicks were lot
of Buff Cochin pullets Matched in jan
uary. These pullets began laying the
latter part of June. In September ]
put one Of these pullets in yard with
a Buff Cochin, as particularly wished
a clutch of chicks from her. The 18th.
/ think, of September, l sold every
Leghorn / had.
Up to the time l shut up the pullet
chicks, including the Leghorns. The
pullet laid out a clutch and then wanted
to set. None of the eggs of this clutch
were set. Alter a time she began lay
ing again. l went to the Worlds Fair
and after my return late in October
saved seven Il tbink) eggs to set then
The Leghorns had been away from the
place fully six weeks before these eggs
1ai n hann
from the Leghorn chicks fully two
months, and the clutch was new one,
a period of setting having interviewed
When the chicks Matched (there were
five of them), three were most plainly
Leghorn cross; had the brown striped
back of the chicks of that breed, had
but few feathers on the legs, and they
feathered out very rapidly. Two ap-
peared to be pure Buff Cochins, heavily
feathered, clear buff color and feath-
Bluffs.
At six weeks of age the Leghorns
were nice broilers and we ate them.
kept'the Bluffs until they began to
get their real feathers, when on exam
ination / found that these clear looking
Bluffs had an under color most unmis-
n
Leghorn under color; and then we ate
them.
Now I am not going to deduce rule
from this single experience, but sim
ply suggest that this instance Is con-
trary to the five or ten day rule so
widely quoted, and points to another
possibility. 1t is this:
Here were two plain Bluffs as they
viii nj lva hv,f
the Leghorn was there all the same.
Suppose two more Bluffs had Matched
little later than these two-enough
later to have the under color buff, so
that from an inspection of the fowl
itself no trace of Leghorn blood could
be seen. Is it stating an improbability
to suggest that there yet might be Leg
horn blood enough in them, although
not apparent to the eye, to crop out
In some future generation, to the as
constituent of the then breeder, and
another sport Is sported, for the origi-
nal misalliance is forgotten or I'M
known, and secure in the decimal sys-
tenn Of mating on the five to ten-day
rule of separation, the possibility ,s
not considered.
I am afraid that some of our noted
actual demonstration in sufficient in
stances before the rule is sported.
There is another thought in this con-
nection. It may be that some hens, for
some reason peculiar to themselves
when once exposed to crossing infiu.
ences, will never again breed purely
and this may be the exception and not
the rule.
To me, am always living, so far as
my chicks are concerned, in the fu-
ture. I enjoy the present in stdying
the future.
What l mean Is, that the interest In
each chick Is how it will breed next
year, how 1t is to be mated, etc., and
the present Is obscured in the interest
excited in next years breeding. We
come to look upon the produce of the
present In the light of tools. Next year
we shall use our tools and make that
ever sought for, always eluding, i'm
possible creature, the perfect standard
fowl, and herein lies much, perhaps the
greatest source of pleasure in the fan
cy, the pursuit of the ideal.
However, we must not forget to care
for the present, or we shall lose the
future. Today Is the father of tomor-
row, and this years chicks are the par
ents Of the future ones. So we must
keep up the interest, attend all the
shows we can, extend our personal &C
qua1ntance as much as possible, and
not forget he dates Of the great mid
continental, and attend 1t in person
and with our best.