Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-06-26
AN lMPos sIBlLlTY.
Every Chick Matched From Sitting
Will Not BE a Prize winner.

Every Chick Matched From Sitting
Will Not BE Prize winner.
Last winter at a prominent poultry
show heard man, evidently a begin
ner in the business Of breeding and
showing fowls, making vigorous kick
about the chicks he got from high
priced sitting of eggs. He admitted
that he got good hatch, but only three
of the chicks were fit to show, one OF
them having won first prize at the
show he was then attending. To any
one but an amateur three show birds
from one sitting of eggs would be high
" satisfactory, and when another fan
cier remarked as much the dissatisfied
one went on to state that to him three
good ones out of brood only showed
that the strain that produced them was
not what it ought to be; that if it was
a real good strain the whole hatch
should have been uniformly good.
There are probably many beginners
who have ideas similar to those ex-
pressed by the exhibitor referred to
who will be surprised to learn later on
how hard it is to produce the crack ex-
hibition specimens in any and every
class of live stock. In the trotting
horse, which has been bred expressly
for the purpose of speed at the trot for
over fifty years, it is seldom that a
brood mare produces more than one
real great race horse among the dozen
or so foals which the average mare
will bear Cresceus, 2:02A, is the
champion trotter, but there is an own
brother to him somewhere out west
that has never been able to trot mile
as fast as $50.
The same lack Of uniformity when
sthe BEST is the standard to go by is
found in other branches of breeding.
We sometimes read of bull Of some
of the beef breeds of cattle selling for
S., 200 or more after winning the high
est honors in the show ring, but it is
seldom that we hear of brother to
such a bull selling for one-half as
much With such known facts relating
to breeding in other branches, why
should breeder of fancy fowls expect
Mother Nature to reverse her processes
and give q different result when it
comes to their branch of breeding? All
the modern breeds of horses. cattle.
sheep, swine and fowls are composite
breeds. In the process of their foun-
dation different and in some instances
antagonistic characteristics marked
the stock used. By the exercise of
the breeders art, which consists main
ly in knowing what he wants to pro-
duce and a wise process of selection
to attain that end, uniformity of type
is attained in a certain degree, and
with each generation it is the endeavor
of the breeder to get nearer to what
is termed perfection.
Not all the knowledge of the breeder.
however, can enable him to entirely
control the product of his yards. Alta
vistic tendencies will continue to show
themselves and some specimens will
stake back" to faraway ancestors. so
different in type from what is demand
ed in the breed today. A breeding pen
may be line bred for several genera
tons and still in a hatch of brood
UEOluCES anu SlSlSIS SOiuc Will ClOSClS
approach perfection, while others will
be little better than culls. The begin
ner cannot learn these facts any too
quickly for his own good. The knowl-
edge not only makes him more reason
able as customer, but it also prepares
him for the work which he must per-
form if he is to develop into a success
full Breeder.
Few beginners realize the amount of
study and work necessary to establish
a strain of real high class fowls of any
breed. That one may buy either fowls
or eggs and with them produce son
prize winners the first year is true, b
to go ON mating and producing birds
that kind is another thing and some
thing that cannot be done by random
methods. To succeed requires nat
ural liking for breeding. the power of
observation in a high degree and the
capacity to recognize the difficulties to
be overcome. With these conditions
fulfilled, the natural fancier soon be-
comes an enthusiast, and enthusiasm
in any field, if upheld by determine
ton, usually results in success.-Henry
Allen in Poultry Keeper.