Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-05-24
Foreign Fads in Fowls.
A WARNING TO AMERICAN PoULTRYMEN
stick TO TESTED, BREEDS.

NO country IN the WOrlQ cOnldiuS SO
many intelligent and successful poultry
men as does the United States. No
country has more successful poultry
plants, and no country has greater
variety of pure, established and useful
strains of breeds. American enterprise
has taken the run down and neglected
breeds of other countries and fed, bred
and perfected them to the highest de-
gree of beauty and profit. American
intelligence has produced from the
crosses of breeds considered valueless
in other lands many new and valuable
strains and breeds.
The pioneer fanciers and breeders
have put time, study and money into the
poultry business, and have not only
made it a business and profession,
but have secured for poultry raising a
place in the curriculum of our best agri-
cultural colleges. Now, in fashion, in
medicine, and even in the arts, and some.
what so in agriculture, there is OCCASION
ally tendency to look with longing
eyes upon things brought from over the
water.
Take, for instance, the coal tar prod
ucts of our laboratories-invented here,
manufactured here and used here, but
now greatly doomed and sold at out.
rageous prices by foreign manufacturers,
who have even had the audacity to apply
for patents on processes used here fol
years. Now they see our poultry busi-
ness grand success. They see our
large plants and our numerous poultry
journals all ahead of them, and they say
"Those Americans are not afraid to put
money into chickens; let us 60 over there
and do them with foreign label. "
Now, fellow poultrymen, there may be
danger in this. Americans will not
hesitate to adopt useful innovations,
but they should be past the day when
they will discard that which they them
selves have made, tested and proved.
imported incubator. Really it turned
out to be the poorest breeding box had
ever seen, poorly made, awkwardly
arranged and absolutely without any
adaptation to Matching chickens. was
much surprised to think that an attempt
would be made to sell such goods by
the side of the many beautiful and sue
cessful machines that are made in
America.
Then again, look at the immense con-
Germs that are engaged in the exclusive
manufacture of poultry foods and poul-
try supplies. No other country in the
world can boast of so many. Notice the
great number of patents aud inventions
on and of articles used in the poultry
business. Let us beware how we let
ho vNin
some of our wayback failures and palm
them off upon us for new goods. In
cattle, swine, sheep and horses we are
ahead of any nation upon the globe.
We can show specimens of almost any
breed that has been imported that for
all around scoring and real merit will
surpass anything now bred upon the
original soil. See what American breed
ers have done for the Mediterranean
breeds. Do you suppose betterer more
beautiful fowl of any of these breeds
can be found in the countries from which
these came? Travellers say mo" Our
American breedS-Dominiques, Ply
mouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island
Reds and some others-are to-day ahead
in real value of any new impOrtations. OF
course, importations are beneficial for
many reasons, but mainly as novelties
or for purely experimental purposes.
Let the American poultrymen stand by
the work of the past, for in no other
line has greater progress been made in
the United States than in the poultry
business. To tear down the grand
monument erected BY our old American
breeders will be an expensive step back
ward, and will inevitably lead to con-
fusion and decentralization. The young
men coming to the front will build up
on the American foundation, and by in
telligent and well directed energy ON
their part America will continue to hold
front rank in this, as in many other lines
of science and enterprise. Here's to
the American poultryman and his little
American hen!-Cor. in Tribune Farmer.