Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-03
CHICKENS OF VALUE
MISS SOPHIE PITCHLYNN RAISES
PRIZE WINNERS.
Washington Backyard the Render
vous for Numerous Fowls-Her
Views of Industry.
From the New Yora Sun.

From the New Yora Sun.
Plymouth Rocks and wyandottes lead in
numbers at the seventeenth annual show of
the New York Poultry, Pigeon and Pet
Stock Association, that began yesterday
at Madison Square Garden. orp!ngtons are
also very strong In all varieties. and there
is a rivalry between the English and Ameri-
can breeders for the ribbons. W. L. Davis
Of Berlin, Conn, has 1875 homebred Or
pingtons benched, and brought them to New
York in a private poultry car, the newest
within among feather fanciers. There is
also notable display OF Leghorns. A
young woman from Washington has three
Leghorn pufets entered against the many
entries Of the rich gentlemen farmers and
the poultrymen for profit.
The young woman, Miss Sophie Pitchlynn.
handled her pullets with skill rare in an
amateur. The woman who can make sue
cess with poultry in city yard is a person
age New Workers have often heard about.
but Miss Pitchlynn is the first one TO ap-
pear at Garden show. She is a halfbreed
Indian and the daughter of the late Peter
Pftchlynn, the Choctaw chief whom Charles
Dickens met on the Mississippi and de-
scribed in American Notes the best
type of American gentleman he met here.
He represented the Choctaw tribe as its
spokesman to Congress for twenty-five
years and married Washington resident.
"A bulcneT SfnOCk or striped Duck hid all
of Miss Pitchlynn's costume except a lace
hat as she hustled about the Leghorn coops.
Lazy Woman Not a Success.
mo lazy woman can make success of
chicken raising in a back yard" remarked
Miss Pitchlynn as she petted pullet in her
arms until 1t began to talk to her in low
cackes. II am at the coops at o'clock in
the morning, usually, but after l care for
the chickens there is plenty of time for
other things. l raised 400 last spring in my
ncubators, and my friends called me the
Mother of the Washington 400
My brother is very fond of fine birds
and 1 took hold first to please him, for
believe woman should do all she can
to make the man happy who is dearest to
her. we live together in a house on the
ordinary city lot 21x100 feet and my coops
and run do not take UP any more room
than a pnaeton would in the yard / keep
the coops spotlessly clean. An idea of my
own that keeps them white as new
boards Is to put fresh sheets of paper in
the coops each night and morning, and in
stead of having to sweep the floors, l have
only to change the papers.
I'VE began three years ago with barred
Rocks. l raised 500 the first year, but sold
out in the fall, for, while I love them, the
ROCKS wouldn't scratch enough to keep in
trim, and they got so fat they wouldn't lay.
l decided the breed couldn't play in my
yard and so changed to Leghorns. They
have the reputation of being a wild breed
that needs room, but all of my birds are as
tame canaries, and l teach them to
scratch for their food from the start l be-
gin feeding the chicks raw meat when thew
are one week old, giving to each a scrap the
size of worm q hen would break up among
her brood At ten months my birds are
half again heavier than barnyard birds and
they are great layers. My best record is
$40 eggs in one month from forty puGets
am an amateur, but | have made the birds
pay a money profit from the eggs, sales for
he tah 10 nd lac Of StSvr Girl-
Aim of the Breeder.
MY aim is to breed the finest single comb
brown Leghorns ever put on show. To raise
show birds one must make a study of sym
metry, harmony of colcrs and the breeding
problem which is to breed cn'y from stock
that viii not transmit defects to queer a
bird with the judges. Carriage is a great
point, both in wings and tail and the color
and quantity of hackle besides comb wat
ties, head and general character. This is
my first city show. but | have birds here
that have won at the Rockhill and Hagers-
town fairs. the latter very large poultry
exhibition. / do not think l will go to Bos-
ton the later shows fer 1t is too worry
ing my birds to be view so long
There are a few other women having en-
tries. Mrs. George B. Inches North Graf
ton, Mass shows rose comb brown Leg
horns; Mrs. Thomas w. Turner Baltimore
has a large display of white Wyandottes;
MISS Selma NlenerS OF college, POINT has
fine strain of rose comb black banta7ns
winners at many other shows and Mrs
H. Winslow White of Flushing exhibits
Polish bantams. Mrs. Edward Brown
jerks Of YCnkers has pens of white-crested
black Polish, and Mrs. r. J. Farrcr of Or
ange shows as specia ties the French Fa-
vero!ies and German LakenveIders. Not a
feminine exhibitor is named as an owner of
pigeons this year. The sitIa ton is differ
ent in the show Of the Atlantic Cat Club In
the annex, Ior of POO entrants all but five or
six are women.
Only few of the judges got through with
their classes. Brahmas are tighter in num-
Der than usual and the first prize winners In
this breed were:
Light Brahma-Cocks Klee Bros. Blau-
welt, n. Y; hens, cockerels and pullets, H.
N. Rollins, Westboro, Mass.
Dark Brahma-Cock and cockerels, A. H
Leach, Middleboro, Mass: hen and pulets
Phlander Williams Taunton, Mass.