Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-05-21
THE WAY TO PERFECTION.

though it's n Gold Rock ad. Winning
birds are seldom mated, though this
oft has been related to sell eggs and
you. Not natural for n silver cup sport
to sell eggs equal to his own to hatch
show birds to compete with him at the
next contest. You're a bird If you be-
lieve 1t. His "best in the world" aren't
going to be sold to another sport who
may turn a new breeding trick or have
new fake card up his sleeve to make
the best better and thus relieve him
Of a quadruple cup. When breeders
mate up they don't always take Win
ners nor perfect birds. They might
hatch something too perfect, just as
people may get too awfully goody good.
And then SONG of these perfect prize
birds aren't just so perfect as they
seem. Some have homemade perfect
combs and spliced feathers and pluck
ed shanks and snowy bleached backs
and indigo flight feathers, and when
you buy them for a big price in the
showroom and take them home in
month there is as big difference be-
tween their before and after" as in
the pictures of an anti-fat advertise
ment
AlIs not silver that shines, even if
it's a Silver Rock silver cup winner.
SO fair fanciers concede that it's not
always best to mate prize winners nor
perfect birds. Too much varnish spoils
the picture. Bad traits come from
somewhere-maybe three generations
back. Anyhow the perfect birds, espe-
cially colored breeds, aren't generally Il
success, and so they adopt plan that
YOU wouldn't. They mate imperfect
birds. This is the plain truth, if some
one is doing fancy lying.
In this perfect mating of imperfect
birds they select a male and females
and make the good traits on one side
balance the bad traits ON the other. A
hens good traits may cover the bad
traits of the male. and the male may
weak in, and thus, bred together, ev-
erything may even up and the Off
spring be just right
A long legged Leghorn with poor
color may be bred to a short legged
hen with strong standard color.
4 Silver Laced Wyandotte with a
poor hackle is matched with hen Of
perfect hackle that may be deficient in
some points in which the male is true
a Brown LcGhorn may have a four
point comb. To get the five point some
will breed five point female, while
others will take a six pointer, claiming
that the four and six point combs will
neutralize into the regular five point
comb
Impemections are thus Offset by per-
rections to get the perfect
Then there are the cockerel and pul-
let matings-not that cockerels form
into stag parties and pullets organize
girl bachelor clubs but breeding pens
are matched TO bring certain color
cockerels or certain color pullets. For
instance, some Barred Rock fanciers
like a rather dark cockerel, and they
mate for it. They want pullet feathers
to have narrow dark tips and all
feathers to be barred to the skin. and
they mate accordingly. SO its not so
simple after all, and when n man at
st. Louis paid 81 600 for a hen it was
not because he was Il fool. but he ap-
preciated the science required to build
that hen and knew the pleasure and
profit that come from such bon ton
brain product to breed from.
In society you have often noticed
people try to even up in the same man
ner. a brainless man will try to mar
ry the new woman to make himself
look intellectual. A man with a slim
income will strive to wed a woman
with fat bank account. But, as the
chicken mating may be failure, the
brainless man may seem more non
compos mentis, and the fortune may
be a fzzle