Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-05-06
THE WAY TO PERFECTION.

though It's Gold Rock ad. Winning
birds are seldom mated. though this
oft has been related TO sell eggs and
you Not natural for a silver cup sport
10 sell eggs equal TO his own 70 hatch
show birds to compete with him at the
next contest. You're a bird II you be-
iieve IT, His best in the world" aren't
going to be sold to another sport who
may turn new breeding trick or have
new fake card up his sleeve to make
the best better and thus relieve him
OF n 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 some 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 n big price In the
showroom and take them home In a
month there is as big a difference be-
tween their before and after as In
the pictures Of an anti-fat advertise
ment.
Ais not silver that shines. even IL
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-
Z
success. and so they adopt plan that
you wouldn't They mate imperfect
birds This is the plain truth. IL 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
have some perfect points the hen is
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 q short legged
hen with strong standard color.
A Silver Laced Wyandotte with a
poor hackle is matched with q hen OF
perfect hackle that may be deficient in
some points in which the male is true.
A Brown LeghOrn may have a four
point comb. To get the Eve point some
VIII breed n five point female, while
others Will take six pointer. claiming
that the four and six point combs will
neutralize into the regular five point
comb.
1mperfections are thus Offset by per-
rections TO get the perfect
Then there are the cockerel and null
let matings-not that cockerels form
into stag parties and pullets organize
girl bachelor clubs, but breeding pens
are matched 10 bring certain color
cockerels or certain color pullets For
instance, some Barred Rock fanciers
Ike a rather dark cockerel. and they
mate for IL. They want pullet feathers
to have narrow dark tips and all
feathers 10 he barred TO the skin. and
they mate accordingly. So it's not so
simple after all. and when n man at
st. Louis paid $1,000 for hen 1t was
not because he was n fool, but he ap-
preciated the science required TO build
that hen and knew the pleasure and
profit that come from such n bon ton
brain product TO breed from.
In society you have often noticed
people try 10 even up in the same man
ner. A bralnless man Will try TO mar
~ the new woman 10 make himself
look intellectual. A man with a slim
income will strive TO we'd a woman
with a fat bank account But. as the
chicken mating may be a failure, the
brainlesS man may seem more non
compos mentis, and the fortune may
be fizzle