Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-06-09

every atom of the sexual instinct in
his sires and make it strong point in
his matings never to use, if it can pos.
sibly be avoided-and it must be
avo1ded-any male of the above de-
scription
l have seen males at noted shows,
nne in feather, much lauded by their
owners, but the birds that would
never fertilize another egg-passe in
every sense of the word, and l have
also seen birds of the other descrip-
ton that were too weak to keep on
their feet, birds that it would take
considerable nursing to keep through
the winter and that only the summer
season would make of use, but only
to perpetuate very undesirable line
of breeding
Now, a good breeding male should
De full matured male, a male that is
we'll spurred. that spoils for a fight,
that will fight to finish and if de-
feated crow his spite against his an
tagonist, dying.
Such stuff as chis makes the right
kind of breeder. He is ever on the
alert, watching, guarding, calling the
females, and would starve first before
he would satisfy his own hunger as
long as he could get one of the fe-
males to eat the last morsel.
A strong grower, which means good,
strong lungs, which in turn means
less liable to disease, last on the roost
at night and first off it in the morning.
comb blood-red and eyes bright, full
OF the spirit of animal life clapping
his wings necessarily, dancing before
the females. spreading his wing and
displaying his beauty to the ladies of
his harem. This is the strong, physi-
| cal breeding characteristics of a male
ut to perpetuate race of hardy,
healthy stock
The hackles should be long and flow
ing and an abundance of them; the
saddle feathers and furnishing abund-
| ant, and nothing so detracts from the
appearance of male as a scanty tail
furnishing. Let the tail be well
| furnished, sicles long and flowing, and
with the spread Of legs that looks SO
| well and bespeaks the confidence of
his own powers to maintain the supre-
| macy over his flock.
Scanty furnishing, knock-kneed and
| awkward, ungainly looking males
should be avoided. There is a nat
ural grace in a male that should in
| every way be encouraged.
Scanty tail furnishings is the cause
of many a high-tailed bird. He only
got few feathers and they stand up
straight; not enough of them to main
tain them at the proper angle.
The breeding from immature males
is largely to blame for the lack of
proper furnishings, as it is still true
that like begets like" and when i'm
mature males are used generation
after generation no better result can
be expected.
The furnishings of male Is his
badge of maturity; they show him to
be fitted to breed from and no male
bird is as handsome and as fit to breed
from as in his second year, and it is
| about the same with all the different
species of the gallinaceous birds.
The females should be selected with
the same care regarding their second.
airy sexual characters, as it is just as
bad to use "cocky" hen in the breed
ing yard as 1t is to use benny"
! cock: both of them will be of little use
| in the perpetuation of their species.
There are many females that show
| a pronounced tendency in this direc-
| ton, and as the bird grows older this
perverted sexual character grows
stronger, until in some rare cases she
viii change her plumage into that of
the male bird, which has been OBJ
served by ourselves as well as by
others.
DISCRIMINATING the Prairie Dog
IL. d-..E hn.=