Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1914-01-21
Try KATHERINE ATHERToN
rIgIsI-G


To succeed with the work OF the
Matching season one must be all ready
for II before Il commences. Plans
must be laid several months ahead.
and all the actual work possible got
well under way. SO that ones time may
not be too crowded to allow him to
give attention to the many unforeseen
tasks that are sure to bob up serenely
as the season progresses.
The first thing TO consider is. OF
course, the kind of stock from which
the eggs are to come for setting.
Where the selection OF fowls has been
made In the fall. as recommended in a
former article. this part OF the work
Is practically finished. Still. even In
a small flock where all the fowls are
good. there are sure to be some that
are better than others. These are the
ones TO choose for breeders.
Suppose that In your flock Of ten you
have one that is better layer. truer to
type and In every way more desirable
than the rest. The difference may be
slight. yet there is n difference In her
favor. II Is the wisest thing you can
do to put this hen by herself. or to use
trap nest to be sure of her eggs. and
then keep her chicks separate. or
marked so that you can tell them read
lily. From these, In turn, select the
best. and In q few years you will have
built up flock far better than one
where eggs are set from the whole
number of layers. and whore no atten-
tion has been paid to the close selec-
tion of breeders.
This does not mean, OF course, that
you should set no other eggs than
those from the best hen Yoa may
have n very fine flock all through, and
may get many good chicks from any
OF them. But II you keep wedding out
all but the very best, IN time you will
get to the place where you will have
no inferior stock and then you will be-
gin to reap the reward of your pa
tience.
This selection cannot be done In a
week. or even In month. You will
have to keep watch of your hens for a
long time before you can decide with
a certainty which you want to breed
from Often the fowls you expect the
most from will disappoint you In some
respect
The next step Is the selection OF the
eggs themselves. Not every egg. even
from the best hens. is usable for
Matching. Re careful not to use eggs
that are either too large or too small
Watch your layers until you have de
termned about what a good average
sized egg should be and then use
only those which come pretty close to
the mark
Eggs showing any imperfection OF
shape should be discarded An egg
that is too round !s as bad as one that
is too pointed find out what the
standard shape OF the eggs laid by
your variety OF hens should be. and
then pick out those that are rs near
II as possible,
The shells should show neither spots
or ridges These usually mark thin
places. and such eggs are likely to
get broken in the nest. Choose only
those which are smooth and perfect.
The first eggs laid by pullets are not
ms good as those laid after they have
been at work two or three months,
Better still are the eggs from hens a
year old While the pullet IL develop
ing much OF her vitality must go to
her own growth. and the egg Ia not
likely to produce stirring. vigorous
chick The older fowl, having at |
tained her full growth and vigor. has
more strength TO spare for her eggs.
Eggs which have to be kept awhile
before setting should be turned every |
day to keep tho yolk from settling.
The fresher they are at setting. the
better Eggs that have been shipped
should always be allowed to stand for
at least twenty-four hours before set
ting
Great care must be taken chat eggs
intended for Matching should not chill.
In cold weather they should be gath
cred twice every day. and then kept |
where the temperature IL well above
20 degrees.
II is good plan TO get all your
ests GOODS and other fixtures needed |