The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18
KINDS OF DOMESTIC FOWLS
AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

Copyright. 1914. by Geo. A. McDevitt Co
More than 100 distinct breeds and vari-
eties of fowls are recognized as being
thoroughbred by the poultry breeders of
America and given a place in the Off
eiai standard of perfection. This does
not include waterfowl and turkeys of
which there are many kinds
Since there are SO many of these dis
tihct types, possessing wide range of
size, color and other characteristics, TIE
poultry man, especially the beginner, is
frequently at loss to choose the one
best suited to his purpose. In his current
contribution. Professor Stoneburn reviews
briefly the whole list of recognized breeds
ana varieties of chickens and discusses
their leading characteristics.
BY PROF. FREDERICK STONEBURN
Copyright, 1914. by Geo. A. McDevitt co.
The battle of the breeds is never-ending.
Each of the many distinct kinds of do
mestic fowls is the favorite of many
breeders, who are loud in their claims of
the superiority of their choice Thus
much confusion arises in the mind of the
beginner who is about to make a choi,e
of breed and variety. and frequently
mistakes are made which cause disap-
pointment or loss of valuable time.
As matter of fact. there Is and can
be no single variety which exactly meets
the peculiar conditions surrounding each
separate establishment or the require
ments of each individuale poultryman.
Hence we have an astonishingly long list
of breeds which differ from each other il.
many ways-some important and Others
negligible. The business poultryman will
do well to carefully consider the situa-
ton from all angles and then select that
kind which promises to yield the greatest
net returns in cash. The fancier, on the
other hand, who breeds fowls for pleas
ure is at liberty to choose those which are
most attractive to him.
The choice is not always easy. One is
Usually torn by conflicting emotions,
and not infrequently compromises bv
stocking his plant with two or more dif-
ferent breeds or varieties In most cases
this is poor policy. One will Usually make
more rapid progress by devoting his
whole time and energy to one variety.
whether breeding for exhibition purposes,
eggs or meat for market
Building New Breeds
The world-conquering amateur oftea
feels that existing breeds are lacking in
some respects, and early in his career be-
gins to build a breed which he fondly
hopes will excel anything thus far pro-
duced Usually this is a mistake, a real
ization of which only comes after the
waste or much valuable time which
might better have been spent in the i'm
provement of some good fowl whose gem
eral characteristics have become fixe1
through generations of careful breeding
by experienced poultrymen. In short. it
is best to take advantage of the work al
ready accomplished to start where tie
other fellow left off.
The American Poultry association the
great organization of poultrymen of the
United States and Canada, has long been
the final authority on poultry breeds
sy popular consent we accept as thor
oughbred or standardized such fowls as
are recognized by this association. and
lightly regard all others which do not
receive the stamp of official approval
The elect are given place in the off,
oial Standard of Perfection, published bv
the association, which describes In detail
the shape and color of every section of
the body. The Standard is the guide of
breeders and judges alike, and Is the
footrule by which the excellence of each
specimen is measured
Since there are so many distinct kinds
of fowls some system of classification is
absolutely necessary. In the Standard
theT are arranged in classes, breeds and
varieties.
The classes vary in size, but contain
the breeds which have presumably como
from certain geographic divisions, as
American, English. Asiatic, etc
Breeds are races of fowls possessing
definite shape characteristics, and in
clude the various varieties
Varieties are the subdivisions of breeds
and are distinguished by differences in
color, comb, etc
Class-Breed-Varie
To make this clearer, a White Leghorn
IS variety of the 'Leghorn reed, which
in turn is a member of the Mediterranean
class. A Singe-Comb Rhode Island Red
is variety of the Rhode Island Red
creed, and the latter belongs to the Ame.,-
lean class Old breeders frequently state
it in this way: shape makes the breed,
color and comb the variety"
Now this classification, convenient
though it is in some ways, is weak in
that it conveys little or no idea of the
characteristics of the fowls themselves
Some writer's use a different arrange
ment, classifying the breeds according to
the use to which they are generally put
as the meat type, the egg type and the
general purpose type. Again we find
this arrangement faulty, since the types
overlap, there being no clean-cut division
between them.
The following table shows the various
classes of poultry. together with the num-
Der of breeds and varieties comprising
each Turkeys, ducks and geese are not
included.
Class. Breeds. Varieties