Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-06-14
THERE IS NO BEST
BREED OF CHICKENS
Selection only Matter Of Fancy
Towels Adopted TO Condition
Should BE Chosen.

| The ieginner il poultry keeping
| is often confused when attempting to
| select :, breed from the many that
| are seen grazing the poultry shows
or Oh the many farms and poultry
plants throughout the country. The
| claims made for one and all from
| those who breed them are alike
best in the world"-and this is part
| ly the truth as far as the breeder is
concerned, for in many cases he
| thinks the towels reared and cared
! for each year by him are the best,
| and possess merits above any other
breed. There are few poultry keep
ers who have kept or tested many of
the different breeds. and. therefore
are in no position to act as judges on
delphia Record. (.
Without doubt there are breeds that
are better in some respects than
others. All have their good points
and some bad There is no best
breed. and even the egg laying con
tests do not prove this, for egg pro-
ductio2 only tests the towels of a
breeder. His strain does not Judge
the whole breed of the country. It is
very likely that in the laying con-
test strain of only fair merit was
entered. and dotted here and there
over the country are many flocks
that really outlaid the fowls in the
laying contest; so the beginner can
hardly condemn a breed because of
it's Door showing in a laying contest.
1t has been asserted that the single
| comb white Leghorn is the best agg
| producer. yet strains of barred
Plymouth rocks. white rocks, Wyan-
dottes, Rhode Island reds, Arping-
tons. etc, have had as many eggs in
165 days as any Leghorn. So from
the records at the present time there
is no cause for the beginner to seek
the one best bred. H should select
the breed that he fancies most and
will meet the requirements of his
locality. If near New York city, and
eggs alone are wished. cater to the
white shelled egg trade that in New
York and surrounding zone COM
mands the highest price. Then per-
haps the Leghorns or a white shelled
egg producer will be best suited to
his needs. If living in Boston and
ouI ZOAlc, Tic UIOWu SuClleu
egg commands even a better price
than the white is listed for on the
New York markets. In fact, only a
demand is made for the white shelled
egg in the New York zone and on the
Pacific coast. The rest of the coun-
try shows no preference as to color
or eff. If broilers or rosters or
capo1s are to be marketed, then the
rocks, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, reds,
etc. are to be favored
One will thus see that no one breed
Of fowl posses the qualities of an all
around bird. and each breed has some
quality bred in it that possesses
merit. Color of the breed makes no
difference as far as it's utility quail
ties are concerned, except. perhaps, in
the way of dressed poultry, when the
dark pin feathers are objected to. The
white fowl has just as much vigor as
the black. For years it was thought
among many that fowls with white
plumage We're not as hardy as those
OF colcr, but this is fast being dis
PEELED by the hardness and vigor of
the so-called weak white birds.
Because on the first attempt in
rearing and caring for pure bred
poultry failure has been made do
not condema the breed until fair
test has been made, as in every line,
there are good and poor strains of
the same breed. due solely to the way
! they have been handled and bred. 1t
is we'll known fact that the best
strain OF poultry can be ruined by
poor care and selection in but a very
short time. Purchase the breed that
suits your fancy and conditions from
some of the breeders who have a
reputation of delivering either eggs.
stock or chicks that have made good
in the lands of their customers. AS
rule the price will be higher than
from the haphaZard breeder, but re-
suits will prove that this method is
the best. 1t is not to be understood
that this means only the big breed
ers are the ones that have we'll de-
veloDed, strains of the different
breeds. for the small broader very
often has strains that are as good as
any and have reputation as such
In the matter of color some varie-
ties are much harder to breed to
color requirements than others. To
produce the even flock in some
must. or rather is. used. In other
breeds the solid colors, no double
mating is necessary and they come
true to color in a large percentage of
cases. Where fowls are wished for
utility. that of producing meat and
eggs alone. the color question does
not enter so largely as when the
fowles are raised for the poultry ex-
hibit. or perhaps both. as is being
done now in many cases. Still there
are few who enter poultry that do