The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-18
FANCIERS PUZZLEDBY
VARIETIES OF FOWLS
Many Distinct Breeds Make tho
Work Of Selection
Difficult.
ALL SIZES AND SHAPES
characteristics Vary According
to Certain Geographical
Divisions.
ALL SIZES AND SHAPES
\, Prsf. r. n. sTONEBURN,

~ Prsf. r. n. sTONEBURN.
Tn. battle Of the breeds 10 never ending.
zach OF the many distinct kinds Of do
nestle fowls II the favorite Of many
Srreders. who are loud In their claims Of
he superiority OF their choice. Thus
much confusion arises In the mind OF the
beginner who Is about to make . choice
az a breed and variety. and frequently
mls,akes arr<made which cause dlsap-
oolntment or loss OF valuable TINA
As a matter OF fact there is and can BE-
no single variety which exactly meets tho
peculiar conditions surrounding each s.pa.
rate establishment or the requirements Of
each Individual poultryman. Hence Wa
have an astonishingly long list Of breeds
which differ from each other In many
vays--some important and others negli-
able. The business poultryman will do
we'll to carefully consider the situation
from nil angles and then select that kind
which promises to yield the greatest net
return in cash. The fancier on the
other hand who breeds fowls for pleasure
Is NJ liberty to choose those which are
most attractive to him.
The choice is not always easy. One IL
Usually torn by conflicting emotions
and not infrequcntly compromises by
stocking his plant with two or more Diff
ferent breeds or varieties In most cases
make more rapid progress by devoting his
Whole time and energy to one variety.
whether breeding for exhibition purposes
eggs or meat for market.
The world conquering amateur often
feels that existing breeds are lacking In
some respect and early in his career be-
gins TO build breed which he fond,y hopes
will excel anything thus far produced
Usually this is a mistake. a realization
Of which comes only after the waste Of
much valuable time. which might better
have been spent In the Improvement Of
some good fowl whose general character
lstics have become fixed through genera
tons OF careful breeding by experienced
poultrymen. In short. II Ia best to take
advantage OF the work already accom-
pllsh,d to start where the other fellow
left on.
THr American Poultry Association. the
sreat organization Of poultrymen OF the
United States and Canada. has long been
me hnal authority on poultry breeds
BY popular consent we accept as
thoroughbred or standard bred such
fov,s as are recognized by this association
and lightly regard all others which do
not receive the stamp Of official approval
The elect are given a place in the official
standard Of Perfection" published by the
ASSOCIATION. which describes in detail the
shape and color OF every section Of the
ponN. Inc Sthnudru - 'he s"'ue W
breeders and Judges alike. and Is the
foot rule by which the excellence OF each
specimen is measured.
Since there are so many distinct kinds
Of fowls some system Of classihcntion is
absolutely necessary. In the STANDARD
they are arranged in classes. breeds and
varieties
The classes vary In size but contain
the breeds which have presumably come
from certain seogfsphio divisions. as
American. English. Asalic. &c,
Breeds are races OF fowls possessing
definite shape Characteristic and include
;he various varieties.
Varieties are the subdivisions ~ breeds
and 49,. distinguished by differences in
color. comb. &c.
To make this clearer. White Ieghorn
IL variety of the Leghorn breed. "nich
n tirn is a member OF the Mediterranean
class A Single Comb Rhode Island Red
Is a variety OF the Rhode Island Red breed
and the latter belongs TO the American
class Old breeders frequently state IL IN
this way: shape makes the breed co!o'
and comb the variety
Now this classification. convenient
though IL Is in some ways. Is weak. II
mat il conveys little or no idea of the
characteristics OF the fowls themselves
Some writer's use different arrangement
classifying the breeds according TO the u.s.
10 which they are generally put as th'
meat type the egg type and the genera
purpose type. Again We ma TINS ar
rangement faulty. since the types overlap
here being no clean cut division betweei
them. ,
The following table shows the various
classes OF poultry. together with the mum
~ ~ breeds and varieties comprisin'
each Turkeys, ducks and geese are no
'rciuied