Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-16

Much Of the pouItryman's success
depends upon his ability TO select and
mate the birds used i'm the breeding
pens. II is a foregone conclusion
that strong. healthy puilets, with the
ability 10 produce profitable egg
yield. must come from parents that
are able 10 transmit these desirable
qualities to their offspring. II nat
uraIIy follows that the poultry keeper
who takes time TO carefully study
the various characteristics Of the
birds, before mating them, will stand
much better chance Of winning out
than the haphazard breeder who
maRines that one bird is as good as
another.
Just NJ this tirne the selection Of the
very best birds for the breeding pens is
more important than ever before There
is n tremendous shortage Of red meat
beef, pork and mutton and tho Federal
and State authorities arc calling on the
poultry keepers of the country To increase
the production of eggs and table poultry
to make mp for this deficit This increase
is being demanded in spite of tho highest
feed cost the poultry business has ever
experienced Therefore. it is obvious that
the mediocre layer, or "boardcr hen, has
no placc in the present progran She must
he eliminated ~ the Use Of strong. yigor
ous males and females that are known
to be good producers
ESSENTIAL REQUrREMENTs.
Since Inc male represents ffty per
cent of the blood Of the offspring, he
must bc chosen with the utmost caro-
The several points which must he con
sdcrcd in his selection, IN the order Of
their Importance, arc tgpe. const ttutionnl
vigor. and the ability to transmit high
fcclndity TO his daughters
l}g type, We moan that the male
should be Of the proper conformation
and shape required for his particular
breed. as specified by tho Standard of
Pcrfcction For example, in plymouth
Rocks the head Of the male should be
moderately large, brOad and medium in
length comb single and rather small in
proportion - the size Of the bird neck
rather long, slightly arched, having
abundant hackle, flowing well over the
shoulders; back rather long, broad for
It's entire length, fiat ~ shoulders, nearly
horizontal from neck to saddle where
there II slight concave sweep 10 tail
breast broad moderately deep, wri'
rounded. and 50 on
Plumage is also considered under type
and should be of the proper color and
markings described for the various sec
tions Again, the shape, color and size
of the eggs laid by the mother Of the
prospective breeding male should be
taken INTO account The object here is
10 use a male whose mother produced
large, wcll-shaped egg Of the correct
color.
4 great number Of poultry keepers, on
account Of lack of knowledge, do not
give much Importance 70 the character
Istics desired under type, yet It IS only
through this channel that We can hope
TO improve the breed and make sub
stantIal progress
NEED FOR VIGoR.
While type IS given as the first con-
sideratlon, we must not lose sight Of the
fact that male may conform to all
these standard requirements. and still be
unfit 10 put In the breeding pen, because
of constitutional weakness from disease
or other causes. An lron-ci4d rule, which
all good breeders practice, IS never TO
breed from a male Or female that has
suffered from a serious disease. Even
after recovery, such bITds DO not make
ideal breeders, and in event Of certain
hereditary diseases, there IS always the
danger Of transmitting defects to the
offspring
livery poultry keeper can select for
constitutional vigor, since the physical
condition oi a bud is easily determined
by It's actions ana characteristics. The
weak individual is inactive and sluggish
1t .s more likely to squat than to stand
1t is never 4 good forager. As d general
rule, 1t Is the last OF the roost IN the
morning and the first to 90 10 roost at
night In the case of male, the weak
bird generally mas a long, crow-head,
dull eyes, pale comb and wattles. and IS
undcrdeveloped. Perhaps he has spraw-
Il legs. which are cold to the touch,
and a long slender body, with very little
breast development, and long, thin toes.
The reverse IS true of the strong male
POINTS OF EXCELLENCE.
Ii the selection of the breeding male
is based on the points described below,