The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-17
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

not only an ancient and honorable oc- Icupation, and one of the great indus tries of the twentieth century, but that lit is also a source of pleasure to anna teurs, matter of pride to profession- a1s and an art to the fanciers.
 
 It's. a far cry from Darwin's jungle fowl flying in the wilds of Western and only the ability to lay a couple of dozen eggs in twelvemonth, to the modern up-to-date hen, a regular do- mesticated egg machine turning out more than 200 eggs per year. But breeding has not only altered chickens lin the matter of meat and eggs. but wonderful things have been done in the question of color.
 
 To make it possible ' for you to visualize what I am trying to make you see, just imagine pair of the Inative fowls in cage in modern ipoultry exhibit like the ones staged in Madison Square Garden or other great Icenters in this country; or if suffi- Icently interested just visit the one be- ing held here on Second avenue and you will get some idea of what the breeders during the centuries have. done to improve on nature.
 | I used to go regularly to the shows in Atlanta during the time when l was up to my ears in fancy chicken raising. | | only lost my fondness for the sport because I found out to my sorrow that some "cullered brother could lift them faster than I could supply them. and as they represented real money I had to forego my proclivities as chicken fancier, although I have never lost my belief in the fact that it pays to go in for the best varieties.
 Now, when it comes to breeds there lare those who have special req sons for exploiting the virtues of the variety they are specializing on. It's perfectly natural and right for them to do so; for in this way they ; reap their reward for specializing. know that the chicken fanciers who are after blue ribbons have come in for much criticism by paying so much ,attention to show birds, but they have done a real service and deserve praise rather than censure, for they have done some wonderful things in the way of developing standard breeds. 2
 The last authorities have seen set , out more than 100 standard breeds in this country. These are classified in various ways; according to whether they are fancy or practical; to their tendency to produce meat or eggs; as to their proneness to be broody; the place of their origin. etc. To become standardized they must breed true. These standard bred chickens are classed in groups, for instance as American, Asiatic Mediterranean, Polish, Hamburg French, English in , token of their geographical origina- ton. Then there are games, bantams, , silkies etc
 I am not attempting to give the classificiations in full. but merely to give an idea of the way the poulterers govern themselves in getting ready for the exhibitins in order to enter < their birds properly. l also do it to emphasize the fact that it is best in making a start with poultry, to select | a good breed and, within that breed, the. most suitable variety is important. , lG Get it out of your head in the be- ginning. if you have any idea of be- coming a poulterer, that you can make a success by acquiring scrub hens. 1
 The first thing for the novice to de- ltermine is whether he wants to special ize in the meat class, the egg class or the general-purpose class. It is a pretty safe bet that if you start in : either one of these three classes and keep patiently in the game, after awhile you will settle on the variety best suited to your needs. But do not try too many kinds in the same class No one is apt to make a wrong start if reasonable care is exercised in getting pure bred. healthy stock
 
 The day of the razor back" is hap oily largely thing of the past. The scrub COW" is becoming rarer and rarer: even goats are now selected ? land bred with care. If these things be true why should any self-respect- Ing man or woman St1I cling 10 Ine motion that mixed variety of barn yard fowls" will pay better than care fully selected ones which are bred true? One writer goes so far in his re- marks as to say: Scrubs in door suggest a sloven not far away: and in general, the quality and condition of , poultry reflect the owners character This is like saying. know a man by the chickens he keeps.
 
 grades are at best compromises. Their l a standardized foundation, The im- provement of grade fowls by the intro- } iduction of standardized males is to , | be recommended, rather than to go on . just fooling with grades by them selves: but the quickest, surest and most satisfactory way is to start right Iwith pure bred stock. Mongrels will } lrun down, while the breeding towards : l a definite standard is the creation o1 | a type of fowl that can be relied upon : to reproduce itself uniformly. Mongrel breeding cannot be too harshly. con l demned.
 The science of breeding, according to Wheeler, an authority, 'has been worked out carefully. and until one becomes much more skillful than any lheginner can possibly be, it is best tc follow the rules closely. Crossing ex- ccpt hy way of experiment., is poor ipolicy. A good general-purpose breed will meet all ordinary demands; if g ispcciaf purpose is to be served 8 tspeciaI breed can be found to serve it.,